Chualar | |
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census-designated place | |
Diablo Mountain View from Chualar
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Location in Monterey County and the state of California |
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Location in the United States | |
Coordinates: 36°34′14″N 121°31′07″W / 36.57056°N 121.51861°WCoordinates: 36°34′14″N 121°31′07″W / 36.57056°N 121.51861°W | |
Country | United States |
State | California |
County | Monterey |
Government | |
• State Senator | Anthony Cannella (R) |
• Assemblymember | Anna Caballero (D) |
• U. S. Rep. | Jimmy Panetta (D) |
Area | |
• Total | 0.626 sq mi (1.622 km2) |
• Land | 0.626 sq mi (1.622 km2) |
• Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) 0% |
Elevation | 115 ft (35 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 1,190 |
• Density | 1,900/sq mi (730/km2) |
Time zone | PST (UTC-8) |
• Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) |
ZIP code | 93925 |
Area code(s) | 831 |
FIPS code | 06-13364 |
GNIS feature IDs | 1655896, 2407612 |
Chualar is a census-designated place (CDP) in the Salinas Valley of Monterey County, California. Chualar is located 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Salinas, at an elevation of 115 feet (35 m). The population was 1,190 at the 2010 census, down from 1,444 at the 2000 census.
Chualar is located at 36°34′14″N 121°31′07″W / 36.57056°N 121.51861°W.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 0.6 square miles (1.6 km2), all of it land.
In her Spanish and Indian Place Names of California (1914) Sanchez states that Chualar was the indigenous word for an abundant and native goosefoot. This plant could possibly be Chenopodium californicum, the California goosefoot (also known as pigweed). In his 1500 California Place Names (1998), William Bright writes that the name is Spanish for "where the chual grows," chual being Mexican Spanish for pigweed or goosefoot, and derived ultimately from Nahuatl tzoalli.
The Chualar post office opened in 1871, closed in 1873, and re-opened in 1874.
At a railroad crossing about one mile south of town, a bus carrying Mexican migrant workers collided with a train in September 1963, killing 32 passengers and injuring 25. It was the most serious road accident in U.S. history, and helped spur abolition of the bracero guest worker program. The portion of U.S. Route 101 where the accident occurred was named "Bracero Memorial Highway" at the 50th anniversary of the accident in 2013. At that time two survivors of the crash were still alive. n