Inyokern (formerly Siding 16 and Magnolia) is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

(CDP) 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. Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county sp ...

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 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Its name derives from its location near the border between Inyo and Kern Counties. Inyokern is located west of Ridgecrest, at an elevation of . It is on the western side 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 ...

. The population was 988 in the 2020 census, down from 1,099 in the 2010 census. It was a railroad town established along the

Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

railroad's Lone Pine Branch (now removed). It is served by Inyokern Airport.

Geography

Inyokern is located at . It lies in the Indian Wells Valley, with the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada rising to the west. It is on

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 ...

, the main north-south artery connecting the Inland Empire to

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

. US 395 also connects Inyokern to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

via State Route 14 through

Palmdale Palmdale is a city in northern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. The city lies in the Antelope Valley region of Southern California. The San Gabriel Mountains separate Palmdale from the Los Angeles Basin to the south. On Aug ...

. State Route 178, the main east-west artery, connects Inyokern to Bakersfield, the county seat, via

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 ...

in the west, and to

Death Valley Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. During summer, it is the Highest temperature recorded on Earth, hottest place on Earth. Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the ...

via Ridgecrest in the east. 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 t ...

, the CDP has a total area of , over 99% of it land.

Demographics

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 servi ...

reported that Inyokern had a population of 1,099. The population density was . The racial makeup of Inyokern was 930 (84.6%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 14 (1.3%)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 24 (2.2%) Native American, 25 (2.3%) Asian, 2 (0.2%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 49 (4.5%) from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 55 (5.0%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 116 persons (10.6%). The Census reported that 1,099 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 484 households, out of which 111 (22.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 219 (45.2%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 38 (7.9%) had a female householder with no husband present, 21 (4.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 29 (6.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 4 (0.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 179 households (37.0%) were made up of individuals, and 73 (15.1%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27. There were 278

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...

(57.4% of all households); the average family size was 3.01. The population was spread out, with 222 people (20.2%) under the age of 18, 74 people (6.7%) aged 18 to 24, 201 people (18.3%) aged 25 to 44, 406 people (36.9%) aged 45 to 64, and 196 people (17.8%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 108.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.8 males. There were 537 housing units at an average density of , of which 355 (73.3%) were owner-occupied, and 129 (26.7%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.7%. 776 people (70.6% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 323 people (29.4%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 984 people, 418 households, and 270 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 519 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 87.70%

, 0.41%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

, 4.88% Native American, 2.24% Asian, 1.02% from

, and 3.76% from two or more races. 6.50% of the population were

of any race. There were 418 households, out of which 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.4% were non-families. 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.96. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 24.2% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 30.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.7 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $35,046, and the median income for a family was $41,500. Males had a median income of $50,938 versus $33,889 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 CDP was $21,707. About 10.5% of families and 20.5% 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 t ...

, including 20.6% of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over.

Climate

The

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologi ...

of Inyokern, California, is predominantly influenced by its high desert location. The

is characterized by hot days and cool nights with extremely arid conditions prevailing throughout the summer months. The mean annual

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measurement, measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various Conversion of units of temperature, temp ...

for the Inyokern area is . Wide annual temperature fluctuations occur from a high of to a low of . January is the coolest month with an average maximum temperature of and an average minimum temperature of . The all-time minimum temperature of was recorded on December 23, 1972, and January 7, 1973. Inyokern is in a desert, with an average of less than of "equivalent rainfall" per year, which includes less than of snow. July is the hottest month with an average maximum temperature of and an average minimum temperature of . The all-time maximum temperature of was recorded on July 31, 1985.

History

Inyokern was founded in the mid-19th century as an agrarian community located in the northernmost corner of the Mojave Desert. It expanded during construction of the

Owens Valley aqueduct The Los Angeles Aqueduct system, comprising the Los Angeles Aqueduct (Owens Valley aqueduct) and the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct, is a water conveyance system, built and operated by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The Owens Valley ...

