Ridgecrest, California

Ridgecrest, California
City
College Heights Blvd., Ridgecrest
FIPS code		06-60704
GNIS feature IDs	1652783, 2410944
Website	www.ridgecrest-ca.gov

Ridgecrest is a city in

.

Ridgecrest is surrounded by four mountain ranges; the Sierra Nevada on the west, the Cosos on the north, the Argus Range on the east, and the El Paso Mountains on the south. It is approximately 82 miles (132 km) from the Lancaster/Palmdale area, 110 miles (177 km) from Bakersfield, and 120 miles (193 km) from San Bernardino, the three nearest major urban centers. Private air travel in and out of the city is provided through the Inyokern Airport. There are currently no scheduled commercial flights.

The city has been near the epicenter of major earthquakes, including one in 1995 and a series of quakes in July 2019.

History

The settlement began as a farming community called Crumville in 1912,^[8] honoring James and Robert Crum, local dairymen.^[8] The first post office opened in 1941. By 1943, Ridgecrest had grown to 115 homes and 196 residents. NOTS (Naval Ordnance Test Station) was established in November 1943, providing a strong job base for the years to come.^[8]

Ridgecrest incorporated in 1963.^[8] During this era the growth of Ridgecrest was governed by the continuing needs of the high tech industries coupled to the Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) programs for testing arms and guidance systems.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 21.4 square miles (55.4 km²), of which 20.8 sq mi (53.9 km²) is land and 0.7 sq mi (1.8 km²) of it (3.04%) is water. Ridgecrest is located in Indian Wells Valley, which is a southern extension of Owens Valley, broken up by the volcanic Coso Range.

1995 earthquake

The area, associated with the

2019 earthquakes

On July 4–5, 2019, Ridgecrest was associated with a series of earthquakes, including the largest to affect the area in decades, measuring 7.1 magnitude. The epicenter was about 10 miles northeast of Ridgecrest.^[10] The earthquake sequence started with a 4.0 quake 11 kilometers (6.8 mi) southwest of Searles Valley, then at 10:33 A.M. a 6.4 quake struck 12 kilometers (7.5 mi) southwest of Searles Valley. Over 1,400 aftershocks struck Searles Valley and Ridgecrest.^[11][12] On July 5, 2019, at 8:19 P.M., the magnitude 7.1 earthquake occurred, with the epicenter approximately 10 miles northeast of Ridgecrest.^[13]

Climate

The weather in the Indian Wells Valley is predominantly influenced by its high desert location. The climate is characterized by hot days and cool nights with extremely arid conditions prevailing throughout the summer months. The mean annual maximum temperature for the Ridgecrest area is 75 °F (24 °C) while the mean annual minimum temperature is 48 °F (9 °C). There are wide annual temperature fluctuations that occur from a high of 119 °F (48 °C) to a low of 1 °F (−17 °C). On average, annual rainfall is less than 5 inches (130 mm) "equivalent rainfall" per year, which includes less than 2 inches (51 mm) of snow. The area is known to have wind as high as 75 mph (121 km/h). December is the coolest month with an average maximum temperature of 60 °F (16 °C) and an average minimum temperature of 30 °F (−1 °C). The all-time minimum temperature of 1 °F (−17 °C) was recorded on December 23, 1963, and January 7, 1973.

July is the hottest month with an average maximum temperature of 103 °F (39 °C) and an average minimum temperature of 66 °F (19 °C). The all-time maximum temperature of 119 °F (48 °C) was recorded on July 11, 2021, tied with July 1988 and July 1993.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1950	2,028		—
1960	5,099		151.4%
1970	7,629		49.6%
1980	15,929		108.8%
1990	27,725		74.1%
2000	24,927		−10.1%
2010	27,616		10.8%
2019 (est.)	28,973	[17]	4.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[18]

2010

The

of any race were 4,941 persons (17.9%).

The Census reported that 27,420 people (99.3% of the population) lived in households, 109 (0.4%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 87 (0.3%) were institutionalized.

There were 10,781 households, out of which 3,901 (36.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 5,211 (48.3%) were

(66.5% of all households); the average family size was 3.10.

The population was spread out, with 7,544 people (27.3%) under the age of 18, 2,654 people (9.6%) aged 18 to 24, 7,157 people (25.9%) aged 25 to 44, 6,844 people (24.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 3,417 people (12.4%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.9 males.

There were 11,915 housing units at an average density of 556.3 per square mile (214.8/km²), of which 6,525 (60.5%) were owner-occupied, and 4,256 (39.5%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 9.2%. 16,520 people (59.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 10,900 people (39.5%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

According to the

of any race.

