Manhole Covers of New Cuyama, California

Created 27 January 2011

This page was last updated on 27 January 2011.
All photos copyrighted by David L. Magney 2007-2011.



Manhole Covers of New Cuyama, Santa Barbara County, California

New Cuyama is a small rural community in northeastern Santa Barbara County in the Cuyama Valley, at an average elevation of 2,142 feet above sea level.   New Cuyama was founded in 1951.   New Cuyama was named after the Cuyama Valley/Cuyama River, and Cuyama derived from a Chumash word for clams.   New Cuyama currently had a population of about 562 people (2000) and 1,100 in 2008.   The Spanish settled the Cuyama Valley with Mexican land grants issued in the 1840s.


New Cuyama was originally settled by the Yokut and Chumash Indians, who where largely replaced by Spanish emigrants under Spanish colonization in the early 1800s.   New Cuyama is the center of a alfalfa and carrot growing area, also with a number a few vineyards and oil drilling nearby.   Oil was discovered in the South Cuyama Oil Field in 1952, by the Atlantic Richfield Company.   Historically, New Cuyama has been important for growing grains and raising livestock.

New Cuyama has grown quite a bit in the last 20 years.   Crops grown included alfalfa, tomatoes, carrots, pecans, grapes, and apricots.   The median household income for New Cuyama residents is unknown and the per capita income is also unknown.

One highway passes through New Cuyama, State Route 166.   New Cuyama has a hot and dry climate, with rare snow in the winter, with a summer average high temperature of 94 degrees F (that is pretty warm) and average winter low of 32 degrees F (that is fairly cold).   The average annual rainfall is just 8 inches, which makes it high desert.   The Cuyama River passes through the community.   Additional information about New Cuyama can be found at New Cuyama Info.



I found a total of 2 varieties of manhole cover in New Cuyama.



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