Asphalto, California

Asphalto
Former settlement
Asphalto Location in California
Coordinates: 35°18′17″N 119°36′03″W
Country	United States
State	California
County	Kern County
Elevation [1]	932 ft (284 m)

Asphalto is an archaic place name in Kern County, California.^[1] Asphalto, also known as La Brea,^[2] was located on the railroad 3 miles (4.8 km) northeast of McKittrick,^[3] at an elevation of 932 feet (284 m).^[1] Asphalto still appeared on maps as of 1932.^[1] The name comes from the local asphaltum deposits.^[2]

Asphalto was originally the site of the Aguaje de La Brea, a watering place on El Camino Viejo. The site has fossils in the asphalt deposits here, similar to other places in the vicinity of McKittrick.^[4] A post office operated at Asphalto from 1893 to 1894, and from 1898 to 1900, when service was transferred to McKittrick.^[3]

See also

• List of ghost towns in California

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Asphalto, California
2. Bailey, Richard C. (1967). Kern County Place Names. Annual Publications of the Kern County Historical Society and Kern County Museum (No. 29). Introduction by Ralph F. Kreiser (1st ed.). Bakersfield, Calif.: Merchants Printing and Lithographing Co. p. 17. LCCN 74018077. OCLC 158106.
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. 1070. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
4. William N. Abeloe, Mildred Brooke Hoover, H. E. Rensch, E. G. Rensch, Historic spots in California, 3rd Edition., Stanford University Press, Stanford, 1966 William N. Abeloe, Mildred Brooke Hoover, H. E. Rensch, E. G. Rensch, Historic spots in California, 3rd Edition., Stanford University Press, Stanford, 1966; p.128