On March 12, 1948, the first of the scenic cover map series was published by Gousha, for The Standard Oil Company of California (aka Chevron).  This was the California map, and maps of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona soon followed.  Each of these seven state maps had a new scene on the cover the following year, and this continued until 1955 when earlier scenes were first repeated.  Repetitions were frequent during the years that followed, but totally new scenes were also yet to appear.  A scene's repetition usually occurred a few years after it last appeared, but one year was an exception.  1958 maps first appeared with the same pictures as 1957 but with a new back and updated codes, only later in the year did maps appear with new scenes on the front cover.  So 1958 is the year with two different scenes.

Below are listed all the scenes on the covers.  Under 1958 it is the later scenes that are listed. The scenes for each state are numbered, and these numbers appear in the chart along the line for that state to show which years each scene appeared.  As there are yet some unknown scenes, the numbering of these lists and the chart may have to be changed if and when we have more complete information.  Some of the scenes are simply titled as a state or national park, or monument.  If the scene itself is of some identifiable land feature within the park, then the specific scene is indicated.  In addition, there are maps on which the scene is given no title.  In these cases, a parenthesized description of the scene is provided.  If the same scene or a similar title is listed twice, it may or may not have a # following its second appearance.  If it does, this indicates it is a new watercolor rendering of the scene made from the same perspective as before.  If no # appears, this means a new watercolor was made of the scene from a totally new perspective.  Also in parentheses may be the year of a "See Your West" series, if the map's cover is obviously a copy of one of these.  With a few exceptions, all maps in a given year displayed the same design on back.  Once you get the hang of it, you can date these maps at a glance.  This article has largely ignored the most important subject: the map itself.  In some cases, the maps were embellished with yet more scenes along the margins.  This feature had first been used in the "Interstate Route Guides" in the late 30's, which were also the first instance of the Standard booklet map by Gousha.
 

Index of State Maps with Varying Scenes by Standard Oil Co of California / Chevron:

               Click on underlined years (below) to see a layout of the map covers for that year.

          1948 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65
 
Arizona      1  2  3 *4  5  6  7  4  8  9  6 10 11 *8  9 *6 *7 *4
California   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  5  8  9  4  7 10  5  8  9  4 10
Idaho        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  4  8  9  7 10 11  8  9  4  7*10
Nevada       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  5  6  8     9 10  7  6  5  8 10
Oregon       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  5  8  6  7  9 10  8  6  6 *7  9
Utah         1  2  3  4  5  6  7  4  8  5  7  9  4  8  6  3 *7  9
Washington   1  2  3  4  5  6  7  5  8  9     7 10  4 11  8  9  7
*=added


ARIZONA                             OREGON 
 1. Giant Saquaro Cactus (47)        1. Mt. Hood
 2. Grand Canyon N.P                 2. Crater Lake N.P. (47)
 3. Chiricahua N.M.                  3. Wallowa Mtns. (47)
 4. Canyon de Chelly                 4. McKenzie River (47)
 5. Oak Creek Canyon                 5. Diamond Lake
 6. San Francisco Peaks              6. Oregon Coast
 7. Saquaro N.M. (40)                7. Multnomah Falls
 8. Picacho Peak                     8. Mt. Hood
 9. Montezuma Castle                 9. Wallowa Lake
10. Canyon Lake                     10. Crater Lake
11. Chiricahua N.M.                          

CALIFORNIA                          UTAH
 1. Kings Canyon N.P. (47)           1. Great White Throne, Zion N.P. (40)
 2. Half Dome, Yosemite N.P.         2. Bryce Canyon N.P.
 3. Coast Redwoods                   3. Rainbow Bridge N.M.
 4. Point Lobos S.P. (47)            4. Delicate Arch, Arches N.M.
 5. California Poppies               5. Capitol Reef N.M.
 6. Burney Falls S.P.                6. Mt. Timpanogos
 7. El Capitan, Yosemite N.P.        7. Court of the Patriarchs, Zion N.P.
 8. Vernal Falls, Yosemite N.P.(55)  8. Bryce Canyon
 9. Mt. Shasta                       9. Great White Throne, Zion N.P.
10. In the Redwoods           


IDAHO                               WASHINGTON
 1. Boulder Peak (46)                1. Crescent Lake, Olympic N.P. (46)
 2. Pend Oreille Lake (47)           2. Mt. Rainier N.P. (40)
 3. Stanley Lake, Sawtooth Mtns      3. Mt. St. Helens
 4. Cabinet Gorge                    4. Snoqualmie Falls (46)
 5. Sawtooth Mtns.                   5. Mt. Shuksan (55)
 6. St. Joe River                    6. Lake Chelan
 7. Chimney Rock                     7. Mt. Baker (40) 
 8. Upper Mesa Falls (55)            8. Mt. St. Helens (55)
 9. In the Sawtooth Mtns.            9. Mt. Index
10. Pend Oreille Lake               10. Mt. Rainier
11. Stanley Lake                    11. Special Space Needle Cover


NEVADA                           
 1. Pyramid Lake                  
 2. Cathedral Gorge S.P.          
 3. The Temple, Lake Mead         
 4. Elephant Rock, Valley of Fire 
 5. In Nevada Nat. Forest         
 6. Lake Tahoe                    
 7. In the Ruby Mtns.             
 8. Pyramid Lake                  
 9. Charleston Peak Area          
10. Cathedral Gorge

Index of City Maps with Varying Scenes by Standard Oil Co of California / Chevron:

