Petrolia, California
| Petrolia | |
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| Unincorporated community | |
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 Petrolia
Petrolia
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| Coordinates: 40°19′31″N 124°17′13″W / 40.32528°N 124.28694°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Humboldt County |
| Elevation | 121 ft (37 m) |
| Official name | California's First Drilled Oil Wells |
| Reference no. | 543 |
Coordinates: 40°19′31″N 124°17′13″W / 40.32528°N 124.28694°W
Petrolia (formerly, New Jerusalem and Petrolea) is an unincorporated community in Humboldt County, California, 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Cape Mendocino, at an elevation of 121 feet (37 m), within ZIP Code 95558, and area code 707. Petrolia was the site of the first oil well drilled in California.
Petrolia has an estimated population of 300-500 people within a 15-mile radius. It is located in the Mattole Valley, part of the Lost Coast region, one of the largest wilderness areas and the longest stretch of undeveloped coastline in the continental United States. Petrolia's isolation is due to its position on the rocky, treacherous coastline adjacent to the King Range mountains that isolate this area from mainland California and continue to leave the area almost completely undeveloped.
A travel magazine has called this area "too lovely to be believed, perhaps too beautiful to last." It has been recognized as the top "still wild" place in California. The area is the only significant stretch of California without a shoreline highway, and so far has "thus escaped tourism's aggressive paws."
The 35 miles (56 km) of steep roadways beneath the towering King Range Mountains include coastal redwoods, rocky shorelines, and black sand beaches, as well as a menagerie of fauna, including black bears, mink, black-tailed deer, river otter, peregrine falcons, California quail, bobcat and porcupine, reptiles such as rattlesnakes, western fence lizards and alligator lizards, various amphibians and bald eagles.
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