Audio Tour
Los Angeles to San Francisco
381miles
36stops
5h56m
Listen — all 36 stops free
1
LA City Hall and Its Height Limit Legacy
Mile 0 — Los Angeles
That prominent white tower you may notice rising above the downtown skyline is Los Angeles City Hall, completed in 1928.
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2
Walt Disney Concert Hall's Metal Skin
Mile 0 — Los Angeles
Walt Disney Concert Hall, just off the freeway here, caused an unexpected engineering problem when it opened in 2003.
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3
The Hollywood Sign Was a Real Estate Ad
Mile 8 — Mulholland Dr
You're crossing the Mulholland Drive Viaduct, and if you glance toward the hillside you may catch the Hollywood Sign.
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4
Universal City: The Studio That Became a Town
Mile 9 — Los Angeles
Universal City is technically not part of Los Angeles.
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5
Treaty of Cahuenga Ended the War Here
Mile 10 — North Hollywood
The Treaty of Cahuenga, signed right near this interchange on January 13, 1847, ended all fighting in California during the Mexican-American War — a full year before the…
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6
Sun Valley and the Tujunga Wash
Mile 16
You're passing through the Sun Valley neighborhood, which despite its cheerful name has long been one of the most flood-prone areas in the San Fernando Valley.
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7
Sylmar Earthquake Changed California Forever
Mile 23 — Sylmar
The 1971 Sylmar earthquake struck at six twelve in the morning on February ninth, right beneath where you're driving now.
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8
The Interchange That Collapsed Twice
Mile 26 — Sylmar
You're passing through one of the most remarkable engineering failure sites in American history.
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9
Newhall: Where Oil and Westerns Began
Mile 30 — Santa Clarita
You're passing through Newhall, where California's commercial oil industry got its start.
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10
Castaic Lake and the State Water Project
Mile 49
You're passing through Castaic, home to one of the most critical water storage points in California.
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11
Tejon Pass Summit at Four Thousand Feet
Mile 67 — Lebec
You're crossing the highest point on Interstate 5 in all of California, sitting at four thousand one hundred forty-four feet.
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12
The Grapevine: Interstate Engineering Marvel
Mile 69 — Lebec
You're climbing the Grapevine, where Interstate 5 gains roughly four thousand feet of elevation in just six miles.
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13
Fort Tejon and the Great 1857 Earthquake
Mile 73 — Lebec
Fort Tejon, just off the interstate here, was the epicenter of one of the most powerful earthquakes in California's recorded history.
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14
Tejon Ranch: California's Largest Private Landholding
Mile 73 — Lebec
The land surrounding you right now is Tejon Ranch, a 270,000-acre property that makes it the largest contiguous private landholding in California.
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15
Bakersfield Oil Built This City Literally
Mile 94
Bakersfield exists because of oil.
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16
The Valley That Was an Inland Sea
Mile 114 — Bakersfield
The flat expanse opening up ahead was once Tulare Lake, the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi.
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17
California Aqueduct Crosses Your Path
Mile 114 — Bakersfield
The canal you're about to cross is the California Aqueduct, and it carries water four hundred forty-four miles from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta all the way to…
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18
Buttonwillow: The Landmark Trading Tree
Mile 120 — Bakersfield
The name Buttonwillow comes from a single tree that stood as a landmark in this flat valley for centuries.
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19
Dust Bowl Refugees Built This Valley
Mile 131
During the 1930s, roughly 300,000 migrants from Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri poured into this stretch of the San Joaquin Valley looking for farm work.
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20
Lost Hills: Oil and Almonds Collide
Mile 142 — Lost Hills
Lost Hills sits directly on top of one of California's most productive oil fields, discovered in 1910.
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21
The Westlands Water District Below You
Mile 162
The flat farmland stretching around you sits within the Westlands Water District, the largest federal irrigation district in the country.
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22
Kettleman Hills Anticline Oil Trap
Mile 182 — Huron
The low, rumpled hills you can see to the west are the Kettleman Hills, and they contain one of the most famous geological structures in petroleum geology.
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23
The Westlands: America's Richest Farmland Problem
Mile 190
You're driving through the Westlands Water District, the largest federal irrigation district in the country at over six hundred thousand acres.
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24
Harris Ranch: California's Halfway Cattle Empire
Mile 197 — Coalinga
That smell hitting you right now comes from one of the largest cattle feedlots in California, capable of holding a hundred thousand head at once.
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25
Coalinga and the Forgotten Oil Boom
Mile 214
Coalinga sits just east of here, a town whose name is literally a contraction of Coaling Station A, a fuel stop on the Southern Pacific Railroad.