. The first post office opened in 1910. The Inyokern Elementary School was founded in 1913. The original building was replaced in the mid-1930s by a larger building with a stage and indoor restrooms. This building was demolished in the early 1970s. In the 1930s, half a dozen irrigated farms were scattered around Indian Wells Valley, growing mostly alfalfa and livestock. Community events were held in Inyokern Hall, which still stands. With the onset of World War II, the US Navy located its new Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in Inyokern. This accounts for the length of the runways and the size of the county airport. The military base was subsequently moved to the east and the city of Ridgecrest was established as a commercial support center for that base. Today Inyokern serves as a sparsely-populated bedroom community for workers on the base desiring a more rural lifestyle. The town infrastructure consists of two churches, a post office, market and gas station, convenience store and gas station, a variety store, hardware store, welding and blacksmith shop, a county park, two restaurants, a motel, an autobody shop and several antique shops. In the 1990s the building which formerly housed the library was demolished and replaced by a Senior Citizen's Center. Inyokern also had a now-closed

Kern County Sheriff's Office 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 municipal ...

substation and a Caltrans road maintenance center and a motorcycle shop and blanket store. The town water and sewer system is managed by the Community Services Center. The population of the town peaked circa 1988 following a period of expansion on the naval base, but has dwindled since then, and many properties were abandoned during the military downsizing of the 1990s. Until the 1990s, the main commercial block of the town along highway 178 was a somewhat picturesque street of older buildings constructed of local rock and bricks, including a vintage post office, cafe, three bars, and a small Chinese restaurant. This street is sometimes used in filming Hollywood westerns. The Inyokern airport is used to film commercials.

Environment

Characterized by extreme aridity, Inyokern is situated in a wide valley at the base of the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Rugged mountains more than in elevation west of the area create a pronounced rain-shadow effect, resulting in a shrub-steppe habitat zone with annual rainfall of less than . The flora of the valley floor consists primarily of

Creosote Bush ''Larrea tridentata'', called creosote bush and greasewood as a plant, chaparral as a medicinal herb, and ''gobernadora'' (Spanish for "governess") in Mexico, due to its ability to secure more water by inhibiting the growth of nearby plants. In S ...

(''Larrea tridentata''), Burrobush (''Ambrosia dumosa''), and several varieties of native bunch grasses. The transition zone of the nearby foothills also contain mixtures of

pinyon pine The pinyon or piñon pine group grows in southwestern North America, especially in New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. The trees yield edible nuts, which are a staple food of Native Americans, and widely eaten as a snack and as an ingredient in Ne ...

Joshua tree ''Yucca brevifolia'' is a plant species belonging to the genus ''Yucca''. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names: Joshua tree, yucca palm, tree yucca, and palm tree yucca. This monocotyledonous tree is native to the ar ...

forests, and concentrated riparian habitat surrounding the small streams descending from the mountain peaks. Wildlife ranges from

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations group ...

mountain lion The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large cat native to the Americas. Its range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mammal in the Western Hemisphere. ...

, and

whitetail deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

in the mountain and transition zones to the

kangaroo rat Kangaroo rats, small mostly nocturnal rodents of genus ''Dipodomys'', are native to arid areas of western North America. The common name derives from their bipedal form. They hop in a manner similar to the much larger kangaroo, but developed t ...

and the endangered

desert tortoise The desert tortoise (''Gopherus agassizii''), is a species of tortoise in the Family (biology), family Testudinidae. The species is native to the Mojave Desert, Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexic ...

on the valley floor. A special note on the local wildlife is the local subspecies of rattlesnake, the

Mojave rattlesnake ''Crotalus scutulatus'' (common names: Mojave rattlesnake,Crothier, B.I. ''et al''. 2003. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico: Update. ''Herpetological Review'' 34:196–203 Stebbins ...

(also called the Mojave green rattlesnake). This snake, which is common in the area, produces pit viper venom common to the general species but also produces a neuro-toxin that paralyzes the victim within 15 minutes. The subspecies is docile, and fatal bites are rare.

