Highway_directional_sign_in_Wheeler_Ridge,_California,_2011

Wheeler Ridge is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in the southwestern

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven c ...

, within

Kern County Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield. Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county sp ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It is at the junction of the valley floor and the Wheeler Ridge landform of the

Tehachapi Mountains The Tehachapi Mountains (; Kawaiisu: ''Tihachipia'', meaning "hard climb") are a mountain range in the Transverse Ranges system of California in the Western United States. The range extends for approximately in southern Kern County and northwe ...

Geography

The community is located at the

Wheeler Ridge Interchange The Wheeler Ridge Interchange is a freeway interchange near Wheeler Ridge, California, where State Route 99 (SR 99) merges with Interstate 5 (I-5). Located approximately south of Bakersfield, it is the southernmost freeway inte ...

, the junction of State Route 99 and

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Californi ...

. It is south-southeast of Mettler, and southwest of

Arvin Arvin is a city in Kern County, California. Arvin is located southeast of Bakersfield, at an elevation of . As of the 2010 census, the population was 19,304, up from 12,956 at the 2000 census. In 2007, the United States Environmental Protec ...

. Wheeler Ridge is at an elevation of . Street addresses in Wheeler Ridge are addressed as "

, CA 93203" east of Interstate 5, and as "

Lebec Lebec is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community and census-designated place in southwestern Kern County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population was 1,468. Geography Lebec is located in Castac Valley ...

, CA 93243" west of Interstate 5. The community is inside

area code 661 Area code 661 is a California telephone area code that covers the majority of Kern County, as well as part of Los Angeles County, Santa Barbara County, and Tulare County. It was split from area code 805 on February 13, 1999. Principal cities i ...

History

A post office operated at Wheeler Ridge from 1923 to 1972. Before the development of the Grapevine commercial district to the south on Interstate 5, Wheeler Ridge had the last services southbound on U.S. Route 99 and I−5 before the steep climb up

Tejon Pass The Tejon Pass , previously known as ''Portezuelo de Cortes'', ''Portezuela de Castac'', and Fort Tejon Pass is a mountain pass between the southwest end of the Tehachapi Mountains and northeastern San Emigdio Mountains, linking Southern Califor ...

. Before the 1964 state highway renumbering, old Route 99 passed through Wheeler Ridge.

Earthquakes

The epicenter of the magnitude 7.3 1952 Kern County earthquake (White Wolf earthquake), on the

White Wolf Fault The White Wolf Fault is a fault in southern California, located along the northwestern transition of the Tejon Hills and Tehachapi Mountains with the San Joaquin Valley. It is north of the intersection of the San Andreas Fault and the Garlock F ...

, was at Wheeler Ridge. The settlement is north of the

San Andreas Fault The San Andreas Fault is a continental transform fault that extends roughly through California. It forms the tectonic boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate, and its motion is right-lateral strike-slip (horizonta ...

, which passes through the

Sierra Pelona Mountains The Sierra Pelona, also known as the Sierra Pelona Ridge or the Sierra Pelona Mountains, is a mountain ridge in the Transverse Ranges in Southern California. Located in northwest Los Angeles County, the ridge is bordered on the north by the San An ...

in the Tejon Pass area. Its last major event in the area was the magnitude 7.9 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake. On April 16, 2005, a magnitude 5.2 earthquake on the White Wolf Fault struck near Wheeler Ridge.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Kern County, California Unincorporated communities in California 1923 establishments in California

Geography

History

Earthquakes

See also

References