Ridgecrest, California
Ridgecrest, California | |
|---|---|
College Heights Blvd., Ridgecrest | |
Location in Kern County and the state of California | |
| Coordinates: 35°37′21″N 117°40′15″W / 35.62250°N 117.67083°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Kern |
| Incorporated | November 29, 1963 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Travis W. Endicott |
| • State senator | Melissa Hurtado (D) |
| • Assemblymember | Tom Lackey (R) |
| • U. S. rep. | Vince Fong (R) |
| Area | |
• Total | 21.53 sq mi (55.76 km2) |
| • Land | 20.88 sq mi (54.08 km2) |
| • Water | 0.65 sq mi (1.69 km2) 3.04% |
| Elevation | 2,290 ft (698 m) |
| Population | |
• Total | 27,959 |
| • Density | 1,300/sq mi (500/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−08:00 (Pacific) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−07:00 (PDT) |
| ZIP Codes | 93555–93556 |
| Area codes | 442 and 760 |
| FIPS code | 06-60704 |
| GNIS feature IDs | 1652783, 2410944 |
| Website | www |
Ridgecrest is a city in Kern County, California, United States, along U.S. Route 395 in the Indian Wells Valley in northeastern Kern County, adjacent to the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake (NAWS, or China Lake). It was incorporated as a city in 1963. The population was 27,959 at the 2020 census, up slightly from 27,616 at the 2010 census, making it the third-largest city in Kern County.
Ridgecrest is surrounded by four mountain ranges; the Sierra Nevada on the west, the Coso Range on the north, the Argus Range on the east, and the El Paso Mountains on the south. The most isolated community in Kern county, 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.