Jalama Creek and the historic Jalama station are derived from the Purisimeño Chumash village named "Xalam", meaning "bundle".

[3] The Jalama Creek watershed drains 24 square miles (62 km2) of the western Santa Ynez Mountains.

Jalama Creek and its estuary are home to federally endangered Southern California steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

[5][6][7] In 2017, The Nature Conservancy purchased 24,329 acres of land in the area, now renamed the Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve, which covers 97% of the Jalama Creek watershed.

[7] The Nature Conservancy removed two dams on lower Jalama Creek, restoring access for steelhead trout to 12.3 miles (19.8 km) of the stream.