Bakersfield, also called "California's Country Music Capital," is located in the southern end of California's San Joaquin Valley, or the Great Central Valley.http://www.visitbakersfield.com/visitors/ It is the largest city in Kern County. http://www.californiadaytrips.com/kern-county-travel-guide.html Bakersfield is the eleventh-largest city in California with a population of 324,463.http://www.visitbakersfield.com/ The city is almost 100 miles north of Los Angeles and about 300 miles southeast of Sacramento.http://www.bakersfieldhelpwanted.org/

It is the birthplace of The Bakersfield Sound, a country music movement started by Wynn Stewart, Buck Owens and Merle Haggard, which incorporated electric instrumentation into the country sound.http://www.allmusic.com/explore/style/bakersfield-sound-d2675 Bakersfield was founded because of the oil and gold industries, but now relies on the manufacturing of vacuums, highway paint and stock racing cars. It is also the home of the Dreyer's company, which manufactures Dreyer's, Edy's, Haagen-Dazs and Skinny Cow ice cream products.http://www.hotelrosedale.com/bakersfield.html

The area now called Bakersfield was believed to be occupied by the Yokuts Indians over 8,000 years ago.http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/northamerica/yokuts.htmlThey were driven off their land after the discovery of gold along the Kern River in 1851 and oil in the valley in 1865.http://www.hotelrosedale.com/bakersfield.html Originally called Kern Island, American settlers began moving there in 1860.http://www.bakersfieldhelpwanted.org/ Bakersfield was founded in 1869 and named after the pioneer Colonel Thomas Baker, who had relocated to the area during the California Gold Rush and moved to Kern Island in 1963.http://www.bakersfieldcarealestate.org/History.asp It was incorporated as a city in 1873 and became a destination for migrants seeking oil and gold from Southern California and distant states including Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. http://www.hotelrosedale.com/bakersfield.html

In 1952 an earthquake measuring a magnitude 7.5 on the Richter Scale hit Bakersfield at 4:52 a.m.http://www.data.scec.org/chrono_index/kerncoun.html The quake was felt over 160,000 square miles, took 12 lives and caused $48 million in damages including the loss of 100 structures.http://www.scec.org/education/020721kern.html

Bakersfield is situated at latitude 35°36'N and longitude 119°20'W and covers 140.53 square miles.http://california-bakersfield.com/ The city lies at an average altitude of 330 feet above sea level, with an average annual high temperature of 78F and an average low 49F. http://www.weatherreports.com/?location=Bakersfield%2C+ca

Bakersfield Museum of Art: Permanent and traveling exhibits of painting and sculpture in both indoor and outdoor galleries.http://www.bmoa.org/

Buck Owens' Crystal Palace: A restaurant, museum and performance venue focusing on the music of the country artist Buck Owens.http://www.buckowens.com/

Bakersfield Speedway: Stock car track with races every weekend.http://www.bakersfieldspeedway.com/

California Living Museum: Native zoo and botanical gardens featuring local California plants and animals.http://www.calmzoo.org/

Rebekka Armstrong: Playboy playmatehttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm0035871/

Earl Warren: U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice, former governor of Californiahttp://www.californiamuseum.org/exhibits/halloffame/inductee/earl-warren

Brandon Cruz: Musician and actorhttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm0190261/

Ric Drasin: Professional wrestlerhttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm0237207/

Casey Mears: NASCAR driverhttp://www.mearsgang.com/casey.html

Buck Owens: Country musicianhttp://www.buckowens.com/aboutbucka.html