Map of Chualar CDP

Chualar (Spanish for “Pigweed grove”) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in the Salinas Valley of Monterey County, California, United States. Chualar is located 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Salinas, at an elevation of 115 feet (35 m). The population was 1,185 at the 2020 census.

Chualar CDP overview:
Name:	Chualar CDP
LSAD Code:	57
LSAD Description:	CDP (suffix)
State:	California
County:	Monterey County
Elevation:	115 ft (35 m)
Total Area:	0.63 sq mi (1.62 km²)
Land Area:	0.63 sq mi (1.62 km²)
Water Area:	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km²) 0%
Total Population:	1,185
Population Density:	1,892.97/sq mi (730.71/km²)
ZIP code:	93925
Area code:	831
FIPS code:	0613364

Online Interactive Map

Chualar online map. Source: Basemap layers from Google Map, Open Street Map (OSM), Arcgisonline, Wmflabs. Boundary Data from Database of Global Administrative Areas.

Chualar location map. Where is Chualar CDP?

Chualar location on the U.S. Map. Where is Chualar CDP. — Chualar location on the U.S. Map.

Chualar location on the California map. Where is Chualar CDP. — Location of Chualar in California.

History

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 the abolition of the bracero guest worker program. The portion of U.S. Route 101 where the accident occurred was named the “Bracero Memorial Highway” on the 50th anniversary of the accident in 2013. At that time two survivors of the crash were still alive.

On December 4, 2019, a levee near Chualar was partially breached at 2 pm. Highway 101 was shut down due to the broken levee. Children were stranded at the local school with a few teachers overnight. The levee break also caused a nursing home to be evacuated.

Chualar was once owned by the Johnson family. They ran cattle on their 15,000+ acre ranch.

Chualar Road Map

Chualar city Satellite Map

Geography

Chualar is located in northeastern Monterey County at 36°34′14″N 121°31′07″W / 36.57056°N 121.51861°W / 36.57056; -121.51861. U.S. Route 101 runs along the southwest side of the community, leading northwest to Salinas and southeast 16 miles (26 km) to Soledad.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 0.6 square miles (1.6 km), 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.