Bakersfield
Bakersfield is a city of 374 thousand1 at the south end of the Central Valley2 of California, United States of America, and along the Kern River.3 The city grew rapidly in the last quarter of the 20th century. Just beyond the city limits is the important Kern River Oil Field.4 The tallest building is the Stockdale Tower (176 feet, 1982).5
External references
overview of Bakersfield, with snowy mountains in the distance
Footnotes
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_California_cities_by_population, accessed December 26, 2016.
2. The southern half of the Central Valley is usually called the San Joaquin Valley, although the San Joaquin River system does not extend the length of the valley.
3. The Kern River now vanishes downstream from Bakersfield due to its use for irrigation and drinking water. Its natural course leads to a set of interconnected lakes. In the wettest of times, the backflow from these lakes will flow into the San Joaquin River, a tributary of the Sacramento, but it is normally part of an endorheic basin.
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oil_fields, accessed December 26, 2016.
5. Information about buildings is from emporis.com, accessed February 9, 2017.
