Kern County, California

Kern County is a located in the southern  of the  of. Established in 1866, it extends east beyond the southern slope of the Eastern into the, and includes parts of the Indian Wells Valley, and the , and has an area larger than the state of. From the Sierras the county extends across the floor of the San Joaquin Valley to the eastern edge of the Temblor Range, part of the Coastal Ranges. To the south the county extends over the ridge of the. As of the, its population is 661,645, but recent California Department of Finance estimates place the county population at 779,869. The is  (since 1874) with the original county seat being the former mining town of  in the mountains between Bakersfield and Tehachapi.

The county has a large agricultural base and is a significant producer of oil, natural gas, hydro-electric power, wind-turbine power, and geothermal power. , Kern remains California's top oil-producing county, with over 85% of the state's 43,000 s. The county accounts for one-tenth of overall U.S. oil production, and three of the five largest U.S. oil fields are in Kern County. Kern is also noted for its wealth, including, borite, and.

,, and are located in Kern County (the latter owned and operated by the county government)

Kern County is home to California's largest open pit mine at Boron, which mines.

The ranked Kern County as the most ozone-polluted county in the nation in 2006.

History
The Kern County area was first claimed by the Spanish in 1769. In 1772, Commander became the first European to enter the area. The expedition entered via the (later the site of the  along  and now ). was discovered in 1834 and is an important pass across the as it is one of the few not closed by winter snows. It is now a. In 1848, the Kern area was ceded to the as part of the transfer of, , and  and other lands under the.

Kern County was created in 1866 with the county seat located in the now abandoned mining town of Havilah. In its beginning, Kern County was dominated by mining in the mountains and desert. The area of the San Joaquin Valley was considered inhospitable and impassable at the time due to swamps, lakes, tule reeds, and diseases such as malaria. This changed when settlers started draining lands for farming and constructing canals, most dug by hand by hired Chinese laborers, to irrigate and drain these lands. Within 10 years the area of the San Joaquin Valley surpassed the mining areas as the economic influence of the county, and the county seat was moved from Havilah to Bakersfield in 1874.

Tensions between Native Americans (mostly Mohave and Paiutes) following attacks on miners and encroaching settlers in the mountains turned deadly on several occasions. Most notably the of  is the location where 5 Indians were killed in 1856, and another 35 in were killed by soldiers in the 1863 Keyesville Massacre. Relations with other tribes were more cordial. The Haidu lived on the Tejon Ranch under General Edward Beale's protection on Ranchos, and relations between Beale and the Chiefs were cordial. The Yokut Indians of the San Joaquin Valley were peaceful and friendly. Spanish explorer Father Francisco Garces befriended the Yokuts at villages at the present day Garces Circle. They lived in Hogans along the branches of the Kern River Delta and hunted antelope, tule elk, deer, grizzly bear, fish, and game birds. The Yokuts for the most part died from diseases, with a few assimilating into the white man's culture. The Haidu assimilated into the local population with most intermarrying with Spanish/Mexican Californios. Many of the Paiute still live in the mountain areas of eastern Kern County, with no reservations in Kern County as in other counties.

Kern County was formed in 1866 from parts of and  Counties. The county derives its name from the which was named for,  for General 's 1845 expedition, which crossed Walker Pass. The Kern River was originally named Rio Bravo de San Felipe by Father Francisco Garces when he explored the area in 1776. Kern County was nearly named Buena Vista County for the large, and now drained, Buena Vista Lake between Bakersfield and Taft.

Kern County was the site of the Battle of San Emigdio. It was between Indians of the Santa Barbara Mission who rebelled against the Mexican government's taking over mission property and ejecting the Indians. This battle between Mexican forces from Monterrey occurred at the canyon where San Emigdio Creek flows down and the Blue Ridge south of Bakersfield near Highway 166.

Former U.S. Ambassador and U.S. Army General Edward Beale established and owned the large Tejon Ranch in the mountains south of Bakersfield. It was the consolidation of four separate Mexican Ranchos he purchased in 1846 after his part in winning California independence in the Bear Flag Revolt against corrupt and inept Mexican government officials. Today, the Tejon Ranch is the largest tract of privately owned land in California. The Beale Memorial Library, Beale Avenue, General Beale Road, The Beale Memorial Clock Tower, Beale Park, and Truxtun Avenue are named after the influential Beale family, both for Edward and his wife, and their son Truxtun.

In 1854 the First Regiment, U.S. established  near the head of the Grapevine Canyon. The post's mission was protecting peaceful Indians living on the nearby Tejon Indian Rancherias, as well as safeguarding miners from raids by hostile Mohave and Paiute Indians. The Indians of the Tejon Ranch, most of whom were Haidu, assimilated into the local population and the Rancherias no longer exist. Located next to the Ridge Route (now Interstate 5) just north of the town of Lebec, the fort is a California State Historical Park featuring living history programs and Civil War re-enactments (although no Civil War battles were fought there).

