Kern County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's pop ...

. Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California,

Metropolitan statistical area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

. The county spans the southern end of the Central Valley. Covering , it ranges west to the southern slope of the

Coast Ranges The Pacific Coast Ranges (officially gazetted as the Pacific Mountain System in the United States) are the series of mountain ranges that stretch along the West Coast of North America from Alaska south to Northern and Central Mexico. Although ...

, and east beyond the southern slope of the eastern

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primar ...

into the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily ...

, at the city of Ridgecrest. Its northernmost city is

Delano Delano or DeLano may refer to: Places in the United States * Delano, California * Delano, Wichita, Kansas, a neighborhood in Wichita and former community before merging with Wichita * Delano, Minnesota * Delano, Nevada * Delano, Pennsylvania * De ...

, and its southern reach extends to just beyond Frazier Park, and the northern extremity of the parallel

Antelope Valley The Antelope Valley is located in northern Los Angeles County, California, and the southeast portion of Kern County, California, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert. It is situated between the Tehachapi, Sierra Pelona, and ...

. The county's economy is heavily linked to agriculture and to petroleum extraction. There is also a strong aviation, space, and military presence, such as

Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is ...

, the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station, and the

Mojave Air and Space Port The Mojave Air and Space Port at Rutan Field is in Mojave, California, United States, at an elevation of . It is the first facility to be licensed in the United States for horizontal launches of reusable spacecraft, being certified as a sp ...

. With a population that is 54.9% Hispanic as of 2020, Kern is California's third-most populous majority-Hispanic county and the sixth-largest nationwide.

History

Indigenous Era

Native Americans lived in this region for hundreds of years:

Chumash Chumash may refer to: *Chumash (Judaism), a Hebrew word for the Pentateuch, used in Judaism *Chumash people, a Native American people of southern California *Chumashan languages, indigenous languages of California See also *Chumash traditional n ...

, tribes grouped together under the settler name

Yokuts The Yokuts (previously known as MariposasPowell, 1891:90–91.) are an ethnic group of Native Americans native to central California. Before European contact, the Yokuts consisted of up to 60 tribes speaking several related languages. ''Yokuts ...

, and others.

Spanish era

Spain claimed the area in 1769. Entering from Grapevine Canyon to the south in 1772, Commander Don Pedro Fages became the first European to set foot in the area. The Battle of San Emigdio took place in Kern County in March 1824. The

Native Americans of

Mission Santa Barbara Mission Santa Barbara ( es, link=no, Misión de Santa Bárbara) is a Spanish mission in Santa Barbara, California. Often referred to as the ‘Queen of the Missions,’ it was founded by Padre Fermín Lasuén for the Franciscan order on December ...

rebelled against the Mexican government and its taking over mission property and ejecting the natives. The battle occurred in the canyon where San Emigdio Creek flows down San Emigdio Mountain and the Blue Ridge, south of Bakersfield near today's Highway 166. Mexican forces from

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under bot ...

were commanded by Carlos Carrillo and the conflict was a low-casualty encounter, with only four Native Americans being killed and no Mexicans. The surviving Native Americans were pacified and brought back to Santa Barbara in June 1824 after a pursuit and negotiation in which many were allowed to keep their arms for the return march over the mountains.

American era

In the beginning, what was to become Kern County was dominated by mining in the mountains and in the desert. In 1855 the California legislature attempted to form a county in the area by giving the southeastern territory of Tulare County on the west of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Buena Vista County. However, it was never officially organized prior to 1859, when the enabling legislation expired. The south of Tulare County was later organized as Kern County in 1866, with additions from

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

and San Bernardino Counties. Its first county seat was the mining town of

Havilah Havilah ( ''Ḥăwīlāh'') refers to both a land and people in several books of the Bible; the one mentioned in , while the other is mentioned in . Biblical mentions In one case, Havilah is associated with the Garden of Eden, that mentioned in ...

, in the mountains east of Bakersfield and north of Tehachapi. Settlers considered the flat land of the valley inhospitable and impassable at the time due to swamps, lakes, tule reeds and diseases such as malaria. This changed when residents started draining land for farming and constructing canals, most dug by hired Chinese laborers. Within 10 years the valley surpassed the mining areas as the economic power of the county, and as a result the county seat was moved from Havilah to Bakersfield in 1874. In 1899, the discovery well of the

Kern River Oil Field The Kern River Oil Field is a large oil field in Kern County in the San Joaquin Valley of California, north-northeast of Bakersfield in the lower Sierra foothills. Yielding a cumulative production of close to of oil by the end of 2006, it is ...

was dug by hand and soon the towns of Oil City,

Oil Center An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

and

Oildale Oildale is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kern County, California, United States. Oildale is located north-northwest of downtown Bakersfield, at an elevation of . The population was 32,684 at the 2010 census, up from 27,885 at the 2000 cens ...

came into existence.

Etymology

The county derives its name from the

Kern River The Kern River, previously Rio de San Felipe, later La Porciuncula, is an Endangered, Wild and Scenic river in the U.S. state of California, approximately long. It drains an area of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains northeast of Bakersfie ...

, which was named for

Edward Kern Edward Meyer Kern (October 26, 1822 or 1823 – November 25, 1863) was an American artist, topographer, and explorer of California, the Southwestern United States, and East Asia. He is the namesake of the Kern River and Kern County, California. ...

cartographer Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an ...

for General

John C. Frémont John Charles Frémont or Fremont (January 21, 1813July 13, 1890) was an American explorer, military officer, and politician. He was a U.S. Senator from California and was the first Republican nominee for president of the United States in 1856 ...

's 1845 expedition, which crossed

Walker Pass Walker Pass (el. ) is a mountain pass by Lake Isabella in the southern Sierra Nevada. It is located in northeastern Kern County, approximately 53 mi (85 km) ENE of Bakersfield and 10 mi (16 km) WNW of Ridgecrest. The pass pr ...

. The Kern River was originally named Rio Bravo de San Felipe by Father

Francisco Garcés Francisco Hermenegildo Tomás Garcés (April 12, 1738 – July 18, 1781) was a Spanish Franciscan friar who served as a missionary and explorer in the colonial Viceroyalty of New Spain. He explored much of the southwestern region of North Am ...

when he explored the area in 1776.

Earthquakes

Throughout recorded history, severe earthquakes have struck Kern County, including the

1857 Fort Tejon earthquake The 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake occurred at about 8:20 a.m. (Pacific time) on January 9 in central and Southern California. One of the largest recorded earthquakes in the United States, with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9, it ruptured ...

