Los Banos

Geography

Los Banos is located on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, southwest of Merced. The city is at the intersection of California State Route 152 and California State Route 165. to the west is Interstate 5, which extends north–south between Canada and Mexico. The San Luis Reservoir and the Diablo Range are farther to the west. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which (1.22%) is covered by water. Los Banos sits on the southwestern edge of extensive national and state game refuges; these wetlands support waterfowl and other wildlife habitat along a stretch of the San Joaquin River that still carries water and the Grassland Ecological Area, home to rare California grasslands habitat. The San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex includes San Luis National Wildlife Refuge, which includes the Kesterson Unit, East Bear Creek, West Bear Creek, and Blue Goose Unit. Nearby are the Merced National Wildlife Refuge and the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge. Fishers, hunters, birdwatchers, and other recreational users come to Los Banos year round. Los Banos has a semiarid climate (Köppen climate classification: BSk) with cool winters and hot summers. Most of the precipitation falls in the winter. Gusty winds are common in the late afternoon, especially in the vicinity of nearby Pacheco Pass. On average, 97.1 days have highs of or higher, and 15.5 days have lows of or lower. |source 2 = National Weather Service }}

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Red-tailed Hawk

  Buteo jamaicensis (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  5,521
• Great Egret

  Ardea alba Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,776
• Black Phoebe

  Sayornis nigricans (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  4,710
• American Coot

  Fulica americana Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  4,644
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  4,410
• Killdeer

  Charadrius vociferus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,390
• White-crowned Sparrow

  Zonotrichia leucophrys (J.R.Forster, 1772) · Aves
  4,286
• Black-necked Stilt

  Himantopus mexicanus (P.L.S.Müller, 1776) · Aves
  4,241

Most recent

• M 2.54 — 2026-10-15
  10 km ESE of Gilroy, CA
• M 2.6 — 2026-09-27
  26 km WSW of Westley, CA
• M 3.32 — 2026-09-27
  27 km WSW of Westley, CA
• M 2.56 — 2026-09-23
  2 km NW of Hollister, CA
• M 2.51 — 2026-09-19
  10 km ENE of Milpitas, CA
• M 2.53 — 2026-09-17
  2 km ENE of Aromas, CA