Tehachapi (;
Kawaiisu: ''Tihachipia'', meaning "hard climb") is a city 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, in 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 ...
, at an elevation of ,
between the
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley ( ; Spanish language in California, Spanish: ''Valle de San Joaquín'') is the southern half of California's Central Valley (California), Central Valley. Famed as a major breadbasket, the San Joaquin Valley is an importa ...
and the
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...
. Tehachapi is east-southeast of
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 ...
,
and west of
Mojave. 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 city has a total area of and a population of 12,939. The Tehachapi area is known for the nearby
Tehachapi Loop (a popular
railfan site), the
Pacific Crest Trail
The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...
and for the excellent conditions for the aerial sport of
gliding
Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sports, air sport in which pilots fly glider aircraft, unpowered aircraft known as Glider (sailplane), gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmospher ...
.
History

The
Kawaiisu people (also Nuwu ("people" in Kawaiisu), or Nuooah) are the Native American tribe whose homeland was the Tehachapi Valley, and seasonally the southern
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 ...
and Mojave Desert, for thousands of years.
One possibility for the origin of the name Tehachapi comes from the
Kawaiisu language. It may be derived from the word for "hard climb" or ''tihachipia'', according to the Tomi-Kahni Resource Center.
The settlement has been formerly known and spelled as: Tehachapai;
Tehachapa;
Tehachepi;
Tehachipi;
and Summit Station.
According to
Yokuts
The Yokuts (previously known as MariposasPowell, 1891:90–91.) are an ethnic group of Native Americans native to central California. Before European contact, the Yokuts consisted of up to 60 tribes speaking several related languages. Yokuts ...
informant Wahumchah, recorded by anthropologist
Frank Forrest Latta Frank Forrest Latta (1892–1983), was a California historian and ethnographer of the Yokuts people. He also wrote histories of the early European-American settlement of the San Joaquin Valley.
Early life
Frank Forrest Latta was the son of Presby ...
, ''Tehachapi'' derives from a Yokuts-Ute amalgam, from Yokuts ''taheech
' "oak-covered flat" + Ute ''pah "water" (cl.
Pah-ute, lit. 'Water Ute'). On an 1864 map of California, the name appears as ''Taheechepah.''
The original settlement in the Tehachapi Valley, once called Williamsburg or
'Tehichipa', was founded in the 1860s. Now known as
‘Old Town’, it was located four miles west of present-day downtown Tehachapi and was an important station on the road linking the San Joaquin Valley with Southern California.
It is now registered as
California Historical Landmark
A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance.
Criteria
Historical significance is determined by meetin ...
#643 for being the oldest settlement in the Tehachapi Valley.
In 1869, Peter D. Greene, a gold prospector and rancher who originally arrived in 1856, was appointed postmaster of a new post office near the Tomlinson Stage Company station at Oak Creek to be called ‘Tehichipa’, which was the only post office in the area. In 1875, Greene founded the community of Greenwich three miles east of Williamsburg and was appointed postmaster there.
[Historical Markers and War Memorials in Tehachapi, California](_blank)
Historical Markers and War Memorials in Tehachapi, California, Accessed February 9, 2024.
Under the leadership of civil engineer J.B. Harris, the
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...
line through the
Tehachapi Pass
Tehachapi Pass ( Kawaiisu: ''Tihachipia'', meaning "hard climb") is a mountain pass crossing the Tehachapi Mountains in Kern County, California. Traditionally, the pass marks the northeast end of the Tehachapis and the south end of the Sierra N ...
was completed in July 1876 and became the final link connecting San Francisco and Los Angeles. A telegraph office near the railroad tracks located one mile east of Greenwich was the first structure on the empty plain and would become the site of the
Tehachapi Railroad Depot and the beginning of the downtown core. The depot is now on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
(NRHP)—and was the oldest building in downtown Tehachapi until it burned in June 2008. The building had been in the final stages of becoming a museum. It has since been rebuilt using the original plans with only minor modifications to meet modern building codes. The new depot was dedicated on June 5, 2010.