. On July 21, 1952, an earthquake occurred with the

epicenter The epicenter, epicentre () or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates. Surface damage Before the instrumental pe ...

about south of Bakersfield. It measured 7.3 on the

moment magnitude scale The moment magnitude scale (MMS; denoted explicitly with or Mw, and generally implied with use of a single M for magnitude) is a measure of an earthquake's magnitude ("size" or strength) based on its seismic moment. It was defined in a 1979 pa ...

and killed 12 people. In addition to the deaths, it was responsible for hundreds of injuries and more than $60 million in property damage. The main shock was felt over much of California and as far away as Phoenix, Arizona and Reno, Nevada. The earthquake occurred on the White Wolf Fault and was the strongest to occur in California since the

1906 San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity ...

. Tehachapi suffered the greatest damage and loss of life from the earthquake, though its effects were widely felt throughout central and southern California. The event had a significant

aftershock In seismology, an aftershock is a smaller earthquake that follows a larger earthquake, in the same area of the main shock, caused as the displaced crust adjusts to the effects of the main shock. Large earthquakes can have hundreds to thousa ...

sequence that persisted into July and August with the strongest coming on August 22, an M5.8 event with a maximum perceived intensity of VIII (Severe) and resulted in two additional deaths and an additional $10 million in property damage. Repercussions of the sequence of earthquakes were still being felt in the heavily damaged downtown area of Bakersfield well into the 1990s as city leaders attempted to improve safety of the surviving non-reinforced masonry buildings. Following the event, a field survey was conducted along the fault zone with the goal of estimating the peak ground acceleration of the shock based on visually evaluating rock formations and other indicators. Ground disturbances that were created by the earthquakes were also surveyed, both in the valley and in the foothills, with both vertical and horizontal displacements present in the epicenter area. The motion records that were acquired from the event were significant, and a reconnaissance report was recognized for its coverage of the event, and its setting a standard for similar engineering or scientific papers.

Abuse trials

Between 1983 and 1986, several ritual sex ring child abuse cases occurred in Kern County, resulting in numerous long prison sentences, all of which were overturned—some of them decades later, because the prosecutors had coerced false testimonies from the purported child victims.Truth In Justice
. Accessed January 28, 2008. The details of these false accusations are covered extensively in the 2008 documentary ''Witch Hunt'', narrated by

Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He has won two Academy Awards, for his roles in the mystery drama ''Mystic River'' (2003) and the biopic ''Milk'' (2008). Penn began his acting career in televisi ...

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.4%) is water. It is the third-largest county by area in California. The tallest peak in the county is Sawmill Mountain with an elevation of 8822 ft. Its area is nearly the size of the state of

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

; it extends: * East beyond the southern slope of the Sierra Nevada range into the

, and includes parts of the

Indian Wells Valley Indian Wells Valley is an arid north-south basin in east-central California. In the geologic sense, it is a southern extension of Owens Valley to the north, with the recent volcanics of the Coso Range being the separator. It is defined by a maj ...

and

. * West from the Sierra across the floor of the

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven ...

to the eastern edge of the

Temblor Range The Temblor Range is a mountain range within the California Coast Ranges, at the southwestern extremity of the San Joaquin Valley in California in the United States. It runs in a northwest-southeasterly direction along the borders of Kern County a ...

, part of the

. * South over the ridge of the

Tehachapi Mountains The Tehachapi Mountains (; Kawaiisu: ''Tihachipia'', meaning "hard climb") are a mountain range in the Transverse Ranges system of California in the Western United States. The range extends for approximately in southern Kern County and northwe ...

Air quality

Kern County suffers from severe air pollution. Particulates cause poor visibility, especially in the winter. Western Kern County lies in the

and the topography traps pollutants. Although the topography is not as unfavorable in eastern Kern County, eastern Kern County is a

non-attainment area In United States environmental law, a non-attainment area is an area considered to have air quality worse than the National Ambient Air Quality Standards as defined in the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970 (P.L. 91-604, Sec. 109). Non-attainment are ...

for particulates. Air pollution caused by

particulates Particulates – also known as atmospheric aerosol particles, atmospheric particulate matter, particulate matter (PM) or suspended particulate matter (SPM) – are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. Th ...

is "in the unhealthy range an average of 40 days a year, according to the

American Lung Association The American Lung Association is a voluntary health organization whose mission is to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease through education, advocacy and research. History The organization was founded in 1904 to figh ...

's (ALA) 2018 State of the Air Report.

Vegetation

Chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranea ...

comprises a considerable portion of the natural area within Kern County; the species diversity within these chaparral habitats, however, is considerably less than in many other regions of California. Whitethorn is a prominent example of chaparral species on the rocky slopes of the

as well as the Inner Coastal Ranges. California Buckeye is a notable tree found in both chaparral and forests and whose southern range terminates in Kern County.

National protected areas

* Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge *

Carrizo Plain National Monument The Carrizo Plain ( Obispeño: ''tšɨłkukunɨtš'', "Place of the rabbits") is a large enclosed grassland plain, approximately long and up to across, in southeastern San Luis Obispo County, California, about northwest of Los Angeles. It c ...

(part) * César E. Chávez National Monument *

Giant Sequoia National Monument The Giant Sequoia National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located in the southern Sierra Nevada in eastern central California. It is administered by the U.S. Forest Service as part of the Sequoia National Forest and includes 38 of the 3 ...

(part) *

Kern National Wildlife Refuge Kern National Wildlife Refuge is a protected area located in the southern portion of California's San Joaquin Valley, 20 miles west of the city of Delano Delano or DeLano may refer to: Places in the United States * Delano, California * Dela ...

Los Padres National Forest Los Padres National Forest is a United States national forest in southern and central California. Administered by the United States Forest Service, Los Padres includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast from Ventura to Mo ...

(part) * Sequoia National Forest (part)

Demographics

According to the

2020 United States Census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

, Kern County's population was 909,235. It was the eleventh-largest county by population in California. The

center of population In demographics, the center of population (or population center) of a region is a geographical point that describes a centerpoint of the region's population. There are several ways of defining such a "center point", leading to different geog ...

of California is located in Kern County, in the town of

Buttonwillow Buttonwillow is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in the San Joaquin Valley, in Kern County, California. Buttonwillow is west of Bakersfield, at an elevation of ). The population was 1,508 at the 2010 census, up from 1,266 ...

br>

2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.'' According to the

: *Hispanic (54.9%) *White Non-Hispanic (30.8%) *Black (5.5%) *Asian (5.1%) *Two or more races (16.1%) *Indigenous (2.0%) *Some other race (30.2%) (Total can be greater than 100% because Hispanics may be counted in any race.)

