Kettleman Hills Explained

Kettleman Hills
Country:United States
State:California
District:Kings County
Topo Map:La Cima
Topo Maker:USGS
Range Coordinates:36.0038°N -120.0571°W
Elevation M:415
Map:California
Map Relief:yes
Map Size:220

The Kettleman Hills is a low mountain range of the interior California Coast Ranges, in western Kings County, California. It is a northwest–southeast trending line of hills about 30 miles long which parallels the San Andreas Fault to the west.

The Kettleman Hills are named (though misspelled) after Dave Kettelman, a pioneer sheep and cattle rancher who grazed his animals there in the 1860s.[1] The hills, which rise to an elevation of approximately 1200feet, divide the San Joaquin Valley on the east from the much smaller Kettleman Plain to the west. They are the location of the Kettleman North Dome Oil Field.

The Kettleman Hills Hazardous Waste Facility, a large hazardous waste and municipal solid waste disposal facility operated by Waste Management, Inc., is located 3.5miles southwest of Kettleman City on State Route 41.

Notes and References

  1. Brown, Robert R. and Richmond, J.E., History of Kings County, p.123, A.H. Cawston, Hanford, CA, 1940