Coalinga, CA

Coalinga is a Fresno County city on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, where oil fields, agriculture, and open rangeland all sit close together. Its name comes from the coal industry that once served the Southern Pacific Railroad, but oil became the stronger local story; the nearby Coalinga Oil Field has been one of California's major petroleum areas. The city also has a frontier edge in its history, including stories tied to Joaquin Murrieta, and the Baker Museum preserves some of that local past.