[Tehachapi Depot Groundbreaking](_blank)
Tehachapi Depot Back on Track, June 13, 2009, Accessed August 8, 2009.
The new railroad town was given the name of Tehachapi Summit, and Williamsburg and Greenwich, having been bypassed by the railroad, saw their population decline as many of the area's residents moved to the new town. In 1885, Greene moved the post office to Tehachapi Summit, the postal name was later changed to ‘Tehachapi’ in 1893. The town was incorporated on August 13, 1909.
1952 Kern County earthquake
Tehachapi experienced the
7.3 magnitude
1952 Kern County earthquake on the
White Wolf Fault. At the time, the earthquake was the largest in Southern California in the twentieth century and the largest since the
1872 Lone Pine earthquake. It was felt as far away as
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, ...
. Twelve people died in the quake and severe damage was done to buildings and rail lines in the area.
Geography
Faults
Downtown Tehachapi is approximately from the
White Wolf Fault, from the
Garlock Fault and from the
San Andreas Fault
The San Andreas Fault is a continental Fault (geology)#Strike-slip faults, right-lateral strike-slip transform fault that extends roughly through the U.S. state of California. It forms part of the tectonics, tectonic boundary between the Paci ...
. The 1857
Fort Tejon earthquake on the
San Andreas Fault
The San Andreas Fault is a continental Fault (geology)#Strike-slip faults, right-lateral strike-slip transform fault that extends roughly through the U.S. state of California. It forms part of the tectonics, tectonic boundary between the Paci ...
had an estimated magnitude of 7.9 but there is no record of the local effects of this quake. The
Garlock Fault last ruptured approximately 500 years ago.
Climate
Tehachapi has a hot-summer
mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''
Csa'').
Tehachapi is known for its four-season climate. The wet season is generally November through May, although thunderstorms are common during the summer, especially over the nearby mountain peaks. Average temperatures range from in July to in January. The area typically collects of snow each winter. There are an average of 31.1 days with highs of or higher and an average of 94.8 days with lows of or lower annually.
Due to Tehachapi's close proximity to the Tehachapi Pass, which forces air up from the San Joaquin Valley through a narrow canyon into the mountains, the region is notably windy throughout the year. Many days out of the year experience strong wind gusts, usually coming from the Tehachapi Pass to the northwest. During winter, the strong winds can cause temperatures to feel significantly colder than they actually are. When strong high pressure systems are over the area, the winds often cease.
The highest recorded temperature was on July 27, 1934.
[ The lowest recorded temperature was on January 14, 1932, and December 21, 1967.] Annual precipitation averages and there is measurable precipitation on average of 42 days annually. The wettest year was 1983, with and the driest year was 1989, with . The most precipitation in one month was in March 1983. The most precipitation in 24 hours was on March 1, 1983. The snowiest year was 1967, when fell. The most snow in one month was in January 1933.
Demographics
The population was 14,414 at the 2010 census, up from 10,957 at the 2000 census.
2020
The 2020 United States census reported that Tehachapi had a population of 12,939. The population density was . The racial makeup of Tehachapi was 53.3% 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 ...
, 8.1% 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 ...
, 1.3% Native American, 2.3% Asian, 0.2% 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 ...
, 23.2% from other races, and 11.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 36.6% of the population.
The census reported that 71.9% of the population lived in households and 28.1% were institutionalized.[
There were 3,526 households, out of which 36.8% included children under the age of 18, 44.4% were married-couple households, 7.5% 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, 28.4% had a female householder with no partner present, and 19.7% had a male householder with no partner present. 27.5% of households were one person, and 13.3% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.64.[ There were 2,343 ]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 ...
(66.4% of all households).
