Bakersfield
a city of California, the county-seat of Kern co. It is on the Southern Pacific and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fé railroad and on the Kern river. There are several handsome public buildings, including a public library. The city is the center of a natural gas, agricultural, and fruit-growing region. It contains foundries and machine shops. There are important gold mines in the vicinity. There are also deposits of fullers' earth, gypsum, marble, salt, copper, borax, iron, and sulphur. Pop. (1910) 12,727; (1920) 18,638.