2011

Places by population, race, and income

2010

The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...

reported that Kern County had a population of 839,631. The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of Kern County was 499,766 (59.5%) White, 48,921 (5.8%) African American, 12,676 (1.5%) Native American, 34,846 (4.2%) Asian, 1,252 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 204,314 (24.3%) from other races, and 37,856 (4.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 413,033 persons (49.2%); 43.4% of Kern County residents are of Mexican heritage, 1.0% Salvadoran, 0.5% Colombian, and 0.4% Guatemalan.

2000

According to the

2000 United States Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 c ...

of 2000, there were 661,645 people, 208,652 households, and 156,489 families residing in the county. The population density was 81 people per square mile (31/km²). There were 231,564 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile (11/km²). The

of the county was 61.6% White, 6.0% Black or African American, 3.4% Asian, 1.5% Native American, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 23.2% from other races, and 4.1% from two or more races. 38.4% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 8.4% were of German, 7.2% American and 5.7% Irish ancestry, according to the census. 66.8% spoke English, 29.1% Spanish and 1.0%

Tagalog Tagalog may refer to: Language * Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines ** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language ** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language * Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Taga ...

as their first language. There were 208,652 households, out of which 42.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.6% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.0% were non-families. 20.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.03 and the average family size was 3.50. In the county, the age distribution of the population shows 31.9% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 9.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 105.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.3 males. The median income for a household in the county was $35,446, and the median income for a family was $39,403. Males had a median income of $38,097 versus $25,876 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $15,760. About 16.8% of families and 20.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 27.8% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Kern County is associated with the Bakersfield sound. The

Buck Owens Crystal Palace Buck Owens Crystal Palace (also known as the Crystal Palace and The Palace) is a music hall located in Bakersfield, California. It was constructed by Buck Owens, and was opened in 1996. Primarily it is a performance venue for country western mus ...

is located in Bakersfield.

Metropolitan statistical area

The

United States Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...

has designated Kern County as the Bakersfield, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The

ranked the Bakersfield, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area as the 63rd most populous

metropolitan statistical area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

and the 68th most populous primary statistical area of the United States as of July 1, 2012.

Government, policing, and politics

Government

Kern County is a California Constitution defined general law county and is governed by an elected Board of Supervisors. The Board consists of five members, elected by districts, who serve four-year staggered terms. The county government provides countywide services such as elections and voter registration, some law enforcement, jails, vital records, property records, tax collection, public health, and social services. In addition, the County serves as the local government for all unincorporated areas.

Policing

Sheriff

The Kern County Sheriff provides court protection, jail administration, and coroner services for the entire county of approximately 900,000 in population. It provides patrol and detective services for the unincorporated areas of the county and by contract to certain municipalities. The main Sheriff's office and station is at Bakersfield. There are 15 sheriff substations for the widespread county.

Municipal police

Municipal police departments in the county are: Bakersfield, population 384,000; Delano, 54,000; Ridgecrest, 29,000; Wasco (sheriff contract city), 28,000; Arvin, 21,000; Shafter, 20,000; McFarland, 15,000; California City, 14,671; Tehachapi, 13,000; Taft, 9,327; Maricopa (sheriff contract city), 1,200.

Politics and voter registration

Cities by population and voter registration

Federal

Kern is a strongly

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

county in Presidential and congressional elections. The last Democratic candidate for President to win a majority in the county was

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

. Kern remains the only county in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

that consistently votes Republican in recent elections. However, Republican margins in the county have shrunk recently, with

Donald Trump's Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...

10.2% margin of victory in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

being the smallest since Gerald Ford's 6.7% majority in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

. In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, Kern County is split between , and .

State

In the

State Assembly State Assembly is the name given to various legislatures, especially lower houses or full legislatures in states in federal systems of government. Channel Islands States Assembly is the name of the legislature of the Bailiwick of Jersey. The Bail ...

, Kern County is split between the following four Assembly districts: * * * , and * . In the

State Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

, Kern County is split between , and . On November 4, 2008, Kern County voted 75.29% in favor of

Proposition 8 Proposition 8, known informally as Prop 8, was a California ballot proposition and a state constitutional amendment intended to ban same-sex marriage; it passed in the November 2008 California state elections and was later overturned in cou ...

, which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages.

County

Kern County is governed by a five-member

board of supervisors A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York. There are equivalent agen ...

. As of 2020, they are: * 1st District, Mick Gleason. * 2nd District, Zack Scrivner. * 3rd District, Mike Maggard. * 4th District, David Couch. * 5th District, Leticia Perez.

Crime and public safety

Fire protection within the county is provided by the

Kern County Fire Department The Kern County Fire Department (KCFD) provides fire protection and emergency response services for the unincorporated areas of Kern County, California, and for multiple cities within the county. The department covers an area which spans over . I ...

. Law enforcement within the county is provided by the

Kern County Sheriff's Department The Kern County Sheriff's Office is the agency responsible for law enforcement within Kern County, California, in the United States. The agency provides: law enforcement within the county, maintain the jails used by both the county and municipa ...

Fire

The Kern County Fire Department (KCFD) is an agency that provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the county of Kern, California, USA. Over 625 permanent employees and 100 extra help employees protect an area which spans over . KCFD provides fire protection services for over 500,000 citizens living in the unincorporated areas of Kern County and the cities of

Arvin Arvin is a city in Kern County, California. Arvin is located southeast of Bakersfield, at an elevation of . As of the 2010 census, the population was 19,304, up from 12,956 at the 2000 census. In 2007, the United States Environmental Protec ...

, Maricopa,

McFarland McFarland may refer to: People *McFarland (surname) Places in the United States *McFarland, California, a city *McFarland, Kansas, a city *McFarland, Missouri, a ghost town *McFarland, Wisconsin, a village Other uses * USS ''McFarland'' (DD-237) ...

, Ridgecrest, Shafter, Taft, Tehachapi and Wasco. This agency is contracted to provide dispatch services for the California City Fire Department, Kern Ambulance based in Wasco, and Liberty Ambulance of Bakersfield. Over 546 uniformed firefighters are stationed in 46 fire stations throughout the county.

