The Kern River north of Kernville

The Kern River going through the Kern Canyon, just northeast of Bakersfield

A Kern River hydroelectric power plant in the Kern River, at the entrance to part of Sequoia National Forest.

The Kern River is a river in eastern California in the United States, approximately 155 mi (249 km) long. It drains an area of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains northeast of Bakersfield. Fed by snowmelt near Mount Whitney, the river passes through scenic canyons in the mountains and is a popular destination for whitewater rafting and kayaking. It is the only river in the Sierra Nevada mountain range that travels in a southernly direction. It formerly emptied entirely into the Buena Vista Lake at the southern end of the Central Valley; however, now it is diverted for irrigation and recharging aquifers, and it still empties a portion into Lake Buena Vista for recreational use. In addition some of the water is diverted into the California Aqueduct. In extremely wet years the river will reach the Tulare Lake basin through a series of sloughs and flood channels. Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2592 × 1944 pixel, file size: 455 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Photo taken by Bobak HaEri, on January 5, 2007. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2592 × 1944 pixel, file size: 455 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Photo taken by Bobak HaEri, on January 5, 2007. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2592 × 1944 pixel, file size: 522 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Photo taken by Bobak HaEri, on January 5, 2007. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2592 × 1944 pixel, file size: 522 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Photo taken by Bobak HaEri, on January 5, 2007. ... Sequoia National Park is a national park in the southern Sierra Nevada, east of Fresno, California. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... The Sierra Nevada (Spanish for Snowy Range) is a mountain range that is almost entirely in the eastern portion of the U.S. state of California. ... Nickname: Location of Bakersfield, California Coordinates: , Country United States State California County Kern County Founded 1869 Government  - Mayor Harvey Hall Area  - City  131 sq mi (339. ... Mount Whitney is the highest point in the contiguous United States at elevation 14,505 feet (4,421 meters). ... Rafting is a recreational activity utilizing a raft to navigate a river or other body of water. ... Sea Kayaking at Wilsons Promontory in Victoria, Australia Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. ... The California Central Valley Part of the Valley as seen from overhead A typical Central Valley scene at ground level The California Central Valley is a large, flat valley that dominates the central portion of the U.S. state of California. ... Lake Buena Vista is a city located in Orange County, Florida. ... The California Aqueduct is the concrete-lined aqueduct that transports water from Northern California to Southern California. ... Tulare Lake is an extinct fresh-water lake that was formerly the largest to be completely enclosed within the territories of the Unites States. ...

Description

The main branch of the river (sometimes called the North Fork) rises from several small lakes west of Mount Whitney in the high Sierra Nevada mountains in northeastern Tulare County, in the northeast corner of Sequoia National Park. It flows south through the mountains through Inyo and Sequoia national forests, passing through the Golden Trout Wilderness. At Kernville it emerges into a widening valley and enters Lake Isabella, a reservoir formed on the river by the Isabella Dam that was once known as Whiskey Flat and the former location of the town of Kernville. Downstream from the dam it flows southwest, through a spectacular rugged canyon along the south edge of the Greenhorn Mountains, emerging east of Bakersfield, the largest city on the river. In its lower course downstream from Bakersfield the river is highly diverted through a series of canals to irrigate the farms of the southern San Joaquin Valley and provide municipal water supplies to the City of Bakersfield and surrounding areas. The water of the Kern River is one of the very few rivers in the Central Valley not associated with use by the Central Valley Project (CVP). However, water from the CVP, mainly the Friant-Kern Canal, will be deposited for water storage in the aquifers. Tulare County is a county located in U.S. state of Californias Central Valley, south of Fresno. ... Crescent Meadow in the Giant Forest, called by John Muir the Gem of the Sierras Sequoia National Park is a national park in the southern Sierra Nevada, east of Visalia, California in the United States of America. ... Inyo National Forest is a federally protected forest. ... Sequoia National Park is a national park in the southern Sierra Nevada, east of Fresno, California. ... Kernville is a census-designated place located in Kern County, California. ... Lake Isabella is a census-designated place located in Kern County, California. ... Isabella dam under construction Auxiliary Isabella dam, with Lake Isabella at its base Isabella Dam is located at , about halfway down the Kern River, between the towns of Kernville and Lake Isabella in Kern County, California. ... The Kern River going through the Kern Canyon, just northeast of Bakersfield A Kern River hydroelectric power plant in the Kern River, at the entrance to part of Sequoia National Forest. ... Bakersfield is the county seat of Kern County, California, in the United States. ... The Central Valley Project (CVP) is a federal water project undertaken by the Bureau of Reclamation in 1935 as a long-term plan to use water in Californias Central Valley. ...

The Kern receives the Little Kern River from the north in southern Tulare County. It receives the South Fork Kern River from the east as an arm of Lake Isabella. The Friant-Kern Canal, constructed as part of the Central Valley Project, joins the river about four miles west of downtown Bakersfield.

Formerly the river flowed an additional 20 mi (32 km) south through now-dry swamps to Arvin, then west into Lake Buena Vista. In periods of high runoff, the lake overflowed into a series of sloughs north into the former Tulare Lake. Arvin is a city located in Kern County, California. ... Tulare Lake is an extinct fresh-water lake that was formerly the largest to be completely enclosed within the territories of the Unites States. ...