There were 9,826 households, out of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.2% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.9% were non-families. 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 29.1% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $44,971, and the median income for a family was $52,725. Males had a median income of $46,993 versus $29,558 for females. The

, including 17.5% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake (NAWS China Lake) is an airborne weapons testing and training range located adjacent to Ridgecrest and operated by the United States Navy and its contractors. Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake provides the majority of employment in the city at just under 8,000 jobs in 2018. This includes the government civilian workforce, active duty military personnel and private contractors.^[22]

AltaOne Federal Credit Union has its corporate headquarters in Ridgecrest.^[23]

The

, about thirty miles east of Ridgecrest.

Top employers

The principal employers in Ridgecrest in 2020 were:[24]

Rank	Employer	Employees
1	NAWS China Lake	7,995
2	Ridgecrest Regional Hospital	840
3	Searles Valley Minerals	700
4	Sierra Sands Unified School District	527
5	Walmart	333
6	Albertsons	173
7	Cerro Coso Community College	152
8	Alta One Federal Credit Union	123
9	City of Ridgecrest	116
10	Home Depot	116

Local features and activities

The most notable feature in the nearby area is the

Other activities in the area are:

Maturango Museum

The Maturango Museum is located in Ridgecrest. The museum is best known for the guided tours to Little Petroglyph Canyon on China Lake Naval Weapons Station (NAWS).

Coso Rock Art District

Coso Rock Art District, sometimes equated with the

Walker Pass

Main article: Walker Pass

Walker Pass (elevation 5,250 ft (1.60 km)) is a

Sierra Nevada mountains. It is located in northeastern Kern County, approximately 53 mi (85 km) ENE of Bakersfield and 10 mi (16 km) WSW of Ridgecrest. The pass provides a route between the San Joaquin Valley on the west and the Mojave Desert on the east.^{[citation needed}

]

Trona Pinnacles

Main article: Trona Pinnacles

Trona Pinnacles featured in many notable films are located near Ridgecrest.

Red Rock Canyon State Park

Main article: Red Rock Canyon State Park (California)

Red Rock Canyon State Park is also very close to Ridgecrest and provides the community with hiking and camping opportunities.

Education

Sherman E Burroughs High School, serves Ridgecrest, China Lake NAWC, Inyokern, Buttermilk Acres, Red Mountain, and Randsburg. There is also an alternative high school, Mesquite High School.^[32]

Ridgecrest Elementary Academy for Language, Music, and Science (REALMS)is a public charter school sponsored by the Kern County Office of Education. Opened in 2019, the school educates children from Transitional K to the 6th grade. The school campus was formerly a Transitional K to 8th grade school which operated from 2001 to 2018 under the name Ridgecrest Charter School.

Sierra Sands Unified School District

Grades	School	City
K-5	Faller Elementary School	Ridgecrest
	Gateway Elementary School
	Inyokern Elementary School	Inyokern
	Las Flores Elementary School	Ridgecrest
	Pierce Elementary School
	Richmond Elementary School
	Rand Elementary School	Johannesburg
6-8	James Monroe Middle School	Ridgecrest
	Murray Middle School
9-12	Sherman E. Burroughs High School
	Mesquite High School (alternative)

College

Main article: Cerro Coso Community College

Cerro Coso Community College, a part of the

Inyokern, and Trona

.

Public library

Ridgecrest Branch Library, a branch of the Kern County Library, serves Ridgecrest, Inyokern, China Lake, Trona and surrounding communities.

Public safety

Ridgecrest has its own police department, as well as a regional station of the Kern County Sheriff's Department. The Kern County Fire Department^[35] provides fire protection and emergency medical services. Full-time law enforcement employees in 2008 numbered 56 (41 officers).

Crime statistics for 2011 (reported by the Ridgecrest Police Department):^[36]

• Homicide: 1
• Manslaughter by negligence: 0
• Robbery: 15
• Rape: 11
• Assault: 337
• Burglary: 192
• Theft: 292
• Auto theft: 37
• Arson: 14
• Total violent crimes: 364
• Total property crimes: 535
• Total crimes: 899
• Percentage change since prior period: -9%
• Calls for service: 33,440

Notable people

Notable natives include:

• Rebekka Armstrong, Playboy Playmate and HIV/AIDS activist^[37]
• Ted Bachman, former American football defensive end, attended Burroughs High.
• 1996 Atlanta Olympics
  .
• Jerome Davis (sprinter), sprinter
• Mark Hoppus, co-lead singer and bassist of the rock band Blink-182^[38][39]
• Jason Monks, politician and member of the Idaho House of Representatives
• Sabaa Tahir, author

Media

Ridgecrest has one TV station, KZGN-LD, owned by Wiknich Broadcasting Corp., that has 3 channels serving the entire Indian Wells Valley over the air and on Mediacom Cable. KZGN provides local news, weather and sports. KZGN also provides a daily local interview program, Ridgecrest Talk. Ridgecrest is served by two newspapers,

CBS Sports Radio; KZIQ 92.7, featuring adult contemporary music; KRAJ The Heat 100.9 FM, featuring a hip-hop format; and K296AI the 107.1, with KCNV classical music feed. KRCK-1360, "Ridgecrest Radio", went off the air in the 1970s. TV repeater K05FO 5 rebroadcasts KTLA; and K35HO-D 35 rebroadcasts KBAK

.

