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1954 Map of East Elk Hills

Name: 1954 Topographic Map of East Elk Hills
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1957
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1957

About this map

Naval Petroleum Reserve No 1 dominates the rugged Southern California landscape in this mid-century survey, revealing the intensive industrialization of the Elk Hills. The terrain is dense with infrastructure supporting the extraction of crude, featuring a vast network of Oil Wells, a dedicated Gas Plant, and the concentrated settlement at Camp 36-R. This area, managed under the authority of the Secretary of the Navy, stands in sharp contrast to the irrigated agricultural lands just to the north.

To the north, the water management systems of the San Joaquin Valley are on full display. A complex grid of irrigation channels including the Eightyfoot Ditch, Florida Canal, and Main Ditch support the Poplar Grove Ranch and surrounding fields. The Kern River and the West Side Levee define the transition between the dry, oil-producing uplands and the fertile valley floor, while the Mirasol Airport and a secondary Landing Field indicate the era's growing reliance on aviation for regional transit.