The age distribution was 19.2% under the age of 18, 7.5% aged 18 to 24, 36.0% aged 25 to 44, 25.2% aged 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 37.6years. For every 100 females, there were 174.5 males.[
There were 3,784 housing units at an average density of , of which 3,526 (93.2%) were occupied. Of these, 56.6% were owner-occupied, and 43.4% were occupied by renters.][
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $67,785, and the ]per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
was $23,388. About 4.8% of families and 11.9% of the population were below the poverty line.
2010
The 2010 United States Census reported that Tehachapi had a population of 14,414. The population density was .
The racial makeup of Tehachapi was 9,426 (65.4%) 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 ...
, 1,297 (9.0%) 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 ...
, 206 (1.4%) Native American, 238 (1.7%) Asian, 21 (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 ...
, 2,725 (18.9%) from other races, and 501 (3.5%) 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 5,466 persons (37.9%).
The Census reported that 8,487 people (58.9% of the population) lived in households, 6 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 5,921 (41.1%) were institutionalized.
There were 3,121 households, out of which 1,199 (38.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,504 (48.2%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 418 (13.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 181 (5.8%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 194 (6.2%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 18 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 879 households (28.2%) were made up of individuals, and 428 (13.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72. There were 2,103 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 ...
(67.4% of all households); the average family size was 3.34.
The population was spread out, with 2,599 people (18.0%) under the age of 18, 1,542 people (10.7%) aged 18 to 24, 5,891 people (40.9%) aged 25 to 44, 3,115 people (21.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,267 people (8.8%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 234.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 283.0 males.
There were 3,539 housing units at an average density of , of which 1,841 (59.0%) were owner-occupied, and 1,280 (41.0%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 12.2%. 4,913 people (34.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 3,574 people (24.8%) lived in rental housing units.
Economy
Tehachapi has historically been agrarian, with apples, peaches, grain, vegetables and hay grown year-round.
Wine grapes were grown in the area from the 19th century up until prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...
. A 2007 application to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) for the "Tehachapi/Cummings Valley AVA" was declined due to insufficient planted acreage. The Tehachapi Mountains American Viticultural Area was approved in 2020. It is approximately .
Roughly half of Tehachapi's water supply originates as groundwater that is replenished by local precipitation; the other half comes from the California Aqueduct
The Governor Edmund G. Brown California Aqueduct is a system of canals, tunnels, and pipelines that conveys water collected from the Sierra Nevada and valleys of Northern and Central California to Southern California. Named after California Gov ...
.
The California Correctional Institution, a maximum security prison also known as Tehachapi State Prison, is in the area. Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, California, Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County and a souther ...
lies to the east.
The Tehachapi area has been a center for renewable wind energy, containing 4,531 turbines that produce 3,200 megawatts of electricity as of 2019. In the same year, Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
announced it would begin sourcing wind energy from Tehachapi as part of its goal to become carbon-neutral by 2040. The Tehachapi Energy Storage Project, commissioned in 2014, is located at Monolith Substation.
In 2019, a Walmart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...
store opened in Tehachapi, which would provide up to 200 full and part-time jobs.
Recreation and culture
The Tehachapi area is known for the nearby Tehachapi Loop (a popular railfan site), Tehachapi Pass Wind Farm, the Tehachapi Depot Museum, the Tehachapi Museum, the Tomo-Kahni State Historic Park and Tomi-Kahni Resource Center (Native American), and excellent air conditions for gliding
Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sports, air sport in which pilots fly glider aircraft, unpowered aircraft known as Glider (sailplane), gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmospher ...
. Tehachapi is on the Pacific Crest Trail
The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...
. to the west, at Keene, is the National Chavez Center, established to share the legacy of Cesar Chavez
Cesario Estrada Chavez (; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta and lesser known Gilbert Padilla, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), ...
.
Cycling
Tehachapi has a thriving and growing cycling community for both mountain biking and road cycling. The Tehachapi Gran Fondo, a mass cycling event in September, was named Best Century
A century is a period of 100 years or 10 decades. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c.