Sheriff's Office

The Kern County Sheriff's Department is the agency responsible for law enforcement within the county of Kern. The department provides law enforcement within the county, maintains the jails used by both the county and municipal cities, and provides search and rescue. The department contains over 1,200 sworn deputies and civilian employees. Its jurisdiction contains all of the unincorporated areas of Kern County, approximately . The department headquarters is located at 1350 Norris Road in Bakersfield. There are 15 additional substations located throughout the county. The metro patrol area is divided into four regions: north, south, east, and west. In 2009, the district attorney claimed "the highest per capita prison commitment rate of any major California county." Kern County contains multiple state and federal prisons, including two private prisons. As a result, the courts have been known to sentence a higher than average number of defendants to long prison sentences to help the local economy. The county is among the most prolific with the death penalty, assigning

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

sentences in 26 cases since 1976. In 2015 Kern County policemen from all departments killed more people per capita than any other American county. Because of the very harsh local criminal justice system, Kern County has been dubbed "the most punitive authoritarian jurisdiction on the west coast" and "

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

of the west". In 2015, it was revealed that the Kern County Sheriff's office engaged in a longstanding program of attempted cash payoffs to women who had accused deputies of sexual assault. In the same year, a civil lawsuit filed by a survivor of a sexual assault committed by Kern County Sheriff's deputy Gabriel Lopez was settled for $1 million. Kern County also holds the distinction of having the most deaths per capita in the US by police shooting per an article published in

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

on December 1, 2015. In 2015 to the date of publication of the article, there have been 13 deaths by police shootings in a county of less than 875,000 population, or 0.016 per thousand persons. By comparison, during the same period of time in New York City, a population 10 times the size with a police force more than 20 times the size, there were 9 such deaths. The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense.

Cities by population and crime rates

Economy

The county has a large agricultural base and is a significant producer of

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon d ...

hydro-electric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

Biomass Biomass is plant-based material used as a fuel for heat or electricity production. It can be in the form of wood, wood residues, energy crops, agricultural residues, and waste from industry, farms, and households. Some people use the terms bio ...

solar power Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovolta ...

, and

wind power Wind power or wind energy is mostly the use of wind turbines to generate electricity. Wind power is a popular, sustainable, renewable energy source that has a much smaller impact on the environment than burning fossil fuels. Historically ...

. Kern is noted for

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2 ...

s, including

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

borate A borate is any of several boron oxyanions, negative ions consisting of boron and oxygen, such as orthoborate , metaborate , or tetraborate ; or any salt with such anions, such as sodium metaborate, and disodium tetraborate . The name also re ...

, and kernite. The largest open pit mine in California, which mines

borax Borax is a salt (ionic compound), a hydrated borate of sodium, with chemical formula often written . It is a colorless crystalline solid, that dissolves in water to make a basic solution. It is commonly available in powder or granular form ...

, is at

Boron Boron is a chemical element with the symbol B and atomic number 5. In its crystalline form it is a brittle, dark, lustrous metalloid; in its amorphous form it is a brown powder. As the lightest element of the '' boron group'' it has t ...

. Rio Tinto Borax. Accessed July 3, 2007. As of October 1, 2016, Kern County contains nearly 25% of California's in-state

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

production, including 1,785 MW of solar power and 3,310 MW of wind power. Kern County is home to the

Tehachapi Energy Storage Project The Tehachapi Energy Storage Project (TSP) is a 8 MW/32 MWh lithium-ion battery-based grid energy storage system at the Monolith Substation of Southern California Edison (SCE) in Tehachapi, California, sufficient to power between 1,600 and 2,400 ...

, which was commissioned in 2014.

Aerospace and military

Department of Defense facilities include

and China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station. As home to

the Air Force's main flight test facility, Kern has been the site of many milestones, including the first

supersonic flight A supersonic aircraft is an aircraft capable of supersonic flight, that is, flying faster than the speed of sound (Mach number 1). Supersonic aircraft were developed in the second half of the twentieth century. Supersonic aircraft have been use ...

and the first landing of the

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program n ...

. The base has brought prosperity to the railroad towns of Mojave and

Rosamond Rosamond is a feminine given name, which may refer to: People *Rosamond Carr (1912–2006), American humanitarian and author *Rosamund Clifford (before 1150 – c. 1176), English mistress of King Henry II * Rosamond Langbridge (1880–1964), Irish ...

. Kern County is also the home of the first inland spaceport in the United States, the

Mojave Spaceport The Mojave Air and Space Port at Rutan Field is in Mojave, California, United States, at an elevation of . It is the first facility to be licensed in the United States for horizontal launches of reusable spacecraft, being certified as a spa ...

Agriculture

This has long been one of the county's biggest industries. Between 2012 and 2013 the produced value of ag products increased 6%, to a total of $6.8 billion. Grape is 31%,

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genu ...

is 17%,

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modulat ...

is 13%, citrus is 11%,

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ...

+ calves and

pistachio The pistachio (, ''Pistacia vera''), a member of the cashew family, is a small tree originating from Central Asia and the Middle East. The tree produces seeds that are widely consumed as food. ''Pistacia vera'' is often confused with other spe ...

are both 7%,

carrot The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in color, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild carrot, ''Daucus carota'', na ...

s are only 6% (but that's 80% of carrots for the entire United States), hay is 4%, and

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

and

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Uni ...

es are both 2%, of that. This is one of the highest-producing locations in the United States for

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the edible flower, flowers, ...

s, and also for

watermelon Watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 varie ...

s. Vegetables are estimated to total $320 million every year. There are about 1,938 farms, at an average size of (however 41% are smaller than ), being the primary employment of 63% of operators. Major producer of

almonds The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...

with production greater than annually. That is third of all the counties, 16% of the state's production. (See also

almond in California California produces 80% of the world's almonds and 100% of the United States commercial supply. Although almonds are not native to California, a hot, dry Mediterranean climate and developed water infrastructure create favorable conditions for c ...

.) Pistachio is another important employer here. The Michailides & Avenot group finds severe boscalid resistance in

isolates {{About, , the linguistics term dealing with languages unrelated to any other language in the world, Language isolate, other uses, Isolate (disambiguation){{!Isolate Isolates is a term used in developmental psychology and family studies, to describ ...

of ''

Alternaria alternata ''Alternaria alternata'' is a fungus which has been recorded causing leaf spot and other diseases on over 380 host species of plant. It is an opportunistic pathogen on numerous hosts causing leaf spots, rots and blights on many plant parts. It ...

