| Cuyama River | |
|---|---|
 Cuyama River upstream of Twitchell Reservoir | |
 Map of the Santa Maria River watershed, including the Cuyama River | |
  Location of the Cuyama River in California | |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Confluence of Alamo Creek and Dry Canyon Creek |
| • location | Near Ventucopa, Ventura County |
| • coordinates | 34°41′25″N 119°17′33″W / 34.69028°N 119.29250°W[1] |
| • elevation | 3,807 ft (1,160 m) |
| Mouth | Santa Maria River |
• location | near Garey, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties |
• coordinates | 34°54′11″N 120°18′45″W / 34.90306°N 120.31250°W[1] |
• elevation | 354 ft (108 m) |
| Length | 118 mi (190 km) |
| Basin size | 1,132 sq mi (2,930 km2) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | Above Twitchell Reservoir[2] |
| • average | 23.1 cu ft/s (0.65 m3/s)[3] |
| • minimum | 0 cu ft/s (0 m3/s) |
| • maximum | 26,200 cu ft/s (740 m3/s) |
| Basin features | |
| Tributaries | |
| • left | Santa Barbara Creek, Cottonwood Creek (Cuyama River), Mustang Creek, Pine Creek (Cuyama River) |
| • right | Quatal Creek, Huasna River |
The Cuyama River (Chumash: Kuyam, meaning "Clam")[4] is a 118-mile-long (190 km)[5] river in southern San Luis Obispo County, northern Santa Barbara County, and northern Ventura County, in the U.S. state of California. It joins the Sisquoc River forming the Santa Maria River. The river's name comes from an Indian village named for the Chumash word kuyam, meaning "clam" or "freshwater mollusk".[6]
- ^ a b "Cuyama River". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. 1981-01-19. Retrieved 2016-12-07.
- ^ "USGS Gage #11136800 on the Cuyama River near Santa Maria, CA" (PDF). National Water Information System. U.S. Geological Survey. 1960–2013. Retrieved 2016-12-07.
- ^ "USGS Gage #11136800 on the Cuyama River near Santa Maria, CA" (PDF). National Water Information System. U.S. Geological Survey. 1960–2013. Retrieved 2016-12-07.
- ^ Bright, William; Erwin G. Gudde (1998). 1500 California Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning. University of California Press. p. 46. ISBN 0-520-21271-1.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map Archived 2012-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, accessed March 15, 2011
- ^ Bright, William; Erwin G. Gudde (1998). 1500 California Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning. University of California Press. p. 46. ISBN 0-520-21271-1.