Cuyama (; (

Chumash Chumash may refer to: *Chumash (Judaism), a Hebrew word for the Pentateuch, used in Judaism *Chumash people, a Native American people of southern California *Chumashan languages, indigenous languages of California See also *Chumash traditional n ...

: ''Kuyam'', meaning "Clam")) is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

Santa Barbara County Santa Barbara County, California, officially the County of Santa Barbara, is located in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa Maria. Santa Barba ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. It is located in the

Cuyama Valley The Cuyama Valley (Chumash: ''Kuyam'', meaning "Clam") is a valley along the Cuyama River in central California, in northern Santa Barbara, southern San Luis Obispo, southwestern Kern, and northwestern Ventura counties. It is about two hours ...

, near the Carrizo Plain. The

Cuyama River The Cuyama River (Chumash: ''Kuyam'', meaning "Clam") is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 15, 2011 river in southern San Luis Obispo County, northern Santa Barbar ...

runs adjacent to the town, flowing west towards the Pacific Ocean. Cuyama is surrounded by many apricot,

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-f ...

, and plum orchards. The ZIP Code is 93254, and the community is inside

area code 805 Area codes 805 and 820 are telephone area codes in the U.S. state of California. 805 was split from area code 213 in 1957. They include most or all of the California counties of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, plus the southernmost por ...

. The population was 57 at the 2010 census. The name "Cuyama" comes from an Indian village named Kuyam. Cuyama is located on California State Route 166 2.5 miles (4 km) east of its much larger neighbor

New Cuyama New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

. South of the town is the

Sierra Madre Sierra Madre (Spanish, 'mother mountain range') may refer to: Places and mountains Mexico *Sierra Madre Occidental, a mountain range in northwestern Mexico and southern Arizona *Sierra Madre Oriental, a mountain range in northeastern Mexico *S ...

mountain range, most of which is included in the

Los Padres National Forest Los Padres National Forest is a United States national forest in southern and central California. Administered by the United States Forest Service, Los Padres includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast from Ventura to Mo ...

. Considerable oil and gas development has taken place at the South Cuyama Oil Field in the foothills of the Sierra Madre, just south of Cuyama and adjacent

. In July 2005, 52,000 acres (210 km²) in Los Padres National Forest, mostly in the region immediately south of Cuyama, was opened up to further development by the National Forest Service.

History

Rancho Cuyama, which consisted of 22,200 acres, was granted to Jose Maria Rojo in 1843. In 1943, Richfield Oil Company started oil exploration in the area, followed by the Norris Oil Company five years later. In 1952, Atlantic Richfield established New Cuyama four miles west of Cuyama to house its employees.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the CDP covers an area of 0.5 square miles (1.2 km²), 99.04% of it land, and 0.96% of it water.

Climate

This region experiences hot and dry summers, with the warmest month having a daily mean of . According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Cuyama has a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps.

Demographics

The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servi ...

reported that Cuyama had a population of 57. The population density was . The racial makeup of Cuyama was 40 (70.2%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0 (0.0%)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 2 (3.5%) Native American, 0 (0.0%)

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0 (0.0%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 14 (24.6%) from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1 (1.8%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 40 persons (70.2%). The Census reported that 57 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 20 households, out of which 7 (35.0%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 9 (45.0%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1 (5.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 2 (10.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 2 (10.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 0 (0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 6 households (30.0%) were made up of individuals, and 2 (10.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85. There were 12

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...

(60.0% of all households); the average family size was 3.75. The population was spread out, with 14 people (24.6%) under the age of 18, 8 people (14.0%) aged 18 to 24, 13 people (22.8%) aged 25 to 44, 17 people (29.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 5 people (8.8%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 137.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 152.9 males. There were 30 housing units at an average density of , of which 10 (50.0%) were owner-occupied, and 10 (50.0%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0%; the rental vacancy rate was 23.1%. 27 people (47.4% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 30 people (52.6%) lived in rental housing units.

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Santa Barbara County, California Cuyama Valley Populated places established in 1952 1952 establishments in California Census-designated places in California