'' pathogenic on pistachio here. They find extensive such resistance in a swathe from the center down into the central southern part of the state, but especially here. (See also

Pistachio in California Agriculture is a significant sector in California's economy, producing nearly $50 billion in revenue in 2018. There are more than 400 commodity crops grown across California, including a significant portion of all fruits, vegetables, and nuts ...

and

boscalid in California Agriculture is a significant sector in Economy of California, California's economy, producing nearly $50 billion in revenue in 2018. There are more than 400 commodity crops grown across California, including a significant portion of all fruits, ...

.) The Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter (''Homalodisca vitripennis'') is a major insect pest in this county, including in this county's

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is native to ...

groves. (See also

Glassy-Winged Sharpshooter in California Agriculture is a significant sector in Economy of California, California's economy, producing nearly $50 billion in revenue in 2018. There are more than 400 commodity crops grown across California, including a significant portion of all fruits, ...

Petroleum

, Kern is California's top oil-producing county, with 78% of the state's 56,653 active

oil well An oil well is a drillhole boring in Earth that is designed to bring petroleum oil hydrocarbons to the surface. Usually some natural gas is released as associated petroleum gas along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce only gas ma ...

s and 71% of oil production. The county produced 144.5 million barrels of oil in 2015, accounting for about 4% of overall U.S. oil production.

Discovery and development

Oil development began with the 1894 discovery of the

Midway-Sunset Oil Field The Midway-Sunset Oil Field is a large oil field in Kern County, San Joaquin Valley, California in the United States. It is the largest known oilfield in California and the third largest in the United States. The field was discovered in 1894, ...

, now the third-largest in the United States, in the southwestern portion of Kern County near Maricopa. The 1899 discovery along the Kern River was a breakthrough in oil production.Hoover, p.128 Oil was refined here even before the establishment of the county. The Buena Vista Petroleum Company was organized and incorporated in 1864. Soon thereafter a refinery was built that operated until April 1867 when work ceased because of high freight charges. The 1910

Lakeview Gusher The Lakeview Gusher was an eruption of hydrocarbons from a pressurized oil well in the Midway-Sunset Oil Field in Kern County, California, in 1910. It created the largest accidental oil spill in history, lasting 18 months and releasing of c ...

was the largest recorded oil strike in U.S. history. The well spewed approximately nine million barrels for 18 months before workers finally were able to cap it. Other big oil fields in southwestern Kern County discovered early in the 20th century include the

Buena Vista Buena Vista, meaning "good view" in Spanish, may refer to: Places Canada *Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador, with the name being originally derived from “Buena Vista” *Buena Vista, Saskatchewan * Buena Vista, Saskatoon, a neighborhood in ...

, the South Belridge and the Cymric fields. The latter is the fastest-growing field in California in terms of barrels produced per year.California Department of Conservation, Oil and Gas Statistics, Annual Report, December 31, 2006
p. 2 Later large fields include the

, the fifth-largest in the U.S., the adjacent

Kern Front Oil Field The Kern Front Oil Field is a large oil and gas field in the lower Sierra Nevada foothills in Kern County, California. Discovered in 1912, and with a cumulative production of around of oil, it ranks 29th in size in the state, and is believed t ...

, the

Mount Poso Oil Field The Mount Poso Oil Field is a large oil and gas field in the lower foothills of the Sierra Nevada in Kern County, California, United States. Discovered in 1926, it is the 21st largest field in California by total ultimate oil recovery, having a cu ...

in the lower foothills of the Sierra north-northeast of Bakersfield and the

Fruitvale Oil Field The Fruitvale Oil Field is a large oil and gas field in the southern San Joaquin Valley, California, within and just northwest of the city of Bakersfield, along and north of the Kern River. It is one of the few oil fields in the California Centr ...

, which underlies much of the city of Bakersfield, along and north of the Kern River.Hluza, A.G. ''Calloway Area of Fruitvale Oil Field: California Division of Oil and Gas, Summary of Operations''. 1961. Vol. 47 No. 2. 5-6 On July 22, 2009,

Occidental Petroleum Occidental Petroleum Corporation (often abbreviated Oxy in reference to its ticker symbol and logo) is an American company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration in the United States, and the Middle East as well as petrochemical manufacturing in th ...

announced it had discovered the equivalent of 150 million to 250 million barrels of oil in Kern County, which the company called the largest oil discovery in California in 35 years. The find added about 10 percent to California's known reserves. Occidental's Ray Irani said it is likely that more oil would be found in the areas outside the initial six wells that tapped the discovery. Occidental has not revealed the exact location of the find, two-thirds of which is natural gas.

BNET ''BNET'' was an online magazine dedicated to issues of business management. It was owned by CBS Interactive and was a part of its business portfolio alongside ZDNet, TechRepublic, SmartPlanet SmartPlanet was an online magazine that cover ...

, an industry web publication, said the find would add to the company's 708 million barrels of proven reserves in California.

Petroleum today

The county today contributes more than three-quarters of all the oil produced onshore in California. Some of the large oil fields in Kern County which are still active include: *

Buena Vista Oil Field The Buena Vista Oil Field, formerly the Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 2 (NPR-2) is a large oil field in Kern County, San Joaquin Valley, California in the United States. Discovered in 1909, and having a cumulative production of approximately , it is ...

Cymric Oil Field The Cymric Oil Field is a large oil field in Kern County, California, in the United States. While only the 14th-largest oil field in California in total size, in terms of total remaining reserves it ranks fifth, with the equivalent of over still i ...

Edison Oil Field The Edison Oil Field is a large oil field in Kern County, California, in the United States, in the southeastern part of the San Joaquin Valley and adjacent foothills east-southeast of Bakersfield. The field has a total productive area of over , m ...

Elk Hills Oil Field The Elk Hills Oil Field (formerly the Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 1) is a large oil field in western Kern County, in the Elk Hills of the San Joaquin Valley, California in the United States, about west of Bakersfield. Discovered in 1911, ...

Lost Hills Oil Field The Lost Hills Oil Field is a large oil field in the Lost Hills Range, north of the town of Lost Hills in western Kern County, California, in the United States. Production While only the 18th-largest oil field in California in size, in total r ...

McKittrick Oil Field The McKittrick Oil Field is a large oil and gas field in western Kern County, California. The town of McKittrick overlies the northeastern portion of the oil field. Recognized as an oil field in the 19th century, but known by Native Americans fo ...

Mountain View Oil Field The Mountain View Oil Field is a large, mature, but still-productive oil field in Kern County, California, in the United States, in the extreme southern part of the San Joaquin Valley southeast of Bakersfield. It underlies the town of Arvin, as ...