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26
Panoche Hills and Their Rare Survivors
Mile 231 — Firebaugh
The low hills visible to the west are the Panoche Hills, and they shelter one of the last viable populations of the giant kangaroo rat.
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27
San Joaquin Valley's Irrigation Canal Grid
Mile 241
The land you're driving through right now is crisscrossed by one of the most engineered water delivery systems on Earth.
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28
Firebaugh and the Junction Town Effect
Mile 250 — Firebaugh
This area near the Interstate 5 and California 152 junction illustrates a classic phenomenon in American geography: the junction town.
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29
Los Banos and the Grasslands Wetland Corridor
Mile 260
Los Banos takes its name from a Spanish phrase meaning the baths, referring to a natural pool where early travelers along El Camino Viejo stopped to wash.
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30
O'Neill Forebay Pumped Storage System
Mile 270 — Gustine
The body of water you may notice near here is O'Neill Forebay, a regulating reservoir that acts as a staging area for the much larger San Luis Reservoir just to the west.
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31
Patterson and the Westside Freight Corridor
Mile 295
You're passing through Patterson, one of several small towns along the west side of the San Joaquin Valley that grew up around the Southern Pacific Railroad in the early…
0:00
32
Tracy: Railroad Town Turned Mega Commuter Hub
Mile 321 — Tracy
Tracy was founded in 1878 as a junction point for the Central Pacific Railroad and named after Lathrop J. Tracy, a railroad stockholder who never actually lived here.
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33
Altamont Wind Farm and Its Raptor Problem
Mile 331 — Livermore
The turbines you can see scattered across these hills form the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area, one of the first large-scale wind farms ever built.
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34
Livermore Valley Wine Before Napa Fame
Mile 338
Livermore Valley was producing award-winning wine decades before Napa became famous.
0:00
35
Diablo Range Pass to the Bay Area
Mile 345 — Pleasanton
You're crossing through the Diablo Range at Altamont Pass, which at just over a thousand feet is the lowest gap through this coastal mountain chain for a hundred miles…
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36
Oakland's Flatlands and the Reshaping of East Bay
Mile 363
You're driving through the flatlands of East Oakland, an area built almost entirely on alluvial sediment washed down from the hills to your east over thousands of years.
0:00
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Listen — all 36 stops free
1
LA City Hall and Its Height Limit Legacy
Mile 0 — Los Angeles
That prominent white tower you may notice rising above the downtown skyline is Los Angeles City Hall, completed in 1928.
0:00
2
Walt Disney Concert Hall's Metal Skin
Mile 0 — Los Angeles
Walt Disney Concert Hall, just off the freeway here, caused an unexpected engineering problem when it opened in 2003.
0:00
3
The Hollywood Sign Was a Real Estate Ad
Mile 8 — Mulholland Dr
You're crossing the Mulholland Drive Viaduct, and if you glance toward the hillside you may catch the Hollywood Sign.
0:00
4
Universal City: The Studio That Became a Town
Mile 9 — Los Angeles
Universal City is technically not part of Los Angeles.
0:00
5
Treaty of Cahuenga Ended the War Here
Mile 10 — North Hollywood
The Treaty of Cahuenga, signed right near this interchange on January 13, 1847, ended all fighting in California during the Mexican-American War — a full year before the…
0:00
6
Sun Valley and the Tujunga Wash
Mile 16
You're passing through the Sun Valley neighborhood, which despite its cheerful name has long been one of the most flood-prone areas in the San Fernando Valley.
0:00
7
Sylmar Earthquake Changed California Forever
Mile 23 — Sylmar
The 1971 Sylmar earthquake struck at six twelve in the morning on February ninth, right beneath where you're driving now.
0:00
8
The Interchange That Collapsed Twice
Mile 26 — Sylmar
You're passing through one of the most remarkable engineering failure sites in American history.
0:00
9
Newhall: Where Oil and Westerns Began
Mile 30 — Santa Clarita
You're passing through Newhall, where California's commercial oil industry got its start.
0:00
10
Castaic Lake and the State Water Project
Mile 49
You're passing through Castaic, home to one of the most critical water storage points in California.
0:00
11
Tejon Pass Summit at Four Thousand Feet
Mile 67 — Lebec
You're crossing the highest point on Interstate 5 in all of California, sitting at four thousand one hundred forty-four feet.
0:00
12
The Grapevine: Interstate Engineering Marvel
Mile 69 — Lebec
You're climbing the Grapevine, where Interstate 5 gains roughly four thousand feet of elevation in just six miles.
0:00
13
Fort Tejon and the Great 1857 Earthquake
Mile 73 — Lebec
Fort Tejon, just off the interstate here, was the epicenter of one of the most powerful earthquakes in California's recorded history.