Unique features

Inyokern has the highest insolation of any locale on the North American continent, having over 355 days of sunshine each year. The town is home to the past and current world champion musical saw players. The Inyokern Airport is a popular location for car commercials, with the Sierra Nevada Mountains as a backdrop. Indigenous animals that found in the valley floor are

kit fox The kit fox (''Vulpes macrotis'') is a fox species that inhabits arid and semi-arid regions of the southwestern United States and northern and central Mexico. These foxes are the smallest of the four species of ''Vulpes'' occurring in North Amer ...

es, coyotes, bobcats, and

roadrunner The roadrunners (genus ''Geococcyx''), also known as chaparral birds or chaparral cocks, are two species of fast-running ground cuckoos with long tails and crests. They are found in the southwestern and south-central United States and Mexico, us ...

s. Bears and mountain lions occasionally descend from the Sierra Nevada Mountains seeking food.

Transportation

* Inyokern Airport *Kern Transit *Eastern Sierra Transit

Notable locations

*Inyokern Town Hall *Inyokern Senior Citizens Building

Churches

*Bethel Missionary Baptist Church *Inyokern Baptist Church *Inyokern Community Methodist Church

Media

Inyokern is served by two newspapers, ''The Daily Independent'' and the ''News Review'', as well as a mixture of local broadcast stations and repeaters from radio and TV stations based in Los Angeles, California. The repeaters are operated by the IWV TV Booster.

AM radio stations

*KIRN (670 AM; 35 kW; Simi Valley, CA; Owner: Lotus Oxnard) *KLOA (1240 AM; 1 kW; Ridgecrest, CA; Owner: Adelman Communications) *KLAC (570 AM; 50 kW; Los Angeles, CA; Owner: AMFM Radio Licenses) *KSPN (710 AM; 50 kW; Los Angeles, CA; Owner: KABC-AM Radio) *KWDJ (1360 AM; 1 kW; Ridgecrest, CA) *KMJ (580 AM; 50 kW; Fresno, CA; Owner: Infinity Radio Operations) *KFI (640 AM; 50 kW; Los Angeles, CA; Owner: Capstar TX Limited Partnership) *KPLS (830 AM; 50 kW; Orange, CA; Owner: CRN Licenses) *KFWB (980 AM; 50 kW; Los Angeles, CA; Owner: Infinity Broadcasting Operations) *KDIS (1110 AM; 50 kW; Pasadena, CA; Owner: ABC) *KTNQ (1020 AM; 50 kW; Los Angeles, CA; Owner: KTNQ-AM License Corp.) *KERI (1180 AM; 50 kW; Wasco-Greenacres, CA; Owner: KWSO) *KWRU (940 AM; 50 kW; Fresno, CA)

FM radio stations

*KZIQ-FM (92.7 FM; Ridgecrest, CA; Owner: James Knudsen and Donna Knudsen) *KLOA-FM (104.9 FM; Ridgecrest, CA; Owner: Adelman Communications) *KRAJ (100.9 FM; Johannesburg, CA; Owner: Adelman Broadcasting) *KGBM (89.7 FM; Randsburg, CA; Owner: Educational Media Foundation) *K266AH (101.1 FM; Bena, CA; Owner: Calvary Chapel of Twin Falls) *KTQX (90.1 FM; Bakersfield, CA; Owner: Radio Bilingue) *KMYX-FM (92.5 FM; Arvin, CA; Owner: Farmworker Educational Radio Network) *KKZQ (100.1 FM; Tehachapi, CA; Owner: High Desert Broadcasting) *KVLI-FM (104.5 FM; Lake Isabella, CA; Owner: Robert J. and Katherine M. Bohn) *KCNQ (102.5 FM; Kernville, CA; Owner: Robert J. and Katherine M. Bohn) *K218DU (90.9 FM; Ridgecrest, CA; Owner: Calvary Chapel of Twin Falls) *KCEL (106.9 FM; California City, CA; Owner: KCEL Radio) *K206CO (89.1 FM; Ridgecrest, CA; Owner: Educational Media Foundation)

Notable residents

* Lorien Stern, artist

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Inyokern, California Census-designated places in Kern County, California Populated places in the Mojave Desert Ridgecrest, California Census-designated places in California