North Belridge Oil Field The North Belridge Oil Field is a large oil field along California State Route 33 in the northwestern portion of Kern County, California, about 45 miles west of Bakersfield. It is contiguous with the larger South Belridge Oil Field to the southe ...

* Round Mountain Oil Field *

South Belridge Oil Field The South Belridge Oil Field is a large oil field in northwestern Kern County, San Joaquin Valley, California, about forty miles west of Bakersfield. Discovered in 1911, and having a cumulative production of over of oil at the end of 2008, i ...

Transportation

Major highways

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Californi ...

U.S. Route 395 U.S. Route 395 (US 395) is a U.S. Route in the western United States. The southern terminus of the route is in the Mojave Desert at Interstate 15 near Hesperia. The northern terminus is at the Canada–US border near Laurier, where the road ...

State Route 14 * California 33

State Route 33 * California 41

State Route 41 * California 43

State Route 43 * California 46

State Route 46 * California 58

State Route 58 The following highways are numbered 58: International * European route E58 Australia * Riverina Highway Canada * Alberta Highway 58 * Highway 58 (Ontario) * Saskatchewan Highway 58 Finland * Finnish national road 58 India * National Highway ...

State Route 65 * California 99

State Route 99 * California 119

State Route 119 * California 155

State Route 155 * California 166

State Route 166 * California 178

State Route 178 * California 184

State Route 184 * California 202

State Route 202 * California 204

State Route 204 * California 223

State Route 223

Public transportation

Arvin Transit Arvin Transit is the operator of mass transportation in Arvin, California. Four routes operate in and around the city, which serves most of the urban development. There are additional routes which connect Arvin with Lamont, and the Tejon Indus ...

is the local municipal bus operator in and around Arvin. *

Delano Area Rapid Transit Delano Area Rapid Transit (DART) is the operator of mass transportation in Delano Delano or DeLano may refer to: Places in the United States * Delano, California * Delano, Wichita, Kansas, a neighborhood in Wichita and former community before ...

is the local municipal bus operator in Delano. *

Golden Empire Transit Golden Empire Transit is the operator of mass transportation in Bakersfield, California. There are 16 routes serving Greater Bakersfield, which includes both the City of Bakersfield and adjacent unincorporated communities. Since 2005, nearly th ...

is the local bus operator in and near Bakersfield. *

Kern Transit KERN (1180 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Wasco-Greenacres, California, and serving the Bakersfield metropolitan area. The station is owned by American General Media. The radio studios and offices are in the American General Me ...

provides countywide intercity bus service. *

Taft Area Transit Taft Area Transit is the operator of mass transportation in Taft, California. Two routes operate within the city, which serves most of the urban development. There is also an additional route which runs between Taft and Maricopa.

is the local municipal bus operator in and around Taft. *Kern County is also served by

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurgenc ...

and Orange Belt Stages buses and

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...

trains.

Airports

California City Municipal Airport California City Municipal Airport is located in the city of California City, in the Fremont Valley of Kern County, California. Facilities The airport covers ; its one runway, 6/24, is asphalt. See also * List of airports in Kern County, Cal ...

, California City. ( FAA: L71) *

Delano Municipal Airport Delano Municipal Airport is six miles southwest of Delano, in Kern County, California, United States. Most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the FAA and IATA, but Delano Municipal Airport is DLO to the FAA and has ...

, Delano. (

IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tarif ...

: DLO) *

Inyokern Airport Inyokern Airport is a public use airport located northwest of the central business district of Inyokern, in Kern County, California, United States. It is owned by the Indian Wells Valley Airport District and serves the Indian Wells Valley area. ...

, Inyokern. (IATA: IYK) *

Kern Valley Airport Kern Valley Airport is a public airport located in the Kern River Valley, south of Kernville in Kern County, California, United States. It serves the Lake Isabella area in the Southern Sierra Nevada. The airport is mostly used for general a ...

, Kernville. (FAA: L05) *

Lost Hills Airport Lost Hills Airport , also known as Lost Hills-Kern County Airport, was a public airport located northeast of the central business district (CBD) of Lost Hills, in Kern County, California, United States. It was mostly used for general aviation. ...

, Lost Hills. (FAA: L84) * Meadows Field, Bakersfield, an international and general aviation airport. (IATA: BFL) *

Mojave Airport The Mojave Air and Space Port at Rutan Field is in Mojave, California, United States, at an elevation of . It is the first facility to be licensed in the United States for horizontal launches of reusable spacecraft, being certified as a spa ...

, Mojave. (IATA: MHV) *

Shafter Airport Shafter Airport , also known as Minter Field and formerly known as Air Corps Basic Flying School, is a public use airport located east of the central business district of Shafter and 14 miles northwest of Bakersfield, a city in Kern County, Cal ...

(Minter Field), Shafter. (IATA: MIT) *

Taft Airport Taft Airport , also known as Taft-Kern County Airport, is a public airport located east of Taft, serving Kern County, California, USA. This general aviation airport covers and has one runway. It is home to a skydive operation known as Skydiv ...

, Taft. (FAA: L17) *

Tehachapi Municipal Airport Tehachapi Municipal Airport is in Tehachapi, Kern County, California. It covers and has one runway. The airport was established in 1929 originally to support an air mail route between Tehachapi and Bakersfield. After the 1952 Kern County ea ...

, Tehachapi. (IATA: TSP) *

Wasco Airport Wasco Airport , also known as Wasco-Kern County Airport, is a public airport located northwest of Wasco, serving Kern County, California, USA. This general aviation airport covers and has one runway. History Wasco Auxiliary Field or Wasco ...

, Wasco. (FAA: L19)

Recreation

Outdoor recreational activities include

horseback riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

water skiing Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires suffic ...

(

Lake Isabella Lake Isabella also called Isabella Lake, is a reservoir in Kern County, California, United States created by the earthen Isabella Dam. It was formed in 1953 when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dammed the Kern River at the junction of its two f ...

, Lake Buena Vista,

Lake Ming Lake Ming is a man-made recreational lake located in Bakersfield, California. It is primarily a motorboat and water-skiing lake, although sailboats are allowed the second full weekend each month, and every Tuesday and Thursday after 1:30 pm. Lake ...

, and private ski ranches).

