Garza Creek, originally El Arroyo de las Garzas (The Creek of the Herons). Its source on the north slope of Zwang Peak

Zwang Peak

Zwang Peak is a mountain in the Diablo Range, 8 miles southwest of Avenal, and about 12 miles from Interstate 5 in Kings County, California. Its summit is at an elevation of 3,081 feet. The peak was named for cattle rancher Jake Zwang , who came to the area in 1906 to start a cattle ranch...

 in Kings County

Kings County, California

Kings County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. It is located in a rich agricultural region. Kings County is also home to NAS Lemoore, which is the U.S. Navy's newest and largest master jet air station. The county seat is Hanford...

. It flows east-northeast through Kreyenhagen Hills

Kreyenhagen Hills

The Kreyenhagen Hills are a mountain range in Fresno County, California....

 to terminate in the Kettleman Plain, 3.6 miles west northwest of Avenal

Avenal, California

Avenal is a city in Kings County, California, United States. Avenal is located southwest of Hanford, at an elevation of 807 feet . It is part of the Hanford–Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area , which encompasses all of Kings County. In area, it is the largest city in Kings County...

.

History

Arroyo de las Garzas was a watering place on the route of the El Camino Viejo

El Camino Viejo

El Camino Viejo à Los Angeles , also known as the Old Los Angeles Trail, established in 1820's, was the oldest north-south trail in the interior of Alta California...

 in the San Joaquin Valley

San Joaquin Valley

The San Joaquin Valley is the area of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta in Stockton...

 between Arroyo de Las Canoas and Alamo Solo, in what is now Kings County. This creek was the place first settled by Dave Kettleman, a 49er

49er

49er: A prospector or other settler that came in the California Gold Rush who arrived before or during 1849, the early part of the rush, before the state was established.49er also may refer to:- Sports :...

 that went back to the Missouri River

Missouri River

The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...

, and returned with a herd of cattle, which he pastured on his ranch in the Kettleman Plain and the Kettleman Hills

Kettleman Hills

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....

 west of Tulare Lake

Tulare Lake

Tulare Lake, named Laguna de Tache by the Spanish, is a fresh-water dry lake with residual wetlands and marshes in southern San Joaquin Valley, California...

. His name was later given to Kettleman Station, Kettleman City and the Kettleman Oil Feild.