Midoil, California facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Midoil
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 Midoil
Location in California
Midoil
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Kern County |
| Elevation | 1,339 ft (408 m) |
Midoil (pronounced MY-doyl), once known as Midland, is a small, historic area in Kern County, California. It's not a city or town with a mayor, but rather an unincorporated community. This means it's a place where people used to live, but it's not officially part of a city. Midoil is located about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) southeast of a place called Fellows, and it sits at an elevation of about 1,339 feet (408 meters) above sea level.
Midoil's Location and Purpose
Midoil is no longer a place where people live all the time. Instead, it's part of a very busy area known as the Midway-Sunset Oil Field. This oil field is one of the largest in California. Midoil is located roughly halfway between the towns of Fellows and Taft.
What is an Oil Field?
An oil field is a large area of land where crude oil is found underground. Companies drill wells into the ground to bring this oil to the surface. The Midway-Sunset Oil Field is a place where a lot of oil is still being pumped out of the earth.
How Oil is Extracted
If you visit Midoil Road, which runs through the area, you'll see many machines and pipes.
- Pumpjacks: These are those nodding machines that look like giant birds drinking water. They pump oil out of the ground.
- Pipelines: These are long tubes that carry the oil from the wells to storage tanks or processing plants.
- Tank Batteries: These are groups of large tanks where the crude oil is stored after it's pumped out.
The company Chevron Corporation is the main operator working in the Midoil area. They manage the equipment and operations to get the oil. Midoil Road generally runs alongside California State Route 33, about a mile to the northeast.
A Bit of History
Even though Midoil isn't a populated community today, it once had a small community. A post office was open in the area, when it was called Midland, from 1908 to 1914. This shows that people lived and worked there over a hundred years ago.
