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1961 Map of Half Moon Bay

Name: 1961 Topographic Map of Half Moon Bay
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1962
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1962

About this map

The coastal shelf of the Corral de Tierra (Vasquez) and Miramontes land grants meets the Pacific shoreline at the start of the 1960s, defined by a string of seaside communities and agricultural reaches. From El Granada and Miramar down to Half Moon Bay, the Cabrillo Hwy serves as the primary artery connecting these towns to the rugged interior ridges. Inland, the landscape shifts abruptly into the deep canyons and high crests of the Santa Cruz Mountains, where the San Francisco State Fish and Game Refuge and the Water Temple mark the critical infrastructure of the regional water system.

Deep in the southern reaches, the timber and ranching history of the area is visible through place names like Grabtown and The Potato Patch. Remote outposts such as La Honda and Loma Mar are tucked into the drainages of Pescadero Creek and San Gregorio Creek, while evidence of early resource extraction appears via an Oil Derrick near the coast and various Oil Wells scattered through the hills. This survey also documents the expansion of Peninsula suburbs on the eastern slope, with the growing margins of San Carlos and Redwood City pressing against the wooded parks of the crest.