Rosamond, California
28 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1915 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the East Kern census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93560. The Survey maps it on the Rosamond quadrangle. 20,961 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,516 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1915 to 1981The same ground, surveyed 66 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Population over time
2 figuresRosamond grew from 18,150 to 20,961 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 18,150 | |
| 2020 | 20,961 | +2,811 (+15%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
13 surveys from 28 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.
- 1915 USGS Elizabeth Lake quadrangle1:125000
- 1915 USGS Elizabeth Lake quadrangle1:96000
- 1917 USGS Elizabeth Lake quadrangle1:125000, 6 printings
- 1943 USGS Rosamond quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1947 USGS Rosamond quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1949 USGS Los Angeles quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1955 USGS Los Angeles quadrangle1:250000
- 1956 USGS Rosamond quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1959 USGS Los Angeles quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1966 USGS Los Angeles quadrangle1:250000
- 1973 USGS Rosamond quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1975 USGS Los Angeles quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1981 USGS Lancaster quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
120 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 120 fires within 5 miles of Rosamond between 1996 and 2019, burning about 491 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 8 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 | 71 |
| Smoking | 14 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 9 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 8 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 8 |
| Debris and open burning | 6 |
| Natural | 3 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 September 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 4 September 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 30 September 2007 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 30 September 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 30 September 2006 | Smoking | under an acre | California Desert District | UNNAMED FIRE 1120 |
| 27 September 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 24 September 2012 | Smoking | 1.0 acres | Kern County Fire Department | not named |
| 15 September 2011 | Smoking | 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 22 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 22 workings within 5 miles of Rosamond: 13 past producers, 5 prospects, 4 producers. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Uranium, Clay. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Desert Rock Milling Co. Quarries | Stone | Past Producer | ||
| Pious Quarry | Granite | Producer | ||
| Rosamond Mill | Barium-Barite | Producer | ||
| Rosamond Mine | Silica, Stone, Feldspar | Past Producer | ||
| Rosamond Uranium Prospect | Uranium, Gold, Silver | Prospect | ||
| Dono-Han Prospect | Uranium | Prospect | ||
| Los Angeles | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Riley Clay Deposit | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Tropico Pit | Clay | Producer | ||
| Verdi Development Co, Anomaly No 3 | Uranium | Prospect |
Storms near this place
13 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Rosamond in 13 storm reports between 1997 and 2024: 3 flash flood, 3 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 2 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2007 | Tornado (EF0) | Rosamond | $175,000 | Official NWS damage survey determined that an EF0 (Enhanced Fujita) tornado touched down about 3 miles southwest of Rosamond...then traveled north through Rosamond and northeast to about 3 miles southeast of Mojave. This tornado had estimated wind speeds of 65-85 mph. The first touchdown occurred near the intersection of Avenue A and 40th Street West, which is about 3 miles southwest of Rosamond. Minor property damage occurred in this area with several fences blown over and small trees and branches downed. The tornado then traveled north to around Rosamond Blvd, where numerous utility poles were blown over, branches were downed and some miscellaneous debris was found. The path then curved northeast and crossed Highway 14 near Dawn and Backus Roads and Sierra Highway. Damage in this area amounted to some property damage to several mobile homes. Minor debris was found a few miles southeast of Mojave, which is the area that the tornado dissipated. |
| September 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rosamond | $100,000 | A trained weather spotter reported a power pole on a house on 53rd Street on the west side of Rosamond. These winds were associated with the severe thunderstorm that spawned a tornado nearby. |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rosamond | $20,000 | no account filed |
| July 1999 | Hail | Rosamond | $20,000 | no account filed |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rosamond | $10,000 | Thunderstorm winds knocked down trees and power poles in Rosamond. Also, blowing dust closed nearby Highway 58 for a short time due to near-zero visibility. |
| February 2024 | Flood | Rosamond | - | California Highway Patrol reported roadway flooding at the intersection of Sierra Hwy. and El Ray St. in Rosamond. |
| August 1998 | Flash Flood | Rosamond | - | Spotter reports indicated that up to 0.91 inches of rain fell in a 40-minute time period from 1740 PDT until 1830 PDT ... another spotter reported 1.74" in about the same time period. A late report received indicated 2.07" of rain fell in just over an hour ending at 1830 PDT at Rosamond. Wind gusts measured up to 48 MPH with, again, another estimate of 60 MPH for winds, occurred with the widespread thunderstorms in the Kern Deserts. Easterly flow aloft and at the surface interacted with the Tehachapi/Mojave shear line to explode in late afternoon convective activity. Heavy rain brought tire deep water in Rosamond as well as flooding Rosamond Boulevard between Rosamond and Edwards AFB. A strong wind gust was measured at 77 MPH at a RAWS site at El Mirage just to the south of the county/CWFA line. |
| September 1997 | Hail | Rosamond | - | No damage reported from 3/4 inch hail at Rosamond. |
| July 2006 | Lightning | Rosamond | - | no account filed |
| February 2005 | Heavy Rain | Rosamond | - | no account filed |
| October 2005 | Flash Flood | Rosamond | - | no account filed |
| October 2005 | Flash Flood | Rosamond | - | no account filed |
| July 1999 | Flood | Rosamond | - | no account filed |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ansel | 2.9 miles | 25 | |
| Eaires (historical) | 4.6 miles | 25 | |
| Gloster | 6.4 miles | 25 | |
| Actis | 6.6 miles | 25 | |
| Willow Springs | 7.1 miles | 24 | |
| Gold Town (historical) | 9.5 miles | 28 | |
| Fleta | 9.6 miles | 28 | |
| Reefer City (historical) | 9.8 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 Rosamond | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2005156 | 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 1661329. 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.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.












