History of the SJGS

About the Society

Although the early history of the San Joaquin Geological Society (SJGS) is shrouded in the mists of time, it probably began in Bakersfield not long after 1925, as an early chapter of the newly formed Pacific Section of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG). By the late 1930s, the SJGS was in full swing when Ed Stinemeyer, Russ Simonson and others came to Kern County as young geologists, and some exciting new seismic discoveries on the Bakersfield Arch were the hot topics of discussion at our gatherings. World War II called many members off to war, but monthly dinner meetings started up again at the El Tejon Hotel on Chester Avenue in downtown Bakersfield just after the war ended. When the El Tejon changed its "all you can drink for $1.00" policy in the mid-1960s, the meetings moved to the American Legion Hall, which in those days was located near the Bank of America on Truxton Avenue. A few years later, we moved with the Legion Hall to 2020 "H" Street. We still meet there on the second Tuesday of the month, a tradition dating back more than fifty years.

click here for a detailed history of the society

From left to right: Senteur de Boue, Mark Wilson, Bob Countryman and Larry Knauer
planning a field trip for the society.

The San Joaquin Geological Society is one of seven West Coast geologic societies that make up the Pacific Section, which in turn is one of six regional sections in the United States that make up the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG). The Pacific Section, or PSAAPG for short, started out as a separate organization in 1924 when AAPG members in San Francisco and Los Angeles felt isolated from the Tulsa, Oklahoma headquarters of their parent organization and decided that a local association might better serve some of their needs. They formed the Pacific Society of Petroleum Geologists that Spring and held a meeting on September 26 and 27 at the Hotel Alexandria in Los Angeles where 16 technical papers were presented to 130 attendees. A petition for incorporation into the national AAPG was drawn up shortly afterwards and accepted at the AAPG Convention in Wichita, Kansas on March 16, 1925 to make the 97 dues-paying members of the Pacific Section the first chartered section of AAPG. The Section has continued to grow in the more than 70 years since its inception and today contains about 800 dues-paying members.

Member Societies of the Pacific Section:: Alaska Geological Society (founded 1957) - meets in Anchorage, AK; Coast Geological Society (founded 1948) - meets in Ventura, CA; Los Angeles Basin Geological Society (founded 1967) -; meets in Long Beach, CA; Northern California Geological Society (founded 1944) - meets in San Francisco, CA; Northwest Petroleum Association (founded 1984) - meets in Portland, OR; Sacramento Petroleum Association - meets in Sacramento, CA; San Joaquin Geological Society (founded before 1940) -; meets in Bakersfield, CA

Affiliated Societies of the Pacific Section:: Pacific Section, SEPM (Society of Sedimentary Geology) - founded 1927; Pacific Section, SEG (Society of Exploration Geophysicists) - founded 1948; San Joaquin Well Logging Society (SJWLS)