History

The river was named by John C. Frémont in honor of Edward M. Kern in the 1830s who, as the story goes, nearly drowned in the turbulent waters. Kern was the topographer of his third expedition through the American West. Before this, the Kern River was known as the "Rio Bravo de San Felipe" as named by Spanish missionary explorer Fr. Francisco Garces when he explored the Bakersfield area in 1776. Gold was discovered along the upper river in 1853. The snowmelt that fed the river resulted in periodic torrential flooding in Bakersfield until the construction of the Isabella Dam in the 1950s. These floods would periodically change the channel of the river. Since the establishment of Kern County in 1866 the main channel has flowed through what is the main part of downtown Bakersfield along Truxtun Avenue and again made a south turn along what is Old River Road. Many of the irrigation canals that flow in a southerly direction from the river actually follow the old channels of the Kern River, especially the canal that flows along Old River Road. The irrigated region of the Central Valley near the river supports the cultivation of alfalfa, carrots, fruit, and cotton, cattle grazing, and many other year-round crops. In 1987 the United States Congress designated 151 mi (240 km) of the Kern's North (Main) Fork and South Fork as a National Wild and Scenic River. John Charles Frémont (January 21, 1813 – July 13, 1890), was an American military officer, explorer, the first candidate of the Republican Party for the office of President of the United States, and the first Presidential candidate of a major party to run on a platform in opposition to slavery. ... For discussion of land surfaces themselves, see Terrain. ... The Western United States, also referred to as the American West or simply The West, traditionally refers to the region constituting the westernmost states of the United States (see geographical terminology section for further discussion of these terms). ... General Name, Symbol, Number gold, Au, 79 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 6, d Appearance metallic yellow Standard atomic weight 196. ... Binomial name Medicago sativa L. Subspecies subsp. ... Cotton ready for harvest. ... Type Bicameral Houses Senate House of Representatives United States Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D since January 4, 2007 Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D since January 4, 2007 Members 535 plus 4 Delegates and 1 Resident Commissioner Political groups (as of November 7, 2006 elections) Democratic Party Republican... National Wild and Scenic River is a designation for certain protected areas in the United States. ...

In recent years the river has become controversial because of attempts by the City of Bakersfield to retain water in the river channel all year round for recreation and the recharging of the water tables from which it draws its drinking water supply. The attempts have resulted in conflicts with established agricultural interests in the Central Valley which depend heavily on the river as a supply of irrigation water. However, the river recently has been allowed to flow its normal dry course due to structural problems in the Isabella Dam. The increased flow reduces stress on the dam.

A riverboarder floats down the Kern River at about 4,000 ft³/s (110 m³/s.

Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 572 × 428 pixelsFull resolution (572 × 428 pixel, file size: 78 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Riverboarding Kern River Metadata This file... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 572 × 428 pixelsFull resolution (572 × 428 pixel, file size: 78 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Riverboarding Kern River Metadata This file...

Recreation

The deep canyon of the river northeast of Bakersfield is a popular location for fly fishing and particularly famous for whitewater sports including whitewater rafting, whitewater kayaking, and riverboarding. It is also well known for its danger, and is sometimes known as the "Killer Kern". A sign at the mouth of Kern Canyon warns visitors, "Danger. Stay Out. Stay Alive" and tallies the deaths since 1968; as of April 8, 2007 the count was up to 238. Bakersfield-born Merle Haggard's song Kern River recounts just such a tragedy. Most recently, as of July 9, 2007, the head count for the number of deaths is now 250. Fly rod and reel with a wild brown trout from a chalk stream. ... Rafting is a recreational activity utilizing a raft to navigate a river or other body of water. ... Whitewater kayaking is the sport of paddling a kayak on a moving body of water, typically a river. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... April 8 is the 98th day of the year (99th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... Merle Ronald Haggard (born April 6, 1937) is an American country music singer, guitarist and songwriter. ...

The Kern is nevertheless a popular place for camping, hiking, fishing and recreational vacation. Of particular interest to fisherman are three species of Trout: (1) the Little Kern Trout, (2) the Golden Trout, and the rarest of all Trout's, (3) the Sorenson Trout. Binomial name Oncorhynchus aguabonita (Jordan, 1892) The pink trout (Oncorhynchus aguabonita), is a species of freshwater fish in the salmon family (family Salmonidae) of order Salmoniformes. ...

Below the canyon the Kern River drops an average of 16 feet per mile until it reaches the Kern River Oilfields and begins to meander along flat land into and through the city of Bakersfield. It is a popular summer pastime to float down the river on inner tubes. This activity is often done in groups and beer is taken along in an ice chest rigged to float alongside. Leffe, a Belgian beer, served in branded glasses Schlenkerla Rauchbier straight from the cask Beer is the worlds oldest[1] and most popular[2] alcoholic beverage. ...

Panorama of the upper fork of the Kern River

Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 278 pixelsFull resolution (1728 × 600 pixel, file size: 228 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Panorama of the upper fork of the Kern River by Roger Howard <rogerhoward@mac. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 278 pixelsFull resolution (1728 × 600 pixel, file size: 228 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Panorama of the upper fork of the Kern River by Roger Howard <rogerhoward@mac. ...

External links

• The Kern River
• Additional Kern River Information
• Fishing Forecast for Kern Lake
• Species of Trout in the Kern River