Tulare, California | |
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City | |
Location in Tulare County and the state of California |
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Location in the United States | |
Coordinates: 36°12′24″N 119°20′33″W / 36.20667°N 119.34250°WCoordinates: 36°12′24″N 119°20′33″W / 36.20667°N 119.34250°W | |
Country | United States of America |
State | California |
County | Tulare |
Region | San Joaquin Valley |
Incorporated | April 5, 1888 |
Government | |
• Mayor | Carlton Jones |
• City council |
Mayor Carlton Jones, Vice Mayor Maritsa Castellanoz, Jose Sigala, David Macedo, and Greg Nunley |
• City manager | Joseph V. Carlini |
• Finance Director / Treasurer | Darlene Thompson |
Area | |
• Total | 21.016 sq mi (54.433 km2) |
• Land | 20.931 sq mi (54.212 km2) |
• Water | 0.085 sq mi (0.221 km2) 0.41% |
Elevation | 289 ft (88 m) |
Population (April 1, 2010) | |
• Total | 59,278 |
• Estimate (2013) | 61,170 |
• Density | 2,800/sq mi (1,100/km2) |
Time zone | Pacific (PST) (UTC-8) |
• Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) |
ZIP codes | 93274, 93275 |
Area code(s) | 559 |
FIPS code | 06-80644 |
GNIS feature IDs | 1652803, 2412107 |
Website | www |
Tulare (/tᵿˈlɛəri/ too-LAIR-ee) is a city in Tulare County, California. The population was 59,278 at the 2010 census.
Tulare is located in the heart of the Central Valley, eight miles south of Visalia and sixty miles north of Bakersfield. The city is named for the currently dry Tulare Lake, once the largest freshwater lake west of the Great Lakes. The city's mission statement is: "To promote a quality of life making Tulare the most desirable community in which to live, learn, play, work, worship and prosper." The seaport is 170 miles (270 km) away, and the Sacramento port is 207 miles (333 km) away. The Los Angeles and San Francisco ports are each approximately 200 miles (320 km) away, making Tulare a hub or central location for product movement.
The English name Tulare derives ultimately from Classical Nahuatl tōllin, "sedge" or "reeds", by way of Spanish , which also exists in English as a loanword. The name is cognate with Tula, Tultepec, and Tultitlán de Mariano Escobedo.
The Yokuts people built reed boats and fished in what was later to be called Tulare Lake in their homeland for centuries, until the invasion and settlement by the Spanish and American pioneers. When California became a state in 1850, Tulare did not yet exist as a town. Tulare was founded in 1872, by the Southern Pacific Railroad. The town was named for Lake Tulare. The lake had been named for the tule rush plant (Schoenoplectus acutus) (pictured left), a species of bulrush that predominantly lined the marshes and sloughs of its shore.