Setting
The oil field is in the McKittrick Valley and the adjacent foothills of the Temblor Range at the western edge of the San Joaquin Valley. California State Route 33 and 58 intersect at the town of McKittrick, and both routes cross over portions of the field. The climate is hot and arid to semi-arid, with an average annual rainfall of 5 to 6 inches (130 to 150 mm), and summertime highs commonly exceeding 100 °F (38 °C). Some subfreezing temperatures occur in the winter, with the mean freeze-free period being from 250 to 275 days. Drainage is to the northeast, away from the Temblors towards the Central Valley, and streams are dry for most of the year. The predominant vegetation is the vicinity of the field is low scrub, in particular Atriplex lentiformis or saltbush. Elevations on the field range from approximately 1,000 to 1,500 feet (300 to 460 m).
Many other productive oil fields are nearby. Adjacent to the north is the enormous, and densely developed Cymric Oil Field, and beyond that the South Belridge Oil Field; to the east is the Elk Hills Oil Field, famous in the Teapot Dome Scandal of the Warren G. Harding administration; adjacent to the southwest is the Belgian Anticline Oil Field, along Route 58; and to the southeast is the huge Midway-Sunset Oil Field, the third largest oil field in the United States.
The total productive area of the field is 3,970 acres (16.1 km2). The field is about 5 mi (8.0 km) long on the southeast to northwest axis, and about 2.5 mi (4.0 km) across.
Read more about this topic: Mc Kittrick Oil Field
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