Elk Hills, one of the largest oil fields in Kern County, was involved in the, an infamous example of corruption of President administration. In 1923 it was revealed that Harding's, , transferred portions of the naval petroleum reserves into private hands without competitive bidding, and in the case of Elk Hills, in exchange for personal 'loans.' The illicit deals involved the reserves at Elk Hills and at Teapot Dome in Wyoming.

On, , an with  in Kern County measuring 7.3 on the  killed 12 people. The was the largest earthquake to strike  since the  of  and the  of, causing immense and widespread damage. In addition to 12 fatalities, it was responsible for at least 18 injuries and over $50 million in property damage. It was followed by several s, at least 20 of which were magnitude 5.0 or greater. The quake occurred on the White Wolf Fault and was the second strongest quake in California history, second only to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

As home to the Air Force's main flight test facility, Kern County has been the site of many milestones, including the first  and the first landing of the. Kern County is also the home of the first inland spaceport in the, the. Kern County is also home to the at Ridgecrest where many naval weapons were (and continue to be) developed and tested.

Between 1983 and 1986, several ritual sex ring. These resulted in numerous long prison sentences, all of which were overturned, some only decades later. The Kern County cases marked the beginning of a series of similar cases all over North America and beyond.

Currently, Kern County is represented by 5 District Supervisors. John McQuiston representing the 1st District, Don Maben representing the 2nd District, Mike Maggard representing the 3rd District, Ray Watson representing the 4th District, and Michael J. Rubio representing the 5th District.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 21,138 (8,161 ). 21,085 km² (8,141 sq mi) of it is land and 53 km² (20 sq mi) of it (0.25%) is water.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 661,645 people, 208,652 households, and 156,489 families residing in the county. The was 31/km² (81/sq mi). There were 231,564 housing units at an average density of 11/km² (28/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 61.60%, 6.02% or , 3.37% , 1.51% , 0.15% , 23.22% from , and 4.14% from two or more races. 38.39% of the population were or  of any race. 66.8% spoke, 29.1% and 1.0%  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 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 population was spread out with 31.9% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 29.80% 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 for the county was $15,760. About 16.8% of families and 20.8% of the population were below the, including 27.8% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.

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

Politics
Kern is a strongly county in  and  elections. The last Democrat to win a majority in the county was in.

Kern is part of California's and  congressional districts, which are held by Democrat  and Republican, respectively. In the, Kern is part of the 30th, 32nd, 34th and 37th districts. The 30th district is held by Democrat while the 32nd, 34th, and 37th districts are held by Republicans, , and , respectively. In the, Kern is part of the 16th and 18th districts, which are held by Democrat and Republican , respectively.

Recreation
Kern County's geography offers a wide variety of outdoor geography. Among the outdoor recreational activities are: Horseback riding, water skiing (Lake Buena Vista, Lake Ming, and private ski ranches), offroad biking and dune buggys (Jawbone Canyon, California City, and Randsburg), auto racing (Willow Springs, Buttonwillow, Bakersfield Speedway, Famoso, & and an unnamed half-mile speedway under construction), hunting, paint ball courses, white water rafting, Olympic quality kayaking, snow skiing (Shirley Meadows), shooting ranges (5 Dogs Creek Range), hiking, biking (trails, paths, and roads), camping, fishing, and other activities.

Cities over 300,000 population

 * (Airport: IATA: BFL)

Towns and CDPs
The following are towns or s within Kern County:

Towns over 10,000 population

Towns over 1,000 population
 * (Airport: IATA: MHV)
 * (Airport: IATA: MHV)
 * (Airport: IATA: MHV)
 * (Airport: IATA: MHV)

Towns Under 1,000 population
 * (Airport: IATA: IYK)

Adjacent Counties

 * - south
 * - south
 * - southwest
 * - west
 * - northwest
 * - north
 * - northeast
 * - east

Major Highways

 * [[Image:I-5.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:US 395 (CA).svg|23px]]
 * [[Image:California 14.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 33.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 43.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 46.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 58.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 65.svg|20px]]


 * [[Image:California 99.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 119.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 155.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 166.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 178.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 184.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 204.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:California 223.svg|20px]]

Public transportation

 * is the local bus operator in and near Bakersfield.
 * provides countywide intercity bus service.
 * Kern County is also served by and  buses and  trains.

Airports

 * in Bakersfield is a commercial and general aviation airport.
 * in Mojave.

Newspapers

 * Bakersfield Californian, Bakersfield, north/west Kern
 * The Mountain Enterprise, southwest Kern mountains area
 * Mojave Desert News, east Kern desert area
 * The Daily Independent, Ridgecrest, China Lake, and The Indian Wells Valley
 * The Kern Valley Sun, Kern Valley area