Off-roading Off-roading is the activity of driving or riding in a vehicle on unpaved surfaces such as sand, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, and other natural terrain. Types of off-roading range in intensity, from leisure drives with unmodified vehicl ...

and other motorsports take place at

Jawbone Canyon Jawbone Canyon is a geographic feature in the Mojave Desert and a Bureau of Land Management area located in Kern County, California, north of Mojave on CA 14 near Cantil, CA. The area is a popular destination for hikers and off road vehicle e ...

California City California City is a city located in northern Antelope Valley in Kern County, California, United States. It is north of the city of Los Angeles, and the population was 14,973 at the 2020 census. Covering , California City has the third-largest ...

Randsburg Randsburg (formerly Rand Camp) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kern County, California, United States. Randsburg is located south of Ridgecrest, at an elevation of . The population was 69 in the 2010 census, down from 77 in the 2000 cens ...

, Willow Springs,

, Bakersfield Speedway,

Famoso Raceway The Famoso Bakersfield Raceway dragstrip is located in McFarland, California just north of Bakersfield, California, and is known historically as the home to the annual March Meet, also known as the U.S. Fuel and Gas Championships. The strip, loc ...

, and the half-mile Kern Raceway.

Hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

paintball Paintball is a competitive team shooting sport in which players eliminate opponents from play by hitting them with spherical dye-filled gelatin capsules called paintballs that break upon impact. Paintballs are usually shot using low-energy a ...

white-water rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits faci ...

(

snow skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...

( Shirley Meadows and Mount Pinos),

shooting range A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, venue or field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice or competitions. Some shooting ranges are operated by military ...

s (5 Dogs Range),

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

biking Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...

(trails, paths, and roads),

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more nat ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from fish stocking, stocked bodies of water such as fish pond, ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. ...

are also part of the recreational culture.

Media

Magazines

*''Bakersfield Life Magazine'', Kern County *''Bakersfield Magazine'', Kern County *''Kern County Family Magazine'', Kern County

Newspapers

*''

The Bakersfield Californian ''The Bakersfield Californian'' is a daily newspaper serving Bakersfield, California and surrounding Kern County in the state's San Joaquin Valley. History ''The Bakersfield Californian'' is the direct descendant of Kern County's first newsp ...

'', Kern County *''

Mountain Enterprise ''The Mountain Enterprise'' is a weekly newspaper published since 1966, circulating in the Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass east and west of the Grapevine section of the Interstate 5 in the San Emigdio Mountains region of California, midway b ...

'', southwest Kern mountains area *''

Mojave Desert News ''Mojave Desert News'' is a newspaper published in California City, California. Named after the Mojave Desert, it reports on news in Kern County Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the popu ...

'',

and east Kern desert area *'' The Daily Independent'', Ridgecrest, China Lake, and The Indian Wells Valley *''The Kern Valley Sun'', Kern Valley area *''Kern River Courier'', Kern Valley area *'' Tehachapi News'', Tehachapi *''Taft Midway Driller'', Taft *''

Taft Independent The Taft Independent is a free weekly feature community newspaper published in Kern County California. The Independent covers local news, features, letters, editorials, community voices and more. The newspaper office is located at 508 Center Stre ...

'', Taft *''The Delano Record'', Delano

TV stations

Kern County is served by stations based in Bakersfield, including: *

KBAK-TV KBAK-TV (channel 29) is a television station in Bakersfield, California, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside low-power, Class A Fox affiliate KBFX-CD (channel 58). Both stations share studio ...

(

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

) *

KBFX-TV KBFX-CD (channel 58) is a low-power, Class A television station in Bakersfield, California, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside CBS affiliate KBAK-TV (channel 29). Both stations share ...

(FOX) *

KERO-TV KERO-TV (channel 23) is a television station in Bakersfield, California, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by the E. W. Scripps Company. The station's studios are located on 21st Street in Downtown Bakersfield, and its transmitter ...

( ABC) *

KGET-TV KGET-TV (channel 17) is a television station in Bakersfield, California, United States, affiliated with NBC and The CW Plus. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside low-power Telemundo affiliate KKEY-LP (channel 13). The two stations share ...

(

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

/ CW) However,

, Ridgecrest, and other areas in the Mojave Desert regions of eastern Kern County may instead receive Los Angeles stations.

Communities

Cities

(county seat) *

* Maricopa *

* Ridgecrest * Shafter * Taft * Tehachapi * Wasco

Census-designated places

* Alta Sierra *

Bakersfield Country Club Bakersfield Country Club is an 18-hole private golf course located in Bakersfield, California. The course is 6,819 yards on hilly terrain, designed by William P. Bell. Being located in the foothills of northeast Bakersfield makes this one of the ...

* Bear Valley Springs * Bodfish *

Cherokee Strip The Cherokee Outlet, or Cherokee Strip, was located in what is now the state of Oklahoma in the United States. It was a 60-mile-wide (97 km) parcel of land south of the Oklahoma-Kansas border between 96 and 100°W. The Cherokee Outlet wa ...

* China Lake Acres * Derby Acres * Di Giorgio * Dustin Acres *

East Bakersfield East Bakersfield is a region in Bakersfield, California directly east of downtown. The region was formerly known as the town of Sumner, which was later incorporated and renamed Kern City. It is primarily a mixture of residential and commercial d ...

* Edison * Edmundson Acres *

Edwards AFB Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...

* El Adobe *

Fellows Fellows may refer to Fellow, in plural form. Fellows or Fellowes may also refer to: Places *Fellows, California, USA *Fellows, Wisconsin, ghost town, USA Other uses *Fellows Auctioneers, established in 1876. * Fellowes, Inc., manufacturer of wor ...

* Ford City * Frazier Park * Fuller Acres * Glennville * Golden Hills *

Greenacres Greenacres can refer to: *Greenacres, California, a town in the Central Valley (United States) * 'Greenacres', the legendary 1920s Harold Lloyd Estate in Beverly Hills, California (United States) *Greenacres, Florida, town in the United States *Gre ...

Greenfield Greenfield or Greenfields may refer to: Engineering and Business * Greenfield agreement, an employment agreement for a new organisation * Greenfield investment, the investment in a structure in an area where no previous facilities exist * Greenf ...

Inyokern Inyokern (formerly Siding 16 and Magnolia) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kern County, California, United States. Its name derives from its location near the border between Inyo and Kern Counties. Inyokern is located west of Ridgecrest, a ...

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

* Keene * Kernville *

Lake of the Woods Lake of the Woods (french: Lac des Bois, oj, Pikwedina Sagainan) is a lake occupying parts of the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba and the U.S. state of Minnesota. Lake of the Woods is over long and wide, containing more than 14,5 ...

