Garza Creek
Garza Creek, originally El Arroyo de las Garzas (The Creek of the Herons). Its source on the north slope of Zwang Peak of the Diablo Range, in Kings County.
| Garza Creek | |
|---|---|
| Etymology | Spanish |
| Native name | El Arroyo de las Garzas |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| Region | Kings County |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | source |
| • location | on the north slope of Zwang Peak of the Diablo Range., Kings County, California |
| • coordinates | 35°56′53″N 120°15′01″W[1] |
| • elevation | 3,081 ft (939 m) |
| Mouth | mouth |
• location | terminates in the Kettleman Plain, 1.6 miles south of Kettleman Station., Kings County, California |
• coordinates | 36°01′37″N 120°11′08″W[1] |
• elevation | 778 ft (237 m)[1] |
It flows east-northeast through Kreyenhagen Hills to terminate in the Kettleman Plain, 3.6 miles west northwest of Avenal in the San Joaquin Valley.[1]
History
Arroyo de las Garzas was a watering place on the route of the El Camino Viejo in the San Joaquin Valley between Arroyo de Las Canoas and Alamo Solo Spring, in what is now Kings County.
This creek was the place first settled by Dave Kettelman, a 49er that went back to the Missouri River, and returned with a herd of cattle, which he pastured on his ranch in the Kettleman Plain and the Kettleman Hills west of Tulare Lake.[2]
His name was later given to Kettleman Station, Kettleman City and the Kettleman North Dome Oil Field.[3]
References
- U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Garza Creek
- Erwin G. Gudde, William Bright, California Place Names: The Origin and Etymology of Current Geographical Names, University of California Press, 2004, Page 193 (J. W. Beebe).
- Mildred Brooke Hoover, Douglas E. Kyle, Historic spots in California Stanford University, Stanford, 2002, p.139