1932 Map of West Elk Hills

About this map

Naval Petroleum Reserve No 1 dominates the landscape of this 1932 edition, highlighting the critical intersection of federal energy interests and the early California oil industry. Surveyed in the late 1920s with assistance from the Pan American Petroleum Co., the map documents the rugged geography of the Elk Hills and the infrastructure required to tap its resources. The settlement of McKittrick and the nearby Asphalto serve as focal points for transportation and commerce in the western Kern County desert. A network of early industrial transit is visible, anchored by the Southern Pacific railroad line and the Bakersfield McKittrick Highway, which connects these oil-producing lands to the wider region. Benchmarks and topographic contours at Hillcrest Point provide a technical look at the land as it was managed during the James Rolph Jr. governorship, prior to the large-scale industrial shifts of the mid-twentieth century.