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1959 Map of Santa Maria

Name: 1959 Topographic Map of Santa Maria
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1961
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1961

About this map

Santa Maria sits at the heart of an intensive agricultural and petroleum landscape in the late 1950s, bounded by the Nipomo Mesa and the San Rafael Mountains. The city's residential growth is evident through a network of local institutions like Robert Bruce Sch and Nightingale Sch, while the industrial backbone is defined by the Santa Maria Valley RR and the Oil Refinery at Midco.

South of the city, the landscape transforms into a major energy corridor. The map reveals the extensive reach of the Orcutt Oil Field and Cat Canyon Oil Field, with numerous wells and pipelines threading through the Solomon Canyon. To the west, the early footprint of Vandenberg Air Force Base begins to shape the coastal terrace, while the newly constructed Twitchell Reservoir on the Santa Maria River marks a significant moment in the region's water management history.