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Mojave, California
 
 
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Mojave is a census-designated place
Census-designated place

A census-designated place is a type of Place identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as city, towns and villages....
 (CDP) in Kern County
Kern County, California

Kern County is a county located in the southern California Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Established in 1866, it extends east beyond the southern slope of the eastern Sierra Nevada into the Mojave Desert, and includes parts of the Indian Wells Valley, and the Antelope Valley, and has an area larger than the state of Connec...
, California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
, United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
. The population was 3,836 at the 2000 census. The town is located at the northwest corner of the Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert

The Mojave Desert , , locally referred to as the High Desert, occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, and northwestern Arizona, in the United States....
, below the Oak Creek Pass. Telephone numbers in Mojave follow the format (661) 824-xxxx and the area includes three postal ZIP Codes.

The city of Mojave began in 1876 as a construction camp on the Southern Pacific Railroad
Southern Pacific Railroad

The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company , was an United States railroad....
. From 1884 to 1889, the town was the western terminus of the , twenty-mule team borax
Borax

Borax, also known as sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, or disodium tetraborate, is an important boron compound, a mineral, and a salt of boric acid....
 wagon route originating at Harmony Borax Works in Death Valley
Death Valley National Park

Death Valley National Park is a mostly arid United States National Park located east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in southern Inyo County, California and northern San Bernardino County, California in California, with a small extension into southwestern Nye County, Nevada and extreme southern Esmeralda County, Nevada in Nevada....
.






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Mojave is a census-designated place
Census-designated place

A census-designated place is a type of Place identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as city, towns and villages....
 (CDP) in Kern County
Kern County, California

Kern County is a county located in the southern California Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Established in 1866, it extends east beyond the southern slope of the eastern Sierra Nevada into the Mojave Desert, and includes parts of the Indian Wells Valley, and the Antelope Valley, and has an area larger than the state of Connec...
, California