Avenal, California
| Avenal, California | |
|---|---|
| City | |
Avenal Theater
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 Location in Kings County and the state of California |
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 Avenal, California
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| Coordinates: 36°00′15″N 120°07′44″W / 36.00417°N 120.12889°WCoordinates: 36°00′15″N 120°07′44″W / 36.00417°N 120.12889°W | |
| Country |  United States of America |
| State |
 California
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| County |
 Kings
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| Incorporated | September 11, 1979 |
| Government | |
| • City Manager | Melissa Whitten |
| Area | |
| • Total | 19.422 sq mi (50.302 km2) |
| • Land | 19.422 sq mi (50.302 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) 0% |
| Elevation | 807 ft (246 m) |
| Population (2016) | |
| • Total | 12,373 |
| • Density | 640/sq mi (250/km2) |
| Time zone | Pacific (PST) (UTC-8) |
| • Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) |
| ZIP code | 93204 |
| Area code | 559 |
| FIPS code | 06-03302 |
| GNIS feature IDs | 1660285, 2409764 |
Avenal is a city in Kings County, California, United States. Avenal is located 35 miles (56 km) southwest of Hanford, at an elevation of 807 feet (246 m). It is part of the Hanford–Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA Code 25260), which encompasses all of Kings County. In area, it is the largest city in Kings County. The Zip Code for this community is 93204, and telephone numbers use the sequence (559) 386-XXXX. The population was 15,505 in the 2010 census, which includes inmates at the Avenal State Prison, the first prison actively solicited by a community in the state of California. Many of the remaining residents largely either work at the prison or in the agriculture industry. The prison provides approximately 1,000 jobs to residents. The California Department of Finance estimated that Avenal's population was 13,159 on January 1, 2015. As of that date, Avenal State Prison held 4,165 inmates, which was about 32% of the total population of Avenal. Inmates are counted as city residents by both the United States Census and the California Department of Finance.
The City of Avenal was named by Spanish soldiers and explorers. In Spanish, "avena" means oats, and "avenal" means oatfield. This area was covered with wild oats, "waist high," that looked like golden silk and covered the Kettleman Plains.
Early American settlers arrived in the Kettleman Hills during the 1850s with dreams of raising cattle and farming. Oil, however, would bring fame, fortune and people to the area. Native Americans had always known oil was in the hills, with natural seepage around Coalinga and Tar Canyon. The first Kettleman Hills well was drilled in 1900, followed by countless unproductive efforts.
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