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

* Pentateuch (dis ...

: ''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 counte ...

Santa Barbara County Santa Barbara County, officially the County of Santa Barbara (), is a county located in Southern California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa M ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. 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 d ...

, near the

Carrizo Plain The Carrizo Plain ( Obispeño: ''tšɨłkukunɨtš'', "Place of the rabbits") is a large enclosed grassland plain, approximately long and up to across, in southeastern San Luis Obispo County, California, United States, about northwest of Lo ...

. The

Cuyama River The Cuyama River (Chumashan languages, 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, ...

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

apricot An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''. Usually an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and Agriculture, cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called necta ...

, and

plum A plum is a fruit of some species in Prunus subg. Prunus, ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are often called prunes, though in the United States they may be labeled as 'dried plums', especially during the 21st century. Plums are ...

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 North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the U.S. state of California. The numbering plan area (NPA) includes most or all of the counties of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, and the ...

. 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 State Route 166 (SR 166) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. It connects the Central Coast of California, Central Coast to the southern San Joaquin Valley, running from California State Route 1, State Route 1 in Guadalupe, Califo ...

2.5 miles (4 km) east of its much larger neighbor New Cuyama. South of the town is the Sierra Madre 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 California, southern and central California. Administered by the United States Forest Service, Los Padres includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast ...

. 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 New Cuyama. 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, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, 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 divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Cuyama has a

hot-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps.

Demographics

The 2010 United States Census 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 chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0 (0.0%)

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

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

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 14 (24.6%) from other races, and 1 (1.8%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino 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 ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

(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