New Cuyama, Santa Barbara County, CA
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Cuyama,_California
New Cuyama is located very close to the intersection points for Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Ventura and Kern counties.
The area was considered territory of the Yokuts people, but Chumash Indians from the Pacific Coast are also known to have frequented the area. The imprint of an old Indian trail can still be seen leading over the hills of present-day Ventura County to the headwaters of Piru Creek.
The name "Cuyama" comes from an Indian village named for the Chumash word kuyam, meaning "clam" or "freshwater mollusk," most likely due to the millions of petrified prehistoric clamshell fossils that are found in the surrounding areas.
The area's recorded history dates to 1822 when Mexico won independence from Spain and took over the Spanish colony of Alta California. Two Mexican land grants, the Rancho Cuyama (Lataillade) and Rancho Cuyama (Rojo), were granted in the 1840s by Governors Manuel Micheltorena and Pío Pico in the lower Cuyama Valley along the Cuyama River, where current New Cuyama is, privatizing ownership of the land.
Following the 1949 discovery of oil at the South Cuyama Oil Field, in 1952 the Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) settled and developed the town of New Cuyama, building housing and associated commercial business.
The town of New Cuyama was considered the pearl of eastern Santa Barbara County, due to the flow of oil that was coming out of the region. During this time Richfield Oil Company built the town, funded schools and provided all the important utilities other than electricity. Now that oil and gas production have declined, the principal industry is once again agriculture.
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Cuyama Buckhorn Motel, New Cuyama, CA
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Cottonwood Canyon, Cuyama Valley, CA
Turn south off Highway 166 onto Cottonwood Canyon Road and continue south to Foothill Road. Turn right (west) on Foothill Rd. following the sign to White Oaks Station and Bates Canyon Campground. Bates Camp is about a 10-mile drive south from 166.
Beyond Bates Camp the road is unpaved but it is possible to drive to the top and along the Sierra Madre Mountains east to McPherson Peak (5749’), although low clearance vehicles should avoid the road beyond Bates campground.
Specialty Birds: Golden Eagle, Northern Pygmy-Owl, Costa's Hummingbird, Cassin's Vireo, Yellow-billed Magpie, Phainopepla, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Black-chinned Sparrow, Bell’s Sparrow, Bullock's Oriole
Look for Phainopepla, Bullock’s Oriole and Purple Finch among other oak forest birds. a devastating fire burned much of the area down to Bates Camp, but the habitat is growing back. Spring migrants often move along this transverse ridge so the birding can be prolific in April and May. A view from the ridge top is a spectacular sight! Although exceedingly rare, this is California Condor country. Condors have been released from Lion Canyon located southeast of Cottonwood Canyon near New Cuyama.
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Pacific Gopher Snake, Cottonwood Canyon, Cuyama Valley, CA
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Pacific Gopher Snake, Cottonwood Canyon, Cuyama Valley, CA
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