In popular culture

The town of Junktown in the video game Fallout is based on a post-apocalyptic version of Ridgecrest.^[40]

External videos
Sony - No More Shakes, YouTube video

In a 1984 Sony commercial, Ridgecrest is known as the "Earthquake Capital of the World..."

Transportation

Ridgecrest is located at the junction of highways California State Route 178 and U.S. Route 395 (business route).

The city of Ridgecrest provides the Ridgecrest Transit shuttle bus service to and from Inyokern, connecting with the

Lancaster (Metrolink station), with connections to the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles, to the south. Kern Transit connects Ridgecrest to Lake Isabella and Mojave.^[41]

See also

• Ridgecrest Regional Hospital
• Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake

References

1. ^ "California Cities by Incorporation Date". California Association of Local Agency Formation Commissions. Archived from the original (Word) on February 21, 2013. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
2. ^ "Ridgecrest City Council". City of Ridgecrest. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
3. ^ "Senators". State of California. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
4. ^ "Members Assembly". State of California. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
5. ^ "California's 20th Congressional District - Representatives & District Map". Civic Impulse, LLC. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
6. ^ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
7. ^ "Ridgecrest". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
8. ^
   ISBN 1-884995-14-4
   .
9. ^ "Ridgecrest Earthquake". Southern California Earthquake Data Center. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
10. ^ Ryan, Harriet. "Largest earthquake in decades hits Southern California, measuring 6.4 magnitude". Los Angeles Times.
11. ^ "M 6.4 - 12km SW of Searles Valley, CA". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
12. ^ "M 6.4 - 10km ENE of Ridgecrest, CA". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
13. ^ "M 7.1 - 17km NNE of Ridgecrest, CA". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
14. ^ "China Lake NAF - NWS Hanford CA NOAA Online Weather Data". Retrieved February 10, 2021.
15. ^ "CHINA LAKE NAF, CALIFORNIA (041733)". Western Regional Climate Center. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
16. ^ "INYOKERN, CALIFORNIA (044278)". Western Regional Climate Center. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
17. ^ "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau. May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
18. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
19. ^ "2010 Census Interactive Population Search: CA - Ridgecrest city". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
20. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
21. ^ "City-data – People in group quarters / Ridgecrest, California". analyzed data from numerous sources. Retrieved March 7, 2009.
22. ^ "Ridgecrest 2018 CAFR" (PDF). Retrieved March 18, 2019.
23. ^ "AltaOne FCU corporate headquarters". AltaOne FCU. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
24. ^ "Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30 2020". City of Ridgecrest. November 15, 2021.
25. ^ The Megalithic Portal and Megalith Map. "C.Michael Hogan (2008) Morro Creek, ed. by A. Burnham". Megalithic.co.uk. Retrieved November 5, 2011.
26. ^ "Maturango Museum Home Page". Retrieved March 28, 2009.
27. ^ "The Maturango Museum". data from Desert USA. Retrieved March 28, 2009.
28. ^ "Coso Rock Art District". National Historic Landmarks Quioklinks. National Park Service. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved March 18, 2012.
29. ^ "Fall Festivals: The 10 Most Unusual Fests Across the Country". Groupon. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
30. ^ "Sierra Sands Unified School District". Retrieved March 10, 2009.
31. ^ Barnwell, Jack (July 24, 2019). "Richmond Elementary operations being transferred to Vieweg". Ridgecrest Daily Independent. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
32. ^ "Mesquite High School". Retrieved March 11, 2009.
33. ^ "Cerro Coso Community College – Main website". Retrieved March 25, 2009.
34. ^ "Indian Wells Valley Campus". Retrieved March 25, 2009.
35. ^ "Kern County Fire Department". Retrieved March 10, 2009.
36. ^ "Uncategorised - City of Ridgecrest".
37. ^ Jerome, Richard (April 7, 1997). "Object Lesson". People. 47 (13). Retrieved April 10, 2012.
38. ^ Binelli, Mark (September 16, 1999), "Q&A: Blink-182's Mark Hoppus", Rolling Stone (821), retrieved June 27, 2012
39. ^ "Mark Hoppus: Biography, Latest News & Videos". TV Guide. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
40. ^ "Fallout" (1997) Los Angeles, California" Interplay Productions
41. ^ Heimsoth, Garry. "City of Ridgecrest". Ridgecrest.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Ridgecrest, California.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Ridgecrest.

• Official City of Ridgecrest website
• City-data.com: Ridgecrest, California
• USGS.gov: Recent Earthquakes in Ridgecrest, California