Inyokern (formerly Siding 16 and Magnolia) is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in

Kern County, California Kern County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield. Kern County compris ...

, United States. Its name derives from its location near the border between Inyo and Kern Counties. Inyokern is located west of Ridgecrest, at an elevation of . It is on the western side of the

Indian Wells Valley Indian Wells Valley is an arid north–south basin in east-central California. In the geologic sense, it is a southern extension of Owens Valley to the north, with the recent volcanics of the Coso Range being the separator. It is defined by a maj ...

. The population was 988 in the 2020 census, down from 1,099 in the 2010 census. It was a railroad town established along the

Southern Pacific The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names ...

railroad's Lone Pine Branch (now removed) and with WWII became site of the

Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake is a large military installation in California that supports the research, testing and evaluation programs of the United States Navy. It is part of Navy Region Southwest under Commander, Navy Instal ...

. It is served by

Inyokern Airport Inyokern Airport is a public use airport located northwest of the central business district of Inyokern, in Kern County, California, United States. It is owned by the Indian Wells Valley Airport District and serves the Indian Wells Valley area ...

Geography

Inyokern is located at about west of Ridgecrest, at an elevation of . It is on the western side of the

, with the eastern slopes of the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

rising to the west. It is on U.S. Route 395, the main north–south artery connecting the

Inland Empire The Inland Empire (commonly abbreviated as the IE) is a metropolitan area and region inland of and adjacent to coastal Southern California, centering around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, and bordering Los Angeles County and Or ...

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

. US 395 also connects Inyokern to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

via State Route 14 through

Palmdale Palmdale is a city in northern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city lies in the Antelope Valley of Southern California. The San Gabriel Mountains separate Palmdale from the Los Angeles Basin to the south. On August 24, 1962 ...

. State Route 178, the main east–west artery, connects Inyokern to

Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of the ...

, the county seat, via

Lake Isabella Lake Isabella also called Isabella Lake, is a reservoir in Kern County, California, United States created by the earthen Isabella Dam. At , it is one of the larger reservoirs in California. Lake Isabella is located about northeast of Bakersfi ...

in the west, and to

Death Valley Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. It is thought to be the Highest temperature recorded on Earth, hottest place on Earth during summer. Death Valley's Badwat ...

via Ridgecrest in the east. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the CDP has a total area of , over 99% of it land.

Demographics

Inyokern first appeared as a

census designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

in the 2000 U.S. Census.

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Inyokern had a population of 988. The population density was . The racial makeup of Inyokern was 718 (72.7%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 9 (0.9%)

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 27 (2.7%) Native American, 27 (2.7%) Asian, 1 (0.1%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 58 (5.9%) from other races, and 148 (15.0%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 158 persons (16.0%). The whole population lived in households. There were 441 households, out of which 92 (20.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 204 (46.3%) were married-couple households, 36 (8.2%) were

cohabiting Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not legally married live together as a couple. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become incr ...

couple households, 98 (22.2%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 103 (23.4%) had a male householder with no partner present. 133 households (30.2%) were one person, and 72 (16.3%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.24. There were 279

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

(63.3% of all households). The age distribution was 191 people (19.3%) under the age of 18, 49 people (5.0%) aged 18 to 24, 195 people (19.7%) aged 25 to 44, 325 people (32.9%) aged 45 to 64, and 228 people (23.1%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 51.5years. For every 100 females, there were 102.0 males. There were 498 housing units at an average density of , of which 441 (88.6%) were occupied. Of these, 348 (78.9%) were owner-occupied, and 93 (21.1%) were occupied by renters.

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Inyokern had a population of 1,099. The population density was . The racial makeup of Inyokern was 930 (84.6%)

, 14 (1.3%)

, 24 (2.2%) Native American, 25 (2.3%) Asian, 2 (0.2%)

, 49 (4.5%) from other races, and 55 (5.0%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 116 persons (10.6%). The Census reported that 1,099 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 484 households, out of which 111 (22.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 219 (45.2%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 38 (7.9%) had a female householder with no husband present, 21 (4.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 29 (6.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 4 (0.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 179 households (37.0%) were made up of individuals, and 73 (15.1%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27. There were 278

(57.4% of all households); the average family size was 3.01. The population was spread out, with 222 people (20.2%) under the age of 18, 74 people (6.7%) aged 18 to 24, 201 people (18.3%) aged 25 to 44, 406 people (36.9%) aged 45 to 64, and 196 people (17.8%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 108.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.8 males. There were 537 housing units at an average density of , of which 355 (73.3%) were owner-occupied, and 129 (26.7%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.7%. 776 people (70.6% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 323 people (29.4%) lived in rental housing units.

