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1932 Map of East Elk Hills

Name: 1932 Topographic Map of East Elk Hills
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1932
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1932

About this map

The Naval Petroleum Reserve No 1 dominates the southern landscape of this Kern County survey, reflecting the early 20th-century strategic importance of California’s oil resources. This industrial footprint is anchored by the Standard Oil Co Hay-Carman Camp, situated amidst the undulating contours of the Elk Hills. The map captures a critical transition where the high ground of the oil fields meets the intensive hydraulic engineering of the San Joaquin Valley floor.

Water management is the defining human influence in the north, where the complex irrigation network of the East Side Canal, Eightyfoot Ditch, and Main Drain redirect the natural flow of the Buena Vista Slough. Scattered agrarian outposts like Poplar Grove Ranch and Willow Grove Ranch mark the reclaimed land, while the presence of an Indian Burial Mound provides a rare connection to the indigenous history of the region before the arrival of the petroleum and agricultural industries.