Tag: Cholame
Cholame, California /ʃəˈlæm/ 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°43′26″N 120°17′44″W / 35.72389°N 120.29556°W / 35.72389; -120.29556. Cholame is reached via State Route 41, just southwest 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 junction 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 550 Spyder approaching in the oncoming lane. On September 30, 2005, the State of California officially commemorated the 50th anniversary of Dean’s death by naming State Highways 41…
