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1933 Map of Tupman

Name: 1933 Topographic Map of Tupman
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1933
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1933

About this map

Elk Hills dominates the southern landscape of this 1933 survey, a region defined by its critical role in California's early 20th-century oil production. The map illustrates a specialized industrial environment where company outposts like Standard Oil Co Camp and the Pan American Petroleum Co Camp are situated directly within the Naval Petroleum Reserve No 1. These camps represent the self-contained worker communities of the era, providing housing and services deep within the oil fields.

Water management and irrigation infrastructure crisscross the northern valley floor, where the Dixon and James Canal and Johnson Canal carve through the terrain near the Kern River. The Buena Vista Slough serves as a prominent natural drainage feature, while the presence of the Mesquite Hunting Club suggests a pocket of recreation amidst the surrounding industrial and agricultural operations. Transport is anchored by the Southern Pacific railroad line and the Taft Bakersfield Highway, linking these remote extraction sites to the larger Kern County economy.