Cuyama, California

Cuyama is a census-designated place in Santa Barbara County. California. It is located in the Cuyama Valley, near the Carrizo Plain. The Cuyama River runs adjacent to the town, flowing west towards the Pacific Ocean. Cuyama is surrounded by many apricot, peach, and plum orchards. The ZIP Code is 93254, and the community is inside area code 805. The population was 57 at the 2010 census. The name "Cuyama" comes from an Indian village named for the Chumash word kuyam, meaning "clam" or "freshwater mollusk".Cuyama is located on California State Route 166 2.5 miles 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. 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 in Los Padres National Forest, mostly in the region immediately south of Cuyama, was opened up to further development by the National Forest Service.