Lamont Lamont or LaMont may refer to: People *Lamont (name), people with the surname or given name ''Lamont'' or ''LaMont'' * Clan Lamont, a Scottish clan Places Canada *Lamont, Alberta, a town in Canada * Lamont County, a municipal district in Albert ...

* Lebec *

Lost Hills The Lost Hills are a low mountain range in the Transverse Ranges, near Lost Hills, California and Interstate 5 in western Kern County, California. They contain the Lost Hills Oil Field, the largest oil field in Kern County, and are located in ...

* McKittrick * Mettler * Mexican Colony * Mojave * Mountain Mesa * North Edwards *

* Old River *

Onyx Onyx primarily refers to the parallel banded variety of chalcedony, a silicate mineral. Agate and onyx are both varieties of layered chalcedony that differ only in the form of the bands: agate has curved bands and onyx has parallel bands. The ...

Pine Mountain Club Pine Mountain Club is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in southwestern Kern County, California. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 2,315. It is one of the Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass. Geography Pine Mount ...

* Pumpkin Center *

* Rosedale * Smith Corner * South Taft * Squirrel Mountain Valley * Stallion Springs * Taft Heights * Tupman * Valley Acres *

Weedpatch Weedpatch (formerly Weed Patch and Alexander's Corner) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Kern County, California, Kern County, California, United States. Weedpatch is south-southeast of Bakersfield, California, ...

* Weldon * Wofford Heights * Woody

Unincorporated communities

* Actis * Aerial Acres *

Alameda An alameda is a street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada * Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan ** Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile * Alameda (Santia ...

Armistead Armistead is both a surname and a masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname: * Bill Armistead (born 1944), American politician from Alabama * George Armistead (1780–1818), American military officer who served as the co ...

* Bealville * Bena * Caliente *

Canebrake A canebrake or canebreak is a thicket of any of a variety of ''Arundinaria'' grasses: '' A. gigantea'', '' A. tecta'' and '' A. appalachiana''. As a bamboo, these giant grasses grow in thickets up to 24 ft tall. ''A. gigantea'' is generally ...

* Cantil * Cawelo * Cinco *

Claraville Claraville (formerly, Kelso and Clarasillo) is an unincorporated community in Kern County Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield. ...

Edwards Edwards may refer to: People * Edwards (surname) * Edwards family, a prominent family from Chile * Edwards Barham (1937-2014), a former member of the Louisiana State Senate * Edwards Pierrepont (1817–1892), an American attorney, jurist, and or ...

* Famoso * Goler Heights *

Grapevine ''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 79 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, ...

* Gypsite *

* Indian Wells * Jasmin * Kecks Corner * Keyesville * Loraine * Meridian * Midoil * Millux * Miracle Hot Springs * Missouri Triangle *

Monolith A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains. For instance, Savandurga mountain is a monolith mountain in India. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often ma ...

* Neufeld * Old Garlock * Old West Ranch *

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

* Pentland * Pinon Pines Estates *Pond, California, Pond *Reward, Kern County, California, Reward *Ricardo, California, Ricardo *Rio Bravo, California, Rio Bravo *Riverkern, California, Riverkern *Rowen, California, Rowen *Saco, California, Saco *Sageland, California, Sageland *Saltdale, California, Saltdale *Sanborn, California, Sanborn *Sand Canyon, Kern County, California, Sand Canyon *Semitropic * Shirley Meadows *South Lake, Kern County, California, South Lake *Spicer City, California, Spicer City *Twin Oaks, Kern County, California, Twin Oaks *Wheeler Ridge, California, Wheeler Ridge * Willow Springs *Wonder Acres, Kern County, California, Wonder Acres

Former places

*Adobe Station, California, Adobe Station *Glenburn

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 United States census, 2020 census of Kern County. † ''county seat''

Education

School districts include:
Text list
/ref> Unified: * El Tejon Unified School District * Maricopa Unified School District * McFarland Unified School District * Mojave Unified School District * Muroc Joint Unified School District * Sierra Sands Unified School District * Southern Kern Unified School District * Tehachapi Unified School District Secondary: * Delano Joint Union High School District * Kern High School District * Taft Union High School District * Wasco Union High School District Elementary: * Arvin Union School District * Bakersfield City School District * Beardsley Elementary School District * Belridge Elementary School District * Blake Elementary School District * Buttonwillow Union Elementary School District * Caliente Union Elementary School District * Delano Union Elementary School District * Di Giorgio Elementary School District * Edison Elementary School District * Elk Hills Elementary School District * Fairfax Elementary School District * Fruitvale Elementary School District * General Shafter Elementary School District * Greenfield Union School District * Kernville Union Elementary School District * Lakeside Union School District (Bakersfield), Lakeside Union School District * Lamont Elementary School District * Linns Valley-Poso Flat Union School District * Lost Hills Union Elementary School District * Maple Elementary School District * McKittrick Elementary School District * Midway Elementary School District * Norris Elementary School District * Panama-Buena Vista School District * Pond Union Elementary School District * Richland Union School District * Rio Bravo-Greeley Union Elementary School District * Rosedale Union Elementary School District * Semitropic Elementary School District * South Fork Union School District * Standard Elementary School District * Taft City School District * Vineland Elementary School District * Wasco Union Elementary School District

In popular culture

The 2015 Disney film ''McFarland (2014 film), McFarland, USA'', starring Kevin Costner, is based on the Cross country running, cross-country team in the city of McFarland, California, which is located in northern Kern County.

Notes

References

External links

*
Keysville Massacre, April 19, 1863
��original report from officer in charge {{authority control Kern County, California, 1866 establishments in California California counties Mojave Desert Populated places established in 1866 San Joaquin Valley Majority-minority counties in California

History

Indigenous Era

Spanish era

American era

Etymology

Earthquakes

Abuse trials

Geography

Air quality

Vegetation

National protected areas

Demographics

2020 census

2011

Places by population, race, and income

2010

2000

Arts and culture

Metropolitan statistical area

Government, policing, and politics

Government

Policing

Sheriff

Municipal police

Politics and voter registration

Cities by population and voter registration

Federal

State

County

Crime and public safety

Fire

Sheriff's Office

Cities by population and crime rates

Economy

Aerospace and military

Agriculture

Petroleum

Discovery and development

Petroleum today

Transportation

Major highways

Public transportation

Airports

Recreation

Media

Magazines

Newspapers

TV stations

Communities

Cities

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Former places

Population ranking

Education

In popular culture

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links