California Field Atlas

This lavishly illustrated atlas takes readers off the beaten path and outside normal conceptions of California, revealing its myriad ecologies, topographies, and histories in exquisite maps and trail paintings. Based on decades of exploring the backcountry of the Golden State, artist-adventurer Obi Kaufmann blends science and art to illuminate the multifaceted array of living, connected systems like no book has done before. Kaufmann depicts layer after layer of the natural world, delighting in the grand scale and details alike. The effect is staggeringly beautiful: presented alongside California divvied into its fifty-eight counties, for example, we consider California made up of dancing tectonic plates, of watersheds, of wildflower gardens. Maps are enhanced by spirited illustrations of wildlife, keys that explain natural phenomena, and a clear-sighted but reverential text. Full of character and color, a bit larger than life, The California Field Atlas is the ultimate road trip companion and love letter to a place.

Winner, 2018 California Book Award Gold Medal (Notable Contribution to Publishing)

Winner, 2018 NCIBA Book of the Year Award (Regional Interest)

Finalist, 2018 Northern California Book Awards

Honorable Mention, Publishing Professionals Network 47th annual Book Show (Trade/Image Driven)

All proceeds benefit the non-profit National Wildlife Federation’s #SaveLACougars campaign to build the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing and advance connectivity efforts in Southern California and beyond. The Wallis Annenberg Crossing broke ground in 2022 and is advancing toward completion in 2026. Building on significant historic preservation efforts, we are reconnecting a vital habitat corridor to help save the local population of mountain lions and ensure a future for all wildlife in the Santa Monica Mountains.