The valley widens from the river's entry to a maximum width near the highway junction of Routes 166 and 33, near the corner of the four counties.

To the southeast is the high backcountry of Ventura County, which includes the highest summit in the region, Mount Pinos and other features of the San Emigdio Mountains.

The Los Padres National Forest lands are adjacent to the Cuyama Valley on the south, east, and northwest sides.

The large Morales Thrust Fault separates the abruptly-rising block of the Caliente Range from the valley itself on the north.

[1] In addition to kuyam, other Chumash communities in the Cuyama Valley included Sxaliwilimu’, Lishawato’w, and Tsiwikon.

This put pressure on native Christians to produce more and to pay a tax to sustain the suddenly unpaid military.

As a result, Cuyama Valley people made a transition to mission life at a tense time.

The main land use in the second half of the 19th century was cattle grazing, although some homesteading took place in the latter part, especially in the side canyons where there was more water.

The principal native vegetation on the valley floor is grassland and scrub, with chaparral and oak woodland in the hills to the south.

[10] In May 2024, the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden received $818,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to start a farmland-restoration project in the valley to attempt to revert the water scarcity.