Cholame, California

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Cholame, California
Cholame, California

Cholame, California is an unincorporated community in San Luis Obispo County, California, USA. It sits within a mile of the San Andreas Rift Zone fault line at an elevation of 1,157 feet (351 m) above sea level and is located at 35.72389° N 120.29556° W. Cholame is reached via State Route 41, just southeast of the junction of Route 46. Rainfall data from a nearby ranch shows that the area around Cholame only receives about eight to nine inches (229 mm) of rain in a normal year.

The town is best known as the place where James Dean died on September 30, 1955. However, Dean actually died at the intersection of State Highways 41 and 46 located one mile to the northeast when college student, Donald Turnupseed made a left turn without seeing Dean's Porsche in the oncoming lane. On September 30, 2005, the fiftieth anniversary of Dean's death, a few hundred people gathered in Cholame to pay tribute to Dean. Cholame has a restaurant and a memorial to James Dean erected on the site by wealthy Japanese businessman Seita Onishi at the base of a tree.

The ZIP Code is 93461. The community is inside area code 805.

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