Bakersfield: Oil Fields, Agriculture, and the Bakersfield Sound
Kern County produces more oil than any other county in California, and Bakersfield is its seat. The city's population of roughly 374,000 makes it the ninth-largest in the state. Oil derricks are visible from the highways approaching town, and the petroleum industry has shaped local politics and economics for over a century. Agriculture runs a close second, with Kern County also ranking among the top agricultural producers nationally, specializing in grapes, almonds, citrus, and carrots.
Bakersfield gave its name to the Bakersfield Sound, a style of country music that emerged in the late 1950s and 1960s as a reaction against the polished Nashville production of the era. Buck Owens and Merle Haggard were the movement's central figures. Owens performed at his Crystal Palace venue in Bakersfield until shortly before his death in 2006. The Bakersfield Sound influenced generations of country and rock musicians, and the city maintains a music heritage that few places its size can claim.
Geographically, Bakersfield sits at the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley where the valley floor meets the Tehachapi Mountains. The Kern River runs through the city but is frequently dry in its lower reaches due to upstream diversions for agriculture and municipal use. Summers are extreme, with temperatures regularly exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit from June through September.
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Kern County produces more oil than any other county in California, and Bakersfield is its seat. The city's population of roughly 374,000 makes it the ninth-largest in the state. Oil derricks are visible from the highways approaching town, and the petroleum industry has shaped local politics and economics for over a century. Agriculture runs a close second, with Kern County also ranking among the top agricultural producers nationally, specializing in grapes, almonds, citrus, and carrots.
Bakersfield gave its name to the Bakersfield Sound, a style of country music that emerged in the late 1950s and 1960s as a reaction against the polished Nashville production of the era. Buck Owens and Merle Haggard were the movement's central figures. Owens performed at his Crystal Palace venue in Bakersfield until shortly before his death in 2006. The Bakersfield Sound influenced generations of country and rock musicians, and the city maintains a music heritage that few places its size can claim.
Geographically, Bakersfield sits at the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley where the valley floor meets the Tehachapi Mountains. The Kern River runs through the city but is frequently dry in its lower reaches due to upstream diversions for agriculture and municipal use. Summers are extreme, with temperatures regularly exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit from June through September.
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