...
by Cycle CA magazine two years in a row. The event offers several distance choices, the longest being around and of climbing through wind farms, vegetable farms, orchards and mountains.
Tehachapi Mountain Trails Association (TMTA) is a local group of riders and trail builders. The trails are often used for singletrack mountain biking. TMTA members are walkers, hikers, road bicyclists, mountain bikers, horseback riders, and outdoor enthusiasts interested in developing and preserving multi-use non motorized trails throughout the greater Tehachapi area.
Community orchestra and theater
Tehachapi boasts two local orchestras. The Tehachapi Community Orchestra, now called the Tehachapi Symphony Orchestra, was founded in 1997 by Joan Samara and Deborah Hand as an outgrowth of the Da Camera Players String Ensemble, and incorporated in 1998 by Gayel Pitchford. It performs 5 free-to-the public concerts each year, with familiar selections from the classical canon. This orchestra and its founders' vision were profiled in the Sept/Oct 2005 issue of Symphony Magazine. (See also The Tehachapi News October 12, 1997)
The Tehachapi Pops Orchestra (T-Pops), founded in 2006 by Deborah Hand, plays an eclectic blend of popular and jazz music, as well as original compositions. T-Pops performs 5 to 6 concerts each year. All are free to the public except for the Halloween concert held at the Beekay Theater with the local theater group, the Tehachapi Community Theater.[
, TPops website, accessed July 9, 2012]
, a local theater group, the Tehachapi Community Theater, performs in the restored downtown BeeKay Theater.[Tehachapi Community Theater]
TCT website: Center Stage, accessed December 1, 2010
Government
Law enforcement
The Tehachapi Police Department has been dissolved and reformed several times throughout the city's history. Initially created with the founding of the city, it was later disbanded. It was reestablished in 1955 and disbanded a second time. It was reestablished once more on November 27, 2006, with the swearing in of the Chief of Police, Jeff Kermode. , the chief of police
A chief of police (COP) is the title given to an appointed official or an elected one in the command hierarchy, chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. A chief of police may also be known as a police chief or somet ...
is Richard Standridge.
Media
Newspapers
The city has several local news publications, including the '' Tehachapi News'' (since 1899) and ''The Loop''.
Transportation
The Tehachapi Park and Ride facility at 335 W Tehachapi Boulevard offers free parking and connections to Kern Transit and Amtrak Thruway
Amtrak Thruway is a system of through-ticketed transportation services to connect passengers with areas not served by Amtrak trains. In most cases these are dedicated motorcoach routes, but can also be non-dedicated intercity bus services, transi ...
buses. Kern Transit Route 100 goes from Lancaster 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 Amtrak Thruway bus provides connections to Oxnard
Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California, United States. On California's Central Coast (California), Central Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the List of largest California cities by populati ...
and Santa Barbara.
Tehachapi Municipal Airport is located approximately one mile east of the Park and Ride facility.
In popular culture
Film productions
Tehachapi has been host to productions by both Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood ...
and independent film
An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is film production, produced outside the Major film studios, major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independ ...
makers, as well as being frequently mentioned, particularly during the noir era.
Perhaps the first movie to be filmed in Tehachapi was '' The Lady of the Dugout'' (1918), which starred former outlaws Al and Frank Jennings playing themselves. The brother outlaws were well known to Americans of the time.
Referencing the local women's prison was a common manner in which Tehachapi received mention in noir film, including James M. Cain adaptations '' The Postman Always Rings Twice'' and ''Double Indemnity
''Double Indemnity'' is a 1944 American film noir directed by Billy Wilder and produced by Buddy DeSylva and Joseph Sistrom. Wilder and Raymond Chandler adapted the screenplay from James M. Cain's Double Indemnity (novel), novel of the same na ...
'', in which Fred MacMurray
Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...
's character tells of one woman who killed her husband: "All she collected was a three-to-ten stretch in Tehachapi (neither of Cain's novels mention Tehachapi)."
