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Bakersfield California is one of the fastest-growing, large-population cities in the United States. As of 2007, the population was estimated at 323,213
GR2 within the city limits, making it the 11th largest city in California and
the 58th largest city in the United States according to U.S. Census estimates. The Bakersfield Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) has a population of 780,711, making it the
65th largest metropolitan area in the country. It is California's third largest inland city, after
Fresno and
Sacramento. The city's economy relies on agriculture, petroleum extraction, and refinement industries. Bakersfield is also the 11th fastest growing city in the United States with a population of over 100,000, and the fastest growing city in the United States with a population of over 250,000.
[edit] History
The Yokuts Indians were the first people to settle in the San Joaquin Valley, roughly 8,000 years ago. In 1776, the Spanish missionary Father Francisco Garcés became the first European to explore the area. In 1851, gold was discovered in the Kern River in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains, and in 1865, oil was discovered in the valley. The Bakersfield area, a tule- reed-infested malarial swamp, was first known as Kern Island to the handful of pioneers who built log cabins there in 1860. The area was subject to flooding from the Kern River delta, which occupied what is now the downtown area.
[edit] Founding
In 1863, former Iowa militia member and former California state senator Colonel Thomas Baker moved into the Kern Island area to champion the cause of land reclamation. He settled into a tule-reed thatched log cabin near present-day Truxtun Avenue and R Street. Baker, who had experience as a surveyor and was reputed to be one of the few government officials not corrupted by big business, was recommended to survey and lay out the town of Visalia in the late 1850s. He was also known for his hospitality.[citation needed]
Baker grew a field of alfalfa, near the modern Amtrak station, for travelers to feed their horses. Newspapers as far away as San Francisco advised travelers to visit Baker's field and use his field of alfalfa to feed their stock.
As more families moved to the area, Baker subsidized development out of his own pocket. He constructed public sawmills, helped other pioneers drain their land, and surveyed the land. Baker was asked to plot out a new town after a flood of the Kern River rerouted the river channel to the north. At the founding ceremony in 1869, residents surprised Baker by naming the town Bakersfield, in his honor.
Baker died of typhoid fever in 1872, and is buried at Union Cemetery.
[edit] Population growth
The town continued to grow and reached a population of about 801 by 1880, and 2,626 by 1890.[1] In 1900, its population was approximately 4,836. The town continued to grow despite major floods in 1867 and 1893, and fires in 1889 and 1919. In September 2007, population has been estimated at 780,711.
In 1874, the Southern Pacific Railroad established itself in the area, but was unpopular because of its high fare rate.[citation needed] On May 27, 1898, the San Joaquin Valley Railroad (popularly known as "The People's Railroad"), now the Santa Fe Railroad, arrived in Bakersfield, greatly boosting the population.
In the 1930s, the Great Plains drought and dust storms (commonly called the Dust Bowl) precipitated a large influx of refugees from Arkansas and Oklahoma, who mostly found work in the agriculture and oil industries. The overwhelming number of refugees caused considerable social strife. After World War II, the city's population grew slowly and steadily.
Migration from Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Southern California brought new residents, who were mostly employed by the oil industry. By 1980, Bakersfield's population was about 105,000. During the next 20 years, Bakersfield's population exploded and surpassed 250,000 by 2000.
[edit] 1952 earthquake
On July 21, 1952 an earthquake struck at 4:52 a.m. Pacific Standard Time.[2] The earthquake, which was felt from San Francisco to the Mexican border, destroyed the nearby communities of Tehachapi and Arvin. The earthquake’s destructive force also bent cotton fields into U shapes, slid a shoulder of the Tehachapi Mountains across all four lanes of the Ridge Route, collapsed a water tower creating a flash flood, and destroyed the railroad tunnels in the mountain chain.[citation needed] Luckily, Bakersfield was spared, experiencing minor architectural damage without loss of life. The earthquake measured 7.3 on the Richter Scale.
The first aftershock came on July 29, and did minor architectural damage, but raised fears that the flow of the Friant-Kern Canal could be dangerously altered, potentially flooding the city and surrounding areas.
Aftershocks, for the next month, had become normal to Bakersfield residents, until at 3:42 p.m August 22 a 6.5 earthquake struck directly under the town's epicenter in the most densely populated area of the Southern San Joaquin Valley. The town did have some good fortune, however, as the quake struck late on a Friday afternoon when businesses were already closed down or beginning to close down. Four people died in the aftershock, and many of the town's historic structures were permanently lost.
