|
Bakersfield, Calif., city 100 mi (160 km) n. w. of Los Angeles; fruit shipping; petroleum products, oil field machinery, electronic components, food products; California State College, Bakersfield; pop. 174,820 Bakersfield, city in south central California, seat of Kern County, on
the Kern River. It is located at the southern end of the valley of the San Joaquin River.
Bakersfield is a commercial, distribution, and manufacturing center situated in an
agricultural and petroleum-producing region. Manufactures include refined petroleum,
electronic components, and processed food; crops grown in the surrounding region include
grapes, cotton, citrus fruits, almonds, and carrots. Native Americans had long lived in the San Joaquin Valley when white settlement began in 1851, following the discovery of gold in the bed of the Kern River. The community was formally laid out in 1869 by Colonel Thomas Baker, and named for the alfalfa field he owned and let travelers use to feed their horses. Bakersfield continued to grow with the coming of the railroad in 1874 and the development of the Kern River irrigation system, which greatly increased the production of grain, alfalfa, and livestock. The city incorporated in 1898, and oil was discovered in the area the following year. The growing petroleum industry and increased manufacturing resulted in continued expansion. Bakersfield covers a land area of 237.5 sq km (91.7 sq mi), with a mean elevation of 124 m (408 ft). According to the 1990 census, whites are 72.8 percent of the population, blacks 9.4 percent, Asians and Pacific Islanders 3.7 percent, and Native Americans 1.1 percent. The remainder are of mixed heritage or did not report ethnicity. Hispanics, who may be of any race, are 20.0 percent of the people. Population (1980) 105,611; (1990) 174,820; (1994 estimate) 191,060. San Joaquin, river, California, rising in the Sierra Nevada. It flows generally northwest through central California and joins the Sacramento River shortly before entering Suisun Bay, near Oakland. The river, which is about 560 km (about 350 mi) long, is part of an extensive irrigation and power project that has created a rich agricultural region in the semiarid San Joaquin Valley. Central Valley, also Great Valley, central California, comprising the valleys of the Sacramento River (in the north) and the San Joaquin River (in the south). The valley, which is about 720 km (about 450 mi) long, is almost totally enclosed by mountains and is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the United States. Massive irrigation projects transfer water from the humid northern half to the drier southern half. Tehachapi Mountains, in Southern. California; extend about 30 mi (50 km), NE. from Tejon Pass to Tehachapi Pass; SW. of Sierra Nevada and east. of the Coast Ranges; altitude, about 4,000 to 8,000 ft (1,200 to 2,400 m) DEATH VALLEY. The lowest point in the Western Hemisphere, Death Valley
is also famous as a scene of suffering in the gold rush of 1849. Here many gold seekers
nearly lost their lives in searing heat. They gave the valley its grim name. Kern River, stream rising in mountains of SE. California; flows s. w. and n. to Lake Tulare. The Mojave Desert occupies the
southeastern corner of the state. It covers about 15,000 square miles (38,850 square
kilometers) in California and three neighboring states. Between low, isolated mountain
ranges are broad expanses of barren desert. California State University-Bakersfield (1970) and a junior college
are located in the city.
Page last updated 07/30/00
|
|
This site is hosted by the Roots Web Web Site owner is
Pauline Drury |