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1932 Map of Mouth of Kern

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

USGS Topo · Published 1932

About this map

Naval Petroleum Reserve No 1 and Naval Petroleum Reserve No 2 dominate this industrial landscape in the Kern County oil fields during the early 1930s. The map captures a transitional hydraulic environment where the Buena Vista Lake Bed is managed through an engineered system of an Inlet Canal and Outlet, diverting the Kern River to support the region's intense resource extraction.

The infrastructure of the era is remarkably detailed, showing the operations of the Richfield Oil Co, Midway Gas Co, and the Honolulu Oil Co Water Pumping Sta positioned along the slopes of the Buena Vista Hills. While energy production is the primary focus, vestiges of local recreation and small-scale settlement appear at the Old Gun Club and the rail-side point of Kyan. This survey, conducted by E. P. Davis and H. L. McDonald, provides a precise record of the roads like the Taft-Bakersfield Road that connected these vital petroleum reserves.