Bakersfield
Bakersfield | |
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Nickname : California's Country Music Capital | |
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Located in California and Kern County | |
Basic data | |
Foundation : | 1869 |
State : | United States |
State : | California |
County : | Kern County |
Coordinates : | 35 ° 21 ′ N , 119 ° 2 ′ W |
Time zone : | Pacific ( UTC − 8 / −7 ) |
Inhabitants : - Metropolitan Area : |
376,380 (as of 2016) 884,788 (as of 2016) |
Population density : | 1,034.1 inhabitants per km 2 |
Area : | 363.96 km 2 (approximately 141 mi 2 ) |
Height : | 123 m |
Postcodes : | 93301-93314 |
Area code : | +1 661 |
FIPS : | 06-03526 |
GNIS ID : | 1652668 |
Website : | www.bakersfieldcity.us |
Mayor : | Karen Goh |
Padre Hotel in Bakersfield |
Bakersfield is a city in Kern County in the US state of California with 347,609 inhabitants (last census 2010). The urban area covers an area of 363.96 square kilometers.
California State University, Bakersfield is located in the city . The oil fields in the area, such as the Kern River Oil Field , the Mount Poso Oil Field and the Round Mountain Oil Field , made an important contribution to Bakersfield's economic development . Oil exploration and processing are one of the city's main industries, along with agriculture and manufacturing.
history
More than 8,000 years ago, small groups of hunters and gatherers lived in the southern part of the San Joaquin Valley , as has been archaeologically proven. Father Francisco Garcés was the first European to survey the area in 1776.
The place was first settled in 1858 by families who had moved from the south. The place is named after one of these first settlers, Colonel Thomas Baker. In 1871 Bakersfield already had a telegraph station and several shops. The city was designated the county seat of Kern County in 1873 and was finally officially registered as a parish in 1898.
On July 21, 1952, the city was hit by an earthquake that killed 12 people in all of Kern County. The destruction in Bakersfield was not as devastating as in nearby Tehachapi . One of the buildings destroyed in the earthquake was the town hall. It has been replaced by Bakersfield City Hall , which houses the offices of the mayor and the city council.
Population development
The 2010 census showed a population of 347,609. The population increased by over 100,000 within a decade. According to the 2000 census , Bakersfield was still around 244,000 people.
year | Residents¹ |
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1980 | 105,611 |
1990 | 174,820 |
2000 | 244.217 |
2010 | 347,609 |
2016 | 376.380 |
¹ 1980-2010 : census results; 2016: US Census Bureau estimate
Demographics
Nearly half of the population, 45 percent, has a Hispanic background. The number of so-called Latinos has increased significantly since 2000, when this population group still made up a good 32 percent. The proportion of whites therefore fell to 37 percent. In 1980 it was 71 percent. Afro-Americans were represented with a good eight percent of the urban population, while other minorities such as Asians had shares of five percent or less.
The number of households was exactly 111,132 according to the 2010 census. For every 100 women there were exactly 96 men, while the median age was exactly 30 years.
climate
Bakersfield has a desert climate ( Köppen BWh ). In the dry and hot summer, the daytime temperatures in July are over 36 degrees. The maximum temperatures are up to over 45 degrees in July and August. The winter months are mild, so the thermometer rarely drops below 10 degrees even in the months from November to February. Values around 20 degrees are also not unusual during this period. Frost is very rare. The lowest temperature measured in Bakersfield was −11 degrees on January 3, 1908. The precipitation , mostly in the form of rain , sometimes also as dense fog , is concentrated mainly in the months of November to April. The number of hours of sunshine averages at least 10 hours per day throughout the year. In the summer months up to 12 hours are possible.
economy
Oil was discovered relatively early in Bakersfield. The fields or individual winding towers are still in use today. The Kern County is still the second largest county in terms of oil production, about 10 percent of total US funding came in 2006 from the county and the majority of Bakersfield and its suburbs. The ensuing US oil shale and fracking boom massively increased US production and with it the percentage, but it remains one of the most important production regions in the USA.
The second major historical industry is agriculture. Bakersfield is part of the San Joaquin Valley , which is the 5th most productive agricultural area in the USA. An increasing number of illegal immigrants poses a problem for US citizens looking for work, because even today many illegal immigrants are hired out as farm workers and day laborers on the vast estates. The officially recorded per capita income is well below the American average.
Sports
- Bakersfield Condors , ice hockey in the American Hockey League
- Bakersfield Jam , NBA Development League basketball , Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers farm team .
Town twinning
- Amritsar , India
- Wakayama , Japan
- Cixi , China
- Santiago de Queretaro , Mexico
sons and daughters of the town
- Adema , nu metal band
- Quincy Amarikwa (born 1987), football player
- Reginald Arvizu (* 1969), bassist in the nu-metal band KoRn
- Robert Beltran (born 1953), actor
- David Benoit (* 1953), jazz pianist
- Frank Bidart (* 1939), poet and university lecturer
- Jonathan Davis (* 1971), singer in the nu-metal band KoRn
- Marc Davis (1913-2000), animator
- M. David Egger (* 1936), physician and university professor
- Clair Engle (1911–1964), politician
- Kelli Garner (born 1984), actress
- Merle Haggard (1937-2016), country musician and songwriter
- Kevin Harvick (* 1975), NASCAR racing driver
- Joe Hawley (born 1988), American football player
- Fay Helm (1909–2003), actress
- Larsen Jensen (* 1985), freestyle swimmer and Olympic medalist
- Cody Kessler (born 1993), football player
- Joanne Linville (born 1928), actress
- Frank Luther (1900–1980), old-time musician
- Guy Madison (1922–1996), actor
- Brock Marion (born 1970), American football player
- Kevin McCarthy (born 1965), politician
- Casey Mears (* 1978), NASCAR racing driver
- Derek Mears (born 1972), actor
- Silas Nacita (* 1993), football player
- Gregory Porter (* 1971), jazz singer and composer
- Joey Porter (born 1977), football player
- Jerry Quarry (1945-1999), boxer
- Mike Quarry (1951-2006), boxer
- Dennis Ralston (born 1942), tennis player
- JR Sakuragi (* 1976), naturalized Japanese basketball player
- Lawrence Tibbett (1896–1960), singer (baritone)
- Sigrid Valdis (1935–2007), actress
- Jimmy Watkins (* 1982), track cyclist
- Brian Welch (* 1970), rock guitarist and book author, guitarist for the nu-metal band Korn
- Peter Woodring (* 1968), football player
- Robert Young (1916-2011), track and field athlete
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ About Bakersfield. (No longer available online.) Bakersfield Official Website, archived from the original on May 5, 2011 ; accessed on June 1, 2009 .
- ^ History of Bakersfield. City of Bakersfield, accessed June 18, 2009 .
- ↑ Historic Earthquakes. (No longer available online.) United States Geological Survey , archived from the original on July 16, 2009 ; accessed on June 18, 2009 .
- ↑ United States Census 2010 ( Memento from February 20, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Peel, MC, Finlayson, BL, McMahon, TA: Updated world map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 11, 1633-1644, 200 7.
- ^ Bakersfield Fog Facts US National Weather Service
- ^ Bakersfield Climate US National Weather Service
- ↑ Climate Bakersfield usclimatedata.com
- ↑ Annual Reports: 2006, Oil and Gas Statistics