In '' The Maltese Falcon'', Sam Spade (played by Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart ( ; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart ...
) tells a female criminal and love interest, "Well, if you get a good break, you'll be out of Tehachapi in twenty years and you can come back to me then." In the book, the reference was not to Tehachapi but to San Quentin
San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (SQ), formerly known as San Quentin State Prison, is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in ...
.
'' Nocturne'' (1946) featured a housemaid mysteriously referred to as the "Tehachapi Debutante," and 1948's ''The Hunted'' has a heroine fresh out of Tehachapi after four years for jewelry theft.
In '' The Story of Molly X'' (1949), Molly X is the leader of a San Francisco gang sent to Tehachapi for her role in a burglary attempt instead of San Quentin for execution. Most of the film then takes place at the prison, as Molly goes from being trouble to a model prisoner.
In '' 1001 Rabbit Tales'', Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a cartoon character created in the late 1930s at Warner Bros. Cartoons (originally Leon Schlesinger, Leon Schlesinger Productions) and Voice acting, voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his featured roles in the ' ...
tells the sultan's son that Hansel and Gretel
"Hansel and Gretel" (; ) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 as part of ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15).
Hansel and Gretel are siblings who are abandoned in a forest and fall into the hands of a witch ...
's witch was sent to Tehachapi.
In ''Star Trek Generations
''Star Trek Generations'' is a 1994 American science fiction film and the seventh film in the Star Trek (film series), ''Star Trek'' film series. Malcolm McDowell joins cast members from the 1960s television show ''Star Trek: The Original Ser ...
'' (1994), actors Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Stewart (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor. With a career spanning over seven decades of Patrick Stewart on stage and screen, stage and screen, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Patrick Stewart, variou ...
and William Shatner
William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1966 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...
appear in a scene filmed in the Tehachapi mountains.
The Christina Applegate
Christina Applegate (born November 25, 1971) is an American actress. With a career spanning five decades, her accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award, along with nominations for four Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award.
After appearing in se ...
vehicle originally titled ''Tehachapi'' sends her character to Tehachapi because her lover is in prison here. The movie was eventually released under the title ''Across the Moon'' (1995).
The fourth season of the teen-geared television series, ''Endurance
Endurance (also related to sufferance, forbearance, resilience, constitution, fortitude, persistence, tenacity, steadfastness, perseverance, stamina, and hardiness) is the ability of an organism to exert itself and remain active for a ...
'' produced by the Discovery Kids Network was filmed in Tehachapi and aired from 2005 to 2006.
In '' Mac and Me'' (1988), after the characters state they have to "drive to Woolworth's in Palmdale" the next shot shows them driving up a dirt road through a Tehachapi wind farm
A wind farm, also called a wind park or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turbines covering an exten ...
. Similarly, ''Terminal Velocity
Terminal velocity is the maximum speed attainable by an object as it falls through a fluid (air is the most common example). It is reached when the sum of the drag force (''Fd'') and the buoyancy is equal to the downward force of gravity (''FG ...
'' (1994) has a fight sequence filmed on top of a hill in one of the farms.
'' Herbie: Fully Loaded'' (2005) shot a sequence at a wind farm and on Oak Creek Road, which winds through several farms.
Tehachapi was featured in several episodes of the Animal Planet
Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel focusing on the animal kingdom owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1 ...
reality show '' Pit Bulls and Parolees''. The show focuses on the Villalobos Rescue Center and the pit bulls cared for by the center; in 2011, the rescue's application to use property owned in Tehachapi to expand rescue operations was denied by the Kern County Planning Department.
Other movies filmed in Tehachapi include ''Face to Face'' (2001), ''Fault'' (2002), ''Batman: Revenge'' (2003), ''The Gentleman Don La Mancha'' (2004), ''I.F.O. (Identified Flying Object)'' (1985), ''Motor Mansions'' (2005), '' The Legend of Bloody Mary'' (2008), ''The Grapes of Wrath
''The Grapes of Wrath'' is an American realist novel written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. The book won the National Book Award
and Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and it was cited prominently when Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize ...
