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was incorporated as a city in 1963. Formerly known as
. It is located in the Indian Wells Valley in northeastern Kern County, California adjacent to the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. Ridgecrest is the only incorporated city along US 395 in Kern County. The population was 24,927 at the 2000 census and now its 30,151 in 2008.
Ridgecrest is surrounded by four mountain ranges; the Sierra Nevada on the west, the Cosos on the north, the Argus Range on the east, and the El Paso Mountains on the south. It is approximately 80 miles from the Lancaster/Palmdale area and approximately from both Bakersfield and San Bernardino, the three nearest major urban centers. Air travel in and out of the city is provided through the Inyokern Airport.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and 0.3 square miles (0.9 km²) of it (1.54%) is water.