Ellwood Oil Field and South Ellwood Offshore Oil Field are a pair of adjacent, partially active oil fields adjoining the city of Goleta, California, about twelve miles (19 km) west of Santa Barbara, largely in the Santa Barbara Channel. A richly productive field in the 1930s, the Ellwood Oil Field was important to the economic development of the Santa Barbara area. A Japanese submarine shelled the area during World War II. It was the first direct naval bombardment of the continental U.S. since the Civil War, causing an invasion scare on the West Coast.
The Ellwood Oil Field and South Ellwood Offshore Oil Field. Other oil fields are shown in gray.
Aerial: Ellwood Oil Field from West
Sandpiper Golf Course with derricks in background, 1975. Photo by Charles O'Rear.
Barnsdall-Rio Grande gas station, built in 1929 next to the Ellwood Oil Field
Goleta is a city in southern Santa Barbara County, California, United States. It was incorporated as a city in 2002, after a long period as the largest unincorporated populated area in the county. As of the 2000 census, the census-designated place had a total population of 55,204. A significant portion of the census territory of 2000 did not incorporate into the new city. The population of Goleta was 32,690 at the 2020 census. It is known for being near the University of California, Santa Barbara, campus.
Aerial photo of the Goleta area from offshore.
Seal
Historic Spanish Colonial Revival style Barnsdall-Rio Grande station outside the former Ellwood Oil Field.
UCSB Lagoon