0:00
14
Tejon Ranch: California's Largest Private Landholding
Mile 73 — Lebec
The land surrounding you right now is Tejon Ranch, a 270,000-acre property that makes it the largest contiguous private landholding in California.
0:00
15
Bakersfield Oil Built This City Literally
Mile 94
Bakersfield exists because of oil.
0:00
16
The Valley That Was an Inland Sea
Mile 114 — Bakersfield
The flat expanse opening up ahead was once Tulare Lake, the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi.
0:00
17
California Aqueduct Crosses Your Path
Mile 114 — Bakersfield
The canal you're about to cross is the California Aqueduct, and it carries water four hundred forty-four miles from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta all the way to…
0:00
18
Buttonwillow: The Landmark Trading Tree
Mile 120 — Bakersfield
The name Buttonwillow comes from a single tree that stood as a landmark in this flat valley for centuries.
0:00
19
Dust Bowl Refugees Built This Valley
Mile 131
During the 1930s, roughly 300,000 migrants from Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri poured into this stretch of the San Joaquin Valley looking for farm work.
0:00
20
Lost Hills: Oil and Almonds Collide
Mile 142 — Lost Hills
Lost Hills sits directly on top of one of California's most productive oil fields, discovered in 1910.
0:00
21
The Westlands Water District Below You
Mile 162
The flat farmland stretching around you sits within the Westlands Water District, the largest federal irrigation district in the country.
0:00
22
Kettleman Hills Anticline Oil Trap
Mile 182 — Huron
The low, rumpled hills you can see to the west are the Kettleman Hills, and they contain one of the most famous geological structures in petroleum geology.
0:00
23
The Westlands: America's Richest Farmland Problem
Mile 190
You're driving through the Westlands Water District, the largest federal irrigation district in the country at over six hundred thousand acres.
0:00
24
Harris Ranch: California's Halfway Cattle Empire
Mile 197 — Coalinga
That smell hitting you right now comes from one of the largest cattle feedlots in California, capable of holding a hundred thousand head at once.
0:00
25
Coalinga and the Forgotten Oil Boom
Mile 214
Coalinga sits just east of here, a town whose name is literally a contraction of Coaling Station A, a fuel stop on the Southern Pacific Railroad.
0:00
26
Panoche Hills and Their Rare Survivors
Mile 231 — Firebaugh
The low hills visible to the west are the Panoche Hills, and they shelter one of the last viable populations of the giant kangaroo rat.
0:00
27
San Joaquin Valley's Irrigation Canal Grid
Mile 241
The land you're driving through right now is crisscrossed by one of the most engineered water delivery systems on Earth.
0:00
28
Firebaugh and the Junction Town Effect
Mile 250 — Firebaugh
This area near the Interstate 5 and California 152 junction illustrates a classic phenomenon in American geography: the junction town.
0:00
29
Los Banos and the Grasslands Wetland Corridor
Mile 260
Los Banos takes its name from a Spanish phrase meaning the baths, referring to a natural pool where early travelers along El Camino Viejo stopped to wash.
0:00
30
O'Neill Forebay Pumped Storage System
Mile 270 — Gustine
The body of water you may notice near here is O'Neill Forebay, a regulating reservoir that acts as a staging area for the much larger San Luis Reservoir just to the west.
0:00
31
Patterson and the Westside Freight Corridor
Mile 295
You're passing through Patterson, one of several small towns along the west side of the San Joaquin Valley that grew up around the Southern Pacific Railroad in the early…
0:00
32
Tracy: Railroad Town Turned Mega Commuter Hub
Mile 321 — Tracy
Tracy was founded in 1878 as a junction point for the Central Pacific Railroad and named after Lathrop J. Tracy, a railroad stockholder who never actually lived here.
0:00
33
Altamont Wind Farm and Its Raptor Problem
Mile 331 — Livermore
The turbines you can see scattered across these hills form the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area, one of the first large-scale wind farms ever built.
0:00
34
Livermore Valley Wine Before Napa Fame
Mile 338
Livermore Valley was producing award-winning wine decades before Napa became famous.
0:00
35
Diablo Range Pass to the Bay Area
Mile 345 — Pleasanton
You're crossing through the Diablo Range at Altamont Pass, which at just over a thousand feet is the lowest gap through this coastal mountain chain for a hundred miles…
0:00
36
Oakland's Flatlands and the Reshaping of East Bay
Mile 363
You're driving through the flatlands of East Oakland, an area built almost entirely on alluvial sediment washed down from the hills to your east over thousands of years.
0:00