Kern County is located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235.
Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, metropolitan statistical area. The county spans the southern end of the Central Valley. Covering , it ranges west to the southern slope of the Coast Ranges, and east beyond the southern slope of the eastern Sierra Nevada into the Mojave Desert, at the city of Ridgecrest. Its northernmost city is Delano, and its southern reach extends to just beyond Frazier Park, and the northern extremity of the parallel Antelope Valley.
The county's economy is heavily linked to agriculture and petroleum extraction. Also, a strong aviation, space, and military industry is present, such as Edwards Air Force Base, the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station, and the Mojave Air and Space Port.
With a population that is 54.9% Hispanic as of 2020, Kern is California's third-most populous majority-Hispanic county and the sixth-largest nationwide.
History
Indigenous Era
Native Americans lived in this region for hundreds of years: Chumash, tribes grouped together under the settler name Yokuts, and others.
Spanish era
Spain claimed the area in 1769. Entering from Grapevine Canyon to the south in 1772, Commander Don Pedro Fages became the first European known to set foot in the area.
The Battle of San Emigdio took place in Kern County in March 1824. The Chumash Native Americans of Mission Santa Barbara rebelled against the Mexican government and its taking over mission property and ejecting the natives. The battle occurred in the canyon where San Emigdio Creek flows down San Emigdio Mountain and the Blue Ridge, south of Bakersfield near today's Highway 166. Mexican forces from Monterey were commanded by Carlos Carrillo and the conflict was a low-casualty encounter, with only four Native Americans being killed and no Mexicans. The surviving Native Americans were pacified and brought back to Santa Barbara in June 1824 after a pursuit and negotiation, in which many were allowed to keep their arms for the return march over the mountains.
American era
thumb|200px|right|The Havilah Court Building was restored in the 1970s and served as a museum until its destruction in the 2024 Borel Fire: Photo circa 2007.
In the beginning, what was to become Kern County was dominated by mining in the mountains and in the desert. In 1855, the California legislature attempted to form a county in the area by giving the southeastern territory of Tulare County on the west of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Buena Vista County. it was never officially organized prior to 1859, though, when the enabling legislation expired. The south of Tulare County was later organized as Kern County in 1866, with additions from Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties. Its first county seat was the mining town of Havilah, in the mountains east of Bakersfield and north of Tehachapi.
Settlers considered the flat land of the valley inhospitable and impassable at the time due to swamps, lakes, tule reeds, and diseases such as malaria. This changed when residents started draining land for farming and constructing canals, most dug by hired Chinese laborers. Within 10 years, the valley surpassed the mining areas as the economic power of the county, and as a result, the county seat was moved from Havilah to Bakersfield in 1874.
In 1899, the discovery well of the Kern River Oil Field was dug by hand, The details of these false accusations are covered extensively in the 2008 documentary Witch Hunt, narrated by Sean Penn.
Geography
left|thumb|400x400px|Map of Kern County
According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which (0.4%) is covered by water. It is the third-largest county by area in California. The tallest peak in the county is Sawmill Mountain with an elevation of . Its area is nearly the size of the state of New Hampshire; it extends:
- East beyond the southern slope of the Sierra Nevada range into the Mojave Desert, and includes parts of the Indian Wells Valley and Antelope Valley
- West from the Sierra across the floor of the San Joaquin Valley to the eastern edge of the Temblor Range, part of the Coast Ranges
- South over the ridge of the Tehachapi Mountains
Air quality
thumb|200px|right|Particulate pollution in Kern County varies with the seasons.
Kern County suffers from severe air pollution. Particulates cause poor visibility, especially in the winter. Western Kern County lies in the San Joaquin Valley and the topography traps pollutants. Although the topography is not as unfavorable in eastern Kern County, it is a non-attainment area for particulates. Air pollution caused by particulates is "in the unhealthy range an average of 40 days a year, according to the American Lung Association's <!-- (ALA) --> 2018 State of the Air Report.
Vegetation
Chaparral comprises a considerable portion of the natural area within Kern County; the species diversity within these chaparral habitats, however, is considerably less than in many other regions of California. Whitethorn is a prominent example of chaparral species on the rocky slopes of the Sierra Nevada and the Inner Coastal Ranges. California buckeye is a notable tree found in both chaparral and forests and whose southern range terminates in Kern County.
National protected areas
- Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuge
- Carrizo Plain National Monument (part)
- César E. Chávez National Monument
- Giant Sequoia National Monument (part)
- Kern National Wildlife Refuge
- Los Padres National Forest (part)
- Sequoia National Forest (part)