China Lake is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either hav ...

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 ...

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 ...

. It is located north-northeast of Ridgecrest, at an elevation of 2,264 feet (690 m). The place is on China Lake, a dry lake on the

Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake is a large military installation in California that supports the research, testing and evaluation programs of the United States Navy. It is part of Navy Region Southwest under Commander, Navy Install ...

. The first post office at China Lake opened in 1948.

History

Prehistory

The locale was originally settled by the Coso People, who were prolific artisans in creating rock art. The Coso left

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...

evidence substantiating trade between the Coso and other Native American tribes. For example, distant trade with the Chumash People is confirmed by

recovery of obsidian that has been linked to the Cosos and was discovered as far away as coastal California prehistoric sites in San Luis Obispo County.

Early 1900s (origin of name)

Chinese prospectors harvested

borax Borax is a salt (chemistry), salt (ionic compound), a hydration (chemistry), hydrated borate of sodium, with chemical formula often written . It is a colorless crystalline solid, that dissolves in water to make a base (chemistry), basic aqueo ...

from the dry lake bed approximately 1.5 miles south of Paxton Ranch. The operation was known locally as "The Little Chinese Borax Works". This led to the area being called China Lake.

Climate

The area around China Lake has a

hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in deser ...

( BWh) typical of 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 i ...

with very hot, dry summers and cool winters. Most rain falls in the winter.

References

Populated places in the Mojave Desert Unincorporated communities in Kern County, California Ridgecrest, California Unincorporated communities in California {{KernCountyCA-geo-stub