The territory of the Mariposan family is quite irregular in outline. On
the north it is bounded by the Fresno River up to the point of its
junction with the San Joaquin; thence by a line running to the northeast
corner of the Salinan territory in San Benito County, California; on the
west by a line running from San Benito to Mount Pinos. From the middle
of the western shore of Tulare Lake to the ridge at Mount Pinos on the
south, the Mariposan area is merely a narrow strip in and along the
foothills. Occupying one-half of the western and all the southern shore
of Tulare Lake, and bounded on the north by a line running from the
southeast corner of Tulare Lake due east to the first great spur of the
Sierra Nevada range is the territory of the intrusive Shoshoni. On the
east the secondary range of the Sierra Nevada forms the Mariposan
boundary.
In addition to the above a small strip of territory on the eastern
bank of the San Joaquin is occupied by the Cholovone division of the
Mariposan family, between the Tuolumne and the point where the San
Joaquin turns to the west before entering Suisun Bay.