BlockBefore

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.

Rosamond within Kern County

Then and now

1915 to 1981

The 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.

Topographic sheet of Rosamond, surveyed 1981
Topographic sheet of Rosamond, surveyed 1915

Population over time

2 figures

Rosamond 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.

YearPeople Change
201018,150
202020,961+2,811 (+15%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

13 surveys from 28 printed sheets

Matched 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.

Fires near this place

120 since 1996

Regional 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/undetermined71
Smoking14
Equipment and vehicle use9
Misuse of fire by a minor8
Arson/incendiarism8
Debris and open burning6
Natural3
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
5 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
4 September 2006Arson/incendiarismunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
30 September 2007Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
30 September 2006Arson/incendiarismunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
30 September 2006Smokingunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictUNNAMED FIRE 1120
27 September 2008Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
24 September 2012Smoking1.0 acresKern County Fire Departmentnot named
15 September 2011Smokingunder an acreKern County Fire Departmentnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Kern County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 22 shown

Regional 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Desert Rock Milling Co. QuarriesStonePast Producer
Pious QuarryGraniteProducer
Rosamond MillBarium-BariteProducer
Rosamond MineSilica, Stone, FeldsparPast Producer
Rosamond Uranium ProspectUranium, Gold, SilverProspect
Dono-Han ProspectUraniumProspect
Los AngelesClayPast Producer
Riley Clay DepositClayPast Producer
Tropico PitClayProducer
Verdi Development Co, Anomaly No 3UraniumProspect

Every working recorded in Kern County

Storms near this place

13 since 1997

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
September 2007Tornado (EF0)Rosamond$175,000Official 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 2007Thunderstorm WindRosamond$100,000A 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 2006Thunderstorm WindRosamond$20,000no account filed
July 1999HailRosamond$20,000no account filed
July 2011Thunderstorm WindRosamond$10,000Thunderstorm 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 2024FloodRosamond-California Highway Patrol reported roadway flooding at the intersection of Sierra Hwy. and El Ray St. in Rosamond.
August 1998Flash FloodRosamond-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 1997HailRosamond-No damage reported from 3/4 inch hail at Rosamond.
July 2006LightningRosamond-no account filed
February 2005Heavy RainRosamond-no account filed
October 2005Flash FloodRosamond-no account filed
October 2005Flash FloodRosamond-no account filed
July 1999FloodRosamond-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Kern County

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 PlaceDistance Sheets
Ansel2.9 miles25
Eaires (historical)4.6 miles25
Gloster6.4 miles25
Actis6.6 miles25
Willow Springs7.1 miles24
Gold Town (historical)9.5 miles28
Fleta9.6 miles28
Reefer City (historical)9.8 miles28

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 RosamondAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2005156The 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.