the county has a big agrarian base & occurs as important producer of energy. As of 2004, Kern remains California's top oil-producing county, with across 85% of the state's 43,000 oil wells. A county accounts for 1-tenth of overall U.S. drilling. Kern is besides noted for its mineral wealth, including gold and kernite.

Edwards Air Force Base and China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station are located in Kern County.

History
A Kern County vicinity was number 1 claimed per Spanish inside 1769. Around 1772, Commander Don Pedro Fages became a 1st European to enter a front yard; a expedition entered via a Grapevine Canyon (down the road the places of the Ridge Route and now Interstate 5). Walker Pass was discovered within 1834 and is an important pass over a Sierra Nevada. These are today the National Historic Landmark. Around 1848, the Kern front yard was ceded to the United States as part of the transport of California, Nevada, and Utah and other lands under a Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

Tensions between Indigene Americans & trespassing settlers turned fatal in many occasions. A ghost town of Keyesville is the location where Five Indians were flushed around cold blood within 1856, and some other 35 within were flushed by soldiers in the 1863 Keyesville Massacre.

Kern County was formed inside 1866 from parts of Los Angeles and Tulare Counties. A county derives its title from either a Kern River which was named for Edward Kern, topographer for General John C. Fremont's 1845 expedition, which crossed Walker Pass.

Elk Hills, one of a big oil fields within Kern County, wwhen included in a affair remembered as the Teapot Dome scandal, the best known case of corruption of U.S. President Warren G. Harding's administration. Inside 1923, it was revealed that Harding's Secretary of the Interior, Albert Fall, transferred portions of the naval petroleum reserves into portable paws while forgoing competitory bidding, & inside the out break of Elk Hills, in exchange for personal 'loans.' A destruct deals included a reserves at Elk Hills inside Kern County & at Teapot Dome inside Wyoming.

In July 21, 1952, an earthquake with epicenter in Kern County measuring Septet.Triad on the Richter scale killed 12 humans. A Kern County earthquake was the big earthquake to strike Southern California since the Fort Tejon earthquake of 1857 and the Lone Pine earthquake of 1872, & it induced brobdingnagian and far flung damage. Additionally to the Xii fatalities, it was responsible at least Eighteen injuries & induced at least $50 million around property damage. It was followed by many aftershocks, at least 20 of which were of magnitude Pentad.Nought or even greater. A temblor occurred on the White Wolf fault.

When at home to Edwards Air Force Base, Kern County has been a places of numerous aeronautical milestones, including the 1st supersonic flight and the 1st landing of the Space Shuttle. Kern County is besides a house of the number one inland spaceport in the United States, the Mojave Spaceport.

Between 1983 and 1986, several ritual sex ring child abuse cases allegedly occurred in Kern County. These resulted within many yearn prison sentences, 100% of which were overturned, occasionally lone decades late. the Kern County subjects marked a beginning of a series of similar instances 100% all over Northward America & beyond.

Geography
Based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 21,138 km² (8,161 mi²). 21,085 kilometer² (8,141 mi²) of these are l& and 53 klick² (Xx mi²) of these are fluids. A amount vicinity is Nought.25% a stream.

Demographics
When of the census² of 2000, there are 661,645 people, 208,652 households, and 156,489 families residing in the county. A population density is 31/km² (81/mi²). There are 231,564 housing units at an typical density of 11/km² (28/mi²). A racial makeup of the county is 61.60% White, 6.02% Black or African American, 3.37% Asian, 1.51% Native American, 0.15% Pacific Islander, 23.22% from other races, and 4.14% from two or more races. 38.39% of the people are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 208,652 house away from which 42.20% develop tykes under a age of Xviii swallow the babies, 54.60% come married couples living together, 14.50% have a female homeowner using there is no married man present, & Xxv.00% come non-families. Twenty.30% of everthing menage come mass produced higher of people & Sevener.80% stand individual residing alone world health organization is 65 years aged or even older. A typical house size is Ternion.0Tierce & a typical personal size is 3.Fifty.

In a county the people is spread retired by having 31.90% under a age of Eighteen, X.20% from either 18 to Two dozen, Xxix.80% from either 25 to 44, Xviii.70% from either 45 to 64, & Ix.40% world health organization come 65 years aged or even older. A median age is 31 years. For each One c females there are 105.Thirty males. For each Century females age Xviii & assibilate, there are 105.Thirty males.

the median income for a menage in the county is $35,446, & the median income for a personal is $39,403. Males have a median income of $38,097 versus $25,876 for females. A per capita income for the county is $15,760. Twenty.80% of the people & Sixteen.80% of families come following a poverty line. Away from a aggregate people, Xxvii.80% of people under a age of 18 & 10.50% of victims 65 & older come residing beneath a poverty level.

Cities
Arvin Bakersfield, the major city & home of CSU - Bakersfield California City Delano Maricopa McFarland Ridgecrest Shafter Taft Tehachapi Wasco

Towns and CDPs
A as a consequence come towns or even census-designated places within Kern County:

Bear Valley Springs Bodfish Boron Buttonwillow China Lake Acres Ford City Derby Acres Dustin Acres Fellows Frazier Park Golden Hills Inyokern Johannesburg Keene Kernville Lake Isabella Lake of the Woods Lamont Lebec Lost Hills

McKittrick Mettler Mojave Mountain Mesa North Edwards Oildale Onyx Pine Mountain Club Randsburg Rosamond Rosedale South Taft Squirrel Mountain Valley Stallion Springs Taft Heights Tupman Valley Acres Weedpatch Weldon Wofford Heights