Climate

The

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

of Inyokern, California, is predominantly influenced by its high desert location. The

is characterized by hot days and cool nights with extremely arid conditions prevailing throughout the

summer Summer or summertime is the hottest and brightest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, daylight hours are the longest and darkness hours are the shortest, with day ...

months. The mean annual

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that quantitatively expresses the attribute of hotness or coldness. Temperature is measurement, measured with a thermometer. It reflects the average kinetic energy of the vibrating and colliding atoms making ...

for the Inyokern area is . Wide annual temperature fluctuations occur from a high of to a low of . January is the coolest month with an average maximum temperature of and an average minimum temperature of . The all-time minimum temperature of was recorded on December 23, 1972, and January 7, 1973. Inyokern is in a desert, with an average of less than of "equivalent rainfall" per year, which includes less than of snow. July is the hottest month with an average maximum temperature of and an average minimum temperature of . The all-time maximum temperature of was recorded on July 31, 1985.

History

Inyokern was founded in the mid-19th century as an agrarian community located in the northernmost corner of the Mojave Desert. It expanded during construction of the

Owens Valley aqueduct The Los Angeles Aqueduct system, comprising the Los Angeles Aqueduct (Owens Valley aqueduct) and the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct, is a water conveyance system, built and operated by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The Owens Valley ...

. The first post office opened in 1910. The Inyokern Elementary School was founded in 1913. The original building was replaced in the mid-1930s by a larger building with a stage and indoor restrooms. This building was demolished in the early 1970s. In the 1930s, half a dozen irrigated farms were scattered around Indian Wells Valley, growing mostly alfalfa and livestock. Community events were held in Inyokern Hall, which still stands. With the onset of World War II, the US Navy located its new

in Inyokern. This accounts for the length of the runways and the size of the county airport. The military base was subsequently moved to the east and the city of Ridgecrest was established as a commercial support center for that base.

Present time

Today Inyokern serves as a sparsely populated bedroom community for workers on the base desiring a more rural lifestyle. The town infrastructure consists of two churches, a post office, market and gas station, convenience store and gas station, a variety store, hardware store, welding and blacksmith shop, a county park, two restaurants, a motel, an autobody shop and several antique shops. In the 1990s the building which formerly housed the library was demolished and replaced by a Senior Citizen's Center. Inyokern also had a now-closed Kern County Sheriff's Office substation and a

Caltrans The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an Executive (government), executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the Government of California#State agencies, cabinet-level California State Tran ...

road maintenance center and a motorcycle shop and blanket store. The town water and sewer system is managed by the Community Services Center. The population of the town peaked circa 1988 following a period of expansion on the naval base, but has dwindled since then, and many properties were abandoned during the military downsizing of the 1990s. Until the 1990s, the main commercial block of the town along highway 178 was a somewhat picturesque street of older buildings constructed of local rock and bricks, including a vintage post office, cafe, three bars, and a small Chinese restaurant. This street is sometimes used in filming Hollywood westerns. The Inyokern airport is used to film commercials.

Environment

Characterized by extreme aridity, Inyokern is situated in a wide valley at the base of the eastern escarpment of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Rugged mountains more than in elevation west of the area create a pronounced rain-shadow effect, resulting in a shrub-steppe habitat zone with annual rainfall of less than . The flora of the valley floor consists primarily of

Creosote Bush ''Larrea tridentata'', called creosote bush, greasewood, and chaparral is a medicinal herb. In Sonora, it is more commonly called ''hediondilla''; Spanish ''hediondo'' = "smelly". It is a flowering plant in the family Zygophyllaceae. The specific ...

(''Larrea tridentata''), Burrobush (''Ambrosia dumosa''), and several varieties of native bunch grasses. The transition zone of the nearby foothills also contain mixtures of

pinyon pine The pinyon or piñon pine group grows in southwestern North America, especially in New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah, with the single-leaf pinyon pine just reaching into southern Idaho. The trees yield edible Pine nut, nuts, which are a sta ...

Joshua tree ''Yucca brevifolia'' (also known as the Joshua tree, yucca palm, tree yucca, and palm tree yucca) is a plant species belonging to the genus '' Yucca''. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names. This monocotyledonous tre ...

forests, and concentrated riparian habitat surrounding the small streams descending from the mountain peaks. Wildlife ranges from black bear,

mountain lion The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...

, and

whitetail deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known commonly as the whitetail and the Virginia deer, is a medium-sized species of deer native to North, Central and South America. It is the most widely-distributed mainland ungulate ...

in the mountain and transition zones to the

kangaroo rat Kangaroo rats, small mostly nocturnal rodents of genus ''Dipodomys'', are native to arid areas of western North America. The common name derives from their bipedal form. They hop in a manner similar to the much larger kangaroo, but developed thi ...

and the endangered

desert tortoise The desert tortoise (''Gopherus agassizii'') is a species of tortoise in the Family (biology), family Testudinidae. The species is native to the Mojave Desert, Mojave and Sonoran Deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico ...

on the valley floor. A special note on the local wildlife is the local subspecies of rattlesnake, the

Mojave rattlesnake ''Crotalus scutulatus'' is known commonly as the Mohave Rattlesnake. Other common English names include Mojave Rattlesnake Stebbins, R.C. (2003). ''A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians''. Boston: Houghton Mifflin & Co. pp. 416–417 ...

(also called the Mojave green rattlesnake). This snake, which is common in the area, produces pit viper venom common to the general species but also produces a neuro-toxin that paralyzes the victim within 15 minutes. The subspecies is docile, and fatal bites are rare. Indigenous animals that found in the valley floor are

kit fox The kit fox (''Vulpes macrotis'') is a fox species that inhabits arid and semi-arid regions of the southwestern United States and northern and central Mexico. These foxes are the smallest of the four species of ''Vulpes'' occurring in North Amer ...

es,

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the Wolf, gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the c ...

bobcat The bobcat (''Lynx rufus''), also known as the wildcat, bay lynx, or red lynx, is one of the four extant species within the medium-sized wild cat genus '' Lynx''. Native to North America, it ranges from southern Canada through most of the c ...

s, and

roadrunner The roadrunners (genus ''Geococcyx''), also known as chaparral birds or chaparral cocks, are two species of fast-running ground cuckoos with long tails and crests. They are found in the southwestern and south-central United States, Mexico and C ...

s. Bears and mountain lions occasionally descend from the Sierra Nevada Mountains seeking food.

Attractions

As of 2008, Inyokern had the highest insolation of any locale on the North American continent, having over 355 days of sunshine each year. As of 2018, the town was home to the past and current world champion musical saw players. The Inyokern Airport has been a popular location for car commercials, with the Sierra Nevada Mountains as a backdrop.

Transportation

*Kern Transit *Eastern Sierra Transit

Churches

*Bethel Missionary Baptist Church *Inyokern Baptist Church *Inyokern Community Methodist Church

Media

Inyokern is served by two newspapers, ''The Daily Independent'' and the ''News Review'', as well as a mixture of local broadcast stations and repeaters from radio and TV stations based in Los Angeles, California. The repeaters are operated by the IWV TV Booster.

AM radio stations

*KIRN (670 AM; 35 kW; Simi Valley, CA; Owner: Lotus Oxnard) *KLOA (1240 AM; 1 kW; Ridgecrest, CA; Owner: Adelman Communications) *KLAC (570 AM; 50 kW; Los Angeles, CA; Owner: AMFM Radio Licenses) *KSPN (710 AM; 50 kW; Los Angeles, CA; Owner: KABC-AM Radio) *KWDJ (1360 AM; 1 kW; Ridgecrest, CA) *KMJ (580 AM; 50 kW; Fresno, CA; Owner: Infinity Radio Operations) *KFI (640 AM; 50 kW; Los Angeles, CA; Owner: Capstar TX Limited Partnership) *KPLS (830 AM; 50 kW; Orange, CA; Owner: CRN Licenses) *KFWB (980 AM; 50 kW; Los Angeles, CA; Owner: Infinity Broadcasting Operations) *KDIS (1110 AM; 50 kW; Pasadena, CA; Owner: ABC) *KTNQ (1020 AM; 50 kW; Los Angeles, CA; Owner: KTNQ-AM License Corp.) *KERI (1180 AM; 50 kW; Wasco-Greenacres, CA; Owner: KWSO) *KWRU (940 AM; 50 kW; Fresno, CA)

FM radio stations

*KZIQ-FM (92.7 FM; Ridgecrest, CA; Owner: James Knudsen and Donna Knudsen) *KLOA-FM (104.9 FM; Ridgecrest, CA; Owner: Adelman Communications) *KRAJ (100.9 FM; Johannesburg, CA; Owner: Adelman Broadcasting) *KGBM (89.7 FM; Randsburg, CA; Owner: Educational Media Foundation) *K266AH (101.1 FM; Bena, CA; Owner: Calvary Chapel of Twin Falls) *KTQX (90.1 FM; Bakersfield, CA; Owner: Radio Bilingue) *KMYX-FM (92.5 FM; Arvin, CA; Owner: Farmworker Educational Radio Network) *KKZQ (100.1 FM; Tehachapi, CA; Owner: High Desert Broadcasting) *KVLI-FM (104.5 FM; Lake Isabella, CA; Owner: Robert J. and Katherine M. Bohn) *KCNQ (102.5 FM; Kernville, CA; Owner: Robert J. and Katherine M. Bohn) *K218DU (90.9 FM; Ridgecrest, CA; Owner: Calvary Chapel of Twin Falls) *KCEL (106.9 FM; California City, CA; Owner: KCEL Radio) *K206CO (89.1 FM; Ridgecrest, CA; Owner: Educational Media Foundation)

Notable residents

* Lorien Stern, artist

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Inyokern, California Census-designated places in Kern County, California Populated places in the Mojave Desert Ridgecrest, California Census-designated places in California