Riverkern, California
25 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1906 and the latest in 1986. It stands in the Lake Isabella census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93238. It stands on Bull Run Creek. The Survey maps it on the Kernville quadrangle. It stands 2,795 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1906 to 1986The same ground, surveyed 80 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1906 against another survey:
Topographic sheets covering this place
11 surveys from 25 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1906 USGS Kernville quadrangle1:125000
- 1908 USGS Kernville quadrangle1:125000, 6 printings
- 1948 USGS Bakersfield quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1955 USGS Bakersfield quadrangle1:250000
- 1956 USGS Bakersfield quadrangle1:250000
- 1956 USGS Kernville quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1960 USGS Bakersfield quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1962 USGS Bakersfield quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1966 USGS Bakersfield quadrangle1:250000
- 1978 USGS Isabella Lake quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1986 USGS Kernville quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
159 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 159 fires within 5 miles of Riverkern between 1992 and 2020, burning about 28,297 acres in total. 20 started naturally. 5 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 66 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 26 |
| Natural | 20 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 14 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 10 |
| Debris and open burning | 8 |
| Smoking | 6 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 5 |
| Fireworks | 3 |
| Other causes | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Sequoia National Forest | FALLING WATERS |
| 9 September 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Sequoia National Forest | HUT |
| 9 September 2000 | Smoking | under an acre | Sequoia National Forest | POWER |
| 8 September 2009 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 5 September 2003 | Natural | under an acre | Sequoia National Forest | MEADOW |
| 5 September 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Sequoia National Forest | POST |
| 5 September 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Sequoia National Forest | HALFWAY |
| 3 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Kern County Fire Department | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 20 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 20 workings within 5 miles of Riverkern: 7 past producers, 5 prospects, 3 occurrences, 3 producers. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Tungsten, Tungsten, Gold, Gold, Silver, Copper, Lead. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Blue Group | Gold, Silver, Copper, Lead | Producer | ||
| Big Blue Group | Gold, Silver, Lead, Copper | Past Producer | ||
| Big Blue Mine | Tungsten, Gold | Producer | Gold, Scheelite | |
| Kern Rock Co. Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Los Tres Burros No. 1 | Uranium | Unknown | ||
| Onyx # 1 & 2 | Gemstone | Prospect | ||
| San George Mine | Antimony, Copper, Lead | Prospect | ||
| Thunderbird Millsite | Gold, Copper, Silver | Prospect | ||
| Tip-Top Lead-Zinc Property | Lead, Zinc | Prospect | ||
| Little Dick | Tungsten | Past Producer | Scheelite |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camp Owens | 1.7 miles | 25 | |
| Kernville | 2.7 miles | 25 | |
| Kernville (historical) | 5.2 miles | 28 | |
| Wofford Heights | 5.7 miles | 28 | |
| Alta Sierra | 6.9 miles | 25 | |
| Shirley Meadows | 8.0 miles | 25 | |
| Isabella (historical) | 9.3 miles | 28 | |
| Mountain Mesa | 10.6 miles | 28 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Riverkern | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q7338241 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1667548. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.