East Bay Cities       1  2  1  3  4  4  4  5  5  5  5  5  5  5  5  5  5
Long Beach         1     1  1     1  1     1  1  1  1  1     2  2  2  2
Los Angeles           1  1  2  3  4  4  3  3  3  3  3  5  5  5  3  5  5
Portland              1  2  2  3  3  3  3     3  3  3     4  4  4  4  4
San Diego             1  2  1  3  4  4  4  5  5  5  5  5  5  5  5  5  5
San Francisco         1  2  3  4  5  5  5  4  4  4  4  4  4  4  4  4  4
San Jose                          1  1  1     1  1  1  1  1  2  2  2  2
Seattle-Tacoma        1  1  1  2  2  2  2  2  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -

- = no scenic cover

For the seven states that are show above the scenes were changed every year. These were the operating states for Standard Oil of California where they were entitled to use the "Standard" name.  For the other states, provinces, regions and some cities the scenes stayed the same from year to year.
 

Standard of California Maps with Non-varying Scenes
numbers following descriptions are first known year map/scene was issued.
numbers in ( ) are year the scene was included in "See Your West" print promotion.

ALASKA  Mendenhall Glacier (47) 52
ARIZONA - NEW MEXICO  Carlsbad Caverns N.P. (47) 49 (note 4)
FRESNO  Fresno Co. Courthouse (P&G) 53
HAWAII  Diamond Head (55) 55
LOS ANGELES COUNTY EAST CENTRAL  Arabian Horses Cal Poly 60
MARIN COUNTY  Civic Center 64
MEXICO  Taxco 51 (Note 3)
ORANGE COUNTY  Bowers Mem. Museum, Santa Ana 60
PHOENIX  (State Capital Building) 48
PHOENIX - TUCSON  Arizona State Capitol (P&G) 55
RIVERSIDE - SAN BERNADENO U. of Cal. Riverside 62
SACRAMENTO  California State Capitol (P&G) 48
SALT LAKE CITY  (Mormon Temple) (P&G) 48
SAN FERNANDO VALLEY  San Fernando Mission 55
SAN FRANCISCO PENINSULA (CENTRAL)  Stanford University Chapel 61
SAN GABRIEL VALLEY  Arabian Horses Calif. State Polytechnic College  65
SANTA BARBARA  Mission Santa Barbara (P&G) 64 (Note 5)
SEATTLE  Lake Washington 57 (Note 6)
SPOKANE  (Downtown Street) (P&G) 48 (Note 6)
STOCKTON  University of the Pacific 63
TACOMA  The Narrows Bridge 57 (Note 6)
TUCSON  Mission San Xavier del Bac (P&G) 62
WESTERN CANADA  Maligne Lake, Jasper Park 51 (Note 2,3)
WESTERN STATES  Mt. Timpanogos 56 (Note 1)
 

Subsidiary Company Maps

California Co. (West)
COLORADO  Rocky Mtn. N.P. (Dream Lake, Flattop Mtn.) (47) 49
MONTANA  Glacier N.P. (St. Mary Lake) (47)  50
NEBRASKA  Scott's Bluff N.M.  49
NORTH & SOUTH DAKOTA  Mt. Rushmore  51
WEST & CENTRAL U.S.  Grand Canyon 64 (Note 12)
WESTERN STATES  McKenzie River (47) 62 (Note 11)
WYOMING  Yellowstone N.P. (Yellowstone Falls) (47) 49
DENVER  City and County Building 57
 

Standard of Texas
ALBUQUERQUE  San Felipe de Neri Church (P&G) 53
ARIZONA-NEW MEXICO  Carlsbad Caverns N.P. (47) 49 (Note 14)
EL PASO  El Paso Skyline (P&G) 53
MEXICO  Taxco 51 (Note 13)
NEW MEXICO  Taos Pueblo 48
OKLAHOMA  Will Rogers Memorial 61
SOUTH CENTRAL U.S. Old Southern Mansion 56
TEXAS  Big Bend N.P. (Santa Elena Canyon) (47) 49
WESTERN STATES  Grand Canyon 55 (Note 12)

Standard of British Columbia
BRITISH COLUMBIA  Yoho N.P. (47) 49 (Note 7,8)
B.C. - ALBERTA  Yoho N.P. (47) 62 (Note 9)        Garibaldi Prov. Park 65
EDMONTON-CALGARY  Jubilee Auditorium 62
VANCOUVER  Capilano Canyon (47) 49 (Note 7)
VANCOUVER-VICTORIA  (Totem pole, gulls, boats) 57
VICTORIA  View from Malahat Drive 53
WESTERN MOUNTAIN PARKS 66
 

California Oil Co. (Calso)
DEL-MD-VA-WVA  Natural Bridge, Va. 56
MAINE  Acadia N.P. 54           Portland Light 51
MASS-CONN-RI  Autumn in the Berkshires  56
NEW HAMPSHIRE -VERMONT  Maple Syrup Time  56       Connecticut River  53
NEW JERSEY  Atlantic City  55       Delaware Water Gap  49
NEW YORK  Niagara Falls 49       Statue of Liberty  55
NEW YORK CITY  Towers of Manhattan  56
NORTHEAST U.S.  Great Lakes  55
PENNSYLVANIA    Independence Hall   56
 

There are also some foreign scenic cover maps
BAJA CALIFORNIA  56
COSTA RICA  61
EL SALVADOR  61
GAUTEMALA  61
HONDURAS  61

Standard Oil Company of California - SOCAL - Chevron - Calso

12-20-02 by lm

More of the story and scenes to follow in the future.

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