[edit] Geography and climate
Bakersfield is located at 
35°21'24?N, 119°01'07?W,GR3 and at 120 m (400 ft) elevation. It lies near the southern "horseshoe" end of the San Joaquin Valley, with the southern tip of the Sierra Nevadas just to the east. The city limits extend to the Sequoia National Forest, at the foot of the Greenhorn Mountain Range and at the entrance to the Kern Canyon. To the south, the Tehachapi Mountains feature the historic Tejon Ranch. To the west is the Temblor Range, which features the Carrizo Plain National Monument and the San Andreas Fault, approximately 35 miles across the valley floor.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 114.4 square miles (296.3 km²), of which 113.1 square miles (292.9 km²) is land and 1.3 square miles (3.4 km²) is water (1.14%).
Bakersfield lies approximately 160 km (100 mi) north of Los Angeles (about a 1.5-hour drive on I-5 and State Route 99) and about 500 km (300 mi) southeast of the state capital, Sacramento (about a 4.5-hour drive on State Route 99).
Bakersfield's climate is a semi-arid dry steppe climate (Koppen climate classification BSh), defined by long, hot, dry summers and brief, cool, sometimes rainy winters. In fact, Bakersfield is one of the sunniest cities in the U.S. (just behind Yuma, Arizona and Palm Springs, California). Bakersfield enjoys long-lasting, mild autumns and early springs, giving the region a unique climate suitable for growing a wide variety of crops (ranging from citrus to carrots to almonds and pistachios). With an average rainfall of only 6.49 inches (165mm) per year, most precipitation falls during winter and spring. Since Bakersfield receives less than 10 inches (250mm) of rain per year, some consider Bakersfield to be a desert. Typically, no rain falls from May through September. Summers tend to be very hot in Bakersfield with daily temperatures usually exceeding 100°F from mid June to as late as mid September, and occasionally exceeding 110°F. Winters often have mild daytime temperatures reaching into the low 60s°F (15°C). Mornings and nights however, tend to be cold (especially in December and January), where lows can reach as low as 20°F, often coming with dense Tule Fog and low visibility, causing many schools to have fog delays as long as three hours.
The American Lung Association ranked Bakersfield as the most ozone-polluted city in the nation in 2006.[3] It was also ranked as the second-most polluted city in terms of both short-term and year-round particle pollution.[4][5]
| Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures |
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| Rec High °F |
82 |
87 |
94 |
101 |
107 |
114 |
115 |
112 |
112 |
103 |
91 |
83 |
| Norm High °F |
56.3 |
63.5 |
68.3 |
75.7 |
83.8 |
91.6 |
96.9 |
95.4 |
89.4 |
79.5 |
65.3 |
56.1 |
| Norm Low °F |
39.3 |
43 |
46.2 |
49.6 |
56.8 |
63.7 |
69.2 |
68.4 |
63.9 |
54.9 |
44.2 |
38.2 |
| Rec Low °F |
20 |
25 |
31 |
33 |
37 |
45 |
52 |
52 |
45 |
29 |
28 |
19 |
| Precip (in) |
1.18 |
1.21 |
1.41 |
0.45 |
0.24 |
0.12 |
0 |
0.08 |
0.15 |
0.3 |
0.59 |
0.76 |
| Source: USTravelWeather.com [1] |
[edit] Demographics
As of the 2000 census,GR2 there were 247,057 people, 83,441 households, and 60,995 families residing in Bakersfield. The population density was 2,184.4 people per square mile (843.4/km²). There were 88,262 housing units at an average density of 780.4/sq mi (301.3/km²).
The racial makeup of the city was 61.87% White, 9.16% Black or African American, 1.40% Native American, 4.33% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 18.68% from other races, and 4.43% from two or more races. 32.45% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 83,441 households out of which 42.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.1% were married couples living together, 15.5% were female householders with no husband present, and 26.9% were non-families. 21.5% of households consisted of a single individual; 7.2% were additionally age 65 or older. 42.5% of households claimed children under age 18. The average household size was 2.92, and the average family size was 3.41.
By age, the population was spread out with 32.7% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 8.8% who were age 65 or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.9 males.
The median income for a household was $39,982, and the median income for a family was $45,556. The median income for males was $38,834, compared to $27,148 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,678. About 14.6% of families and 18.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.4% of those under age 18 and 8.4% of those age 65 or over.