Reward, Kern County, California

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Reward
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Small oil field near Reward, Calif.
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Reward
Location in California
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Reward
Reward (the United States)
Coordinates: 35°19′21″N119°40′45″W / 35.32250°N 119.67917°W / 35.32250; -119.67917 Coordinates: 35°19′21″N119°40′45″W / 35.32250°N 119.67917°W / 35.32250; -119.67917
Country United States
State California
County Kern County
Elevation
[1]
1,276 ft (389 m)

Reward is an unincorporated community in western Kern County, California. [1]

Contents

Geography

It is located 3.5 miles (5.6 km) west-northwest of McKittrick, [2] at an elevation of 1,276 feet (389 m) in the southern Temblor Range. [1] Reward is located in the McKittrick Oil Field. [2]

History

Reward was the location of the Aguaje de Santa Maria (Waterhole of Saint Mary) water stop on the 19th century El Camino Viejo in Alta California. [3]

The first wooden oil derrick in Kern County was constructed at the future site of Reward in 1878, to drill for flux oil to mix with asphalt that was being mined in Asphalto and refined in McKittrick. The settlement of Reward was founded in 1907, its name derived from the discovery of oil at the site. [4] A post office operating there from 1909 to 1937. [2] [4]

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The California oil and gas industry has been a major industry for over a century. Oil production was a minor factor in the 19th century, with kerosene replacing whale oil and lubricants becoming essential to the machine age. Oil became a major California industry in the 20th century with the discovery on new fields around Los Angeles and the San Joaquin Valley, and the dramatic increase in demand for gasoline to fuel automobiles and trucks. In 1900 California pumped 4 million barrels (640,000 m3), nearly 5% of the national supply. Then came a series of major discoveries, and the state pumped 100 million bbl (16 million m3) in 1914, or 38% of the national supply. In 2012 California produced 197 million bbl (31 million m3) of crude oil, out of the total 2,375 million bbl (378 million m3) of oil produced in the U.S, representing 8.3% of national production. California drilling operations and oil production are concentrated primarily in Kern County, San Joaquin Valley and the Los Angeles basin.

References

  1. 1 2 3 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Reward, Kern County, California
  2. 1 2 3 Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 1096. ISBN   1-884995-14-4.
  3. Mildred Brooke Hoover, Douglas E. Kyle, Historic spots in California, Stanford University Press, Stanford, 1990, p.123
  4. 1 2 Salley, Harold E. (1977). History of California Post Offices, 1849-1976. The Depot. ISBN   0-9601558-1-3.