2017 Winter, Poetry, Reviews

Summit, Elk Hills

by
This image of the Elk HIlls Oil Field is from the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 satellite / via NASA EO-I team / Public domain
This image of the Elk HIlls Oil Field is from the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 satellite / via NASA EO-I team / Public domain
Pumpjacks at the Occidental Oil Wells in the Elk Hills. While the California Aquifer, which cuts through the same area, is starved for water, oil continues to flow / Antandrus via Wikipedia English / CC BY SA
Pumpjacks at the Occidental Oil Wells in the Elk Hills. While the California Aquifer, which cuts through the same area, is starved for water, oil continues to flow / Antandrus via Wikipedia English / CC BY SA
As of publishing, Elk Hills is the fifth most productive oil field in the United States. The field was discovered in 1911 and played a role in the Teapot Dome scandal that tarnished the Harding administration. During the Arab Oil Embargo of the mid-1970's the area, which had largely been held in reserve, was opened for drilling and production. The oil field is located near the California Aqueduct in the San Joaquin Valley.
As of publishing, Elk Hills is the fifth most productive oil field in the United States. The field was discovered in 1911 and played a role in the Teapot Dome scandal that tarnished the Harding administration. During the Arab Oil Embargo of the mid-1970's the area, which had largely been held in reserve, was opened for drilling and production. The oil field is located near the California Aqueduct in the San Joaquin Valley.
This image of the Elk HIlls Oil Field is from the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 satellite / via NASA EO-I team / Public domain
This image of the Elk HIlls Oil Field is from the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA’s Earth Observing-1 satellite / via NASA EO-I team / Public domain
Pumpjacks at the Occidental Oil Wells in the Elk Hills. While the California Aquifer, which cuts through the same area, is starved for water, oil continues to flow / Antandrus via Wikipedia English / CC BY SA
Occidental Oil Wells at Elk Hills / Antandrus via Wikipedia English / CC BY SA
As of publishing, Elk Hills is the fifth most productive oil field in the United States. The field was discovered in 1911 and played a role in the Teapot Dome scandal that tarnished the Harding administration. During the Arab Oil Embargo of the mid-1970's the area, which had largely been held in reserve, was opened for drilling and production. The oil field is located near the California Aqueduct in the San Joaquin Valley.
As of publishing, Elk Hills is the fifth most productive oil field in the United States. The field was discovered in 1911 and played a role in the Teapot Dome scandal that tarnished the Harding administration. During the Arab Oil Embargo of the mid-1970's the area, which had largely been held in reserve, was opened for drilling and production. The oil field is located near the California Aqueduct in the San Joaquin Valley.
In the distance, smeared by haze,
thin snow from last week’s storm
that seems to persist
along the ridgeline
will melt in a day or two.

The Valley in between
these low hills and the Sierras
always looks abandoned
in the bad air. And dry.
But we live down there—

busy, skittering creatures
reluctant to look up and see,
almost empty again this year,
the storehouses of the snow
we need so much.

 

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Don Tompson
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