'' (1940, featuring the scene at Keene Ranch), and ''The Hangover Part III
''The Hangover Part III'' is a 2013 American comedy film produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the third and final installment in ''The Hangover'' trilogy and the sequel to ''The Hangover Part II'' (2 ...
'' (2013).
Music
The American Country Rock
Country rock is a music genre that fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal sty ...
band Little Feat
Little Feat is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George, bassist Roy Estrada (both formerly of the Mothers of Invention), keyboardist Bill Payne, and drummer Richie Hayward in ...
references Tehachapi in its song, Willin', written by its multi-instrumentalist band member Lowell George. The song has been covered numerous times, most notably by Linda Ronstadt
Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is an American singer who has performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin music.
Ronstadt has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three A ...
on her 1974 album, Heart Like a Wheel, by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen
Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen were an American country rock band founded in 1967. The group's leader and co-founder was pianist and vocalist George Frayne IV, alias Commander Cody (born July 19, 1944, in Boise, Idaho; died September ...
on its 1975 eponym
An eponym is a noun after which or for which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. Adjectives derived from the word ''eponym'' include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Eponyms are commonly used for time periods, places, innovati ...
ous album, and by Gregg Allman
Gregory LeNoir Allman (December 8, 1947 – May 27, 2017) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He was known for performing in the Allman Brothers Band. Allman grew up with an interest in rhythm and blues music, and the Allman B ...
on his 2017 album, Southern Blood (released posthumously). The American singer Margo Cilker included a song called "Tehachapi" on her 2021 album Pohorylle.
Video game references
In the 1999 PlayStation
is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...
video game Parasite Eve II, its main protagonist, Aya Brea, receives a map of Mojave region and is tasked to go to a fictional town of "Dryfield". The said map can be examined more thoroughly as an item of interest, and upon closer inspection it is revealed that the picture for the aforementioned map was actually based on real life satellite photo of the region, which shows real roads and infrastructure as they were existing in late 1990's, including portion of the real town of 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 ...
, with the fictional town of "Dryfield" being encircled in it, and it's physical position on the picture shown in-game directly matching where Tehachapi is positioned in real life. The fictional location of "Dryfield" looks nothing like the real Tehachapi does in reality, but on the map picture that's being shown in the Parasite Eve II game it is directly placed where real Tehachapi is.
Condor mass perching
In May 2021, a resident came home after a holiday to find that about 15 to 20 condors had descended on her home. She said, "To have that many condors on my house was surreal; they can be destructive and messy. Nature is amazing!" The birds had ripped up decking, taken to a bath spa and knocked over several plants.[
The ]Fish and Wildlife Service
A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fins and a hard skull, but lacking limbs with digits. Fish can be grouped into the more basal jawless fish and the more common jawed fis ...
responded to tweets about the incident that the house is in a condor habitat where there are food sources and that sometimes condors use houses and decks as perch locations.[ Spokeswoman Pam Bierce said that as condors re-colonized historical ranges "people could increasingly find themselves interacting with the curious, intelligent and social birds".]
Mickols' daughter Seana Quintero stated that all-in-all her mother was in "good stride and appreciating this once-in-a-lifetime annoyance but hoping they decide to leave her house alone soon".[
]
See also
* List of cities and towns in California
California is a U.S. state, state located in the Western United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by population, most populous state and the List of U.S. states and territories by area, third largest by area after Alaska an ...
* California Historical Landmarks in Kern County
References
External links
*City of Tehachapi -
Tehachapi Chamber of Commerce
Tomo-Kahni State Historic Park website
��'' Kawaiisu Native American Village, near Tehachapi''
{{Authority control
Cities in Kern County, California
Incorporated cities and towns in California
Tehachapi Mountains
1909 establishments in California
Populated places established in 1909
Cities in the Mojave Desert