Caliente is an unincorporated community

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in Kern County

Kern County, California

Spreading across the southern end of the California Central Valley, Kern County is the fifth-largest county by population in California. Its economy is heavily linked to agriculture and to petroleum extraction, and there is a strong aviation and space presence. Politically, it has generally...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. It is located 22 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Bakersfield

Bakersfield, California

Bakersfield is a city near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County, California. It is roughly equidistant between Fresno and Los Angeles, to the north and south respectively....

, at an elevation of 1312 feet (400 m).

Caliente has a population of 1,019. Telephone numbers in Caliente follow the format (661

Area code 661

North American area code 661 covers the majority of California's Kern County, as well as part of Los Angeles County, Santa Barbara County, and Tulare County...

) 867-xxxx and the ZIP Code is 93518. It is located south of a small community named Walker Basin

Walker Basin, California

Walker Basin, California, is an isolated community between Havilah and Fig Orchard near Sequoia National Forest, Breckenridge Mountain, Centennial Ridge , and Paiute Mountain .-References:...

 in the same telephone exchange area.

History

Established in the 1870s, Caliente was originally named Allens Camp for a cattle rancher and settler named Gabriel Allen. Later, the name Agua Caliente, coming from hot springs in the area, was proposed and may have been used. This name conflicted with the community of the same name

Fetters Hot Springs-Agua Caliente, California

Fetters Hot Springs-Agua Caliente is a census-designated place in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 4,144....

 in Sonoma County

Sonoma County, California

Sonoma County, located on the northern coast of the U.S. state of California, is the largest and northernmost of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. Its population at the 2010 census was 483,878. Its largest city and county seat is Santa Rosa....

. With the railroad's arrival in 1875, the shortened name Caliente was adopted.

The Caliente post office opened in 1875, closed in 1993, and was re-established in 1890.

Bealville

Bealville, California

Bealville is an unincorporated community in Kern County, California. It is located on the Southern Pacific Railroad south of Caliente, at an elevation of 1811 feet ....

 is a district about one mile (1.6 km) to the south toward SR58

California State Route 58

State Route 58 is an east-west highway across the California Coast Ranges, the southern San Joaquin Valley, the Tehachapi Mountains, which border the southern Sierra Nevada, and the Mojave Desert. It runs between its western terminus near Santa Margarita and its eastern terminus at Barstow...

 and along Caliente-Bodfish Road. It is named for Edward Fitzgerald Beale

Edward Fitzgerald Beale

Edward Fitzgerald "Ned" Beale was a national figure in 19th century America. He was naval officer, military general, explorer, frontiersman, Indian affairs superintendent, California rancher, diplomat, and friend of Kit Carson, Buffalo Bill Cody and Ulysses S. Grant...

who served in the US Army, and also as Superintendent of Indian Affairs for California and Nevada. He was also appointed as US Surveyor General of California. Beale established a home in this area about 1855. The location is commemorated by a State Historic Landmark plaque along Caliente-Bodfish Road.

Today

The sound of diesel locomotives and railroad horns are present day and night. The community is along the track of the Union Pacific Railroad, Mojave Subdivision. The track loops around the post office as it winds through the local hills. Trains climb toward the Tehachapi summit eastbound or descend toward Bakersfield if westbound.

SR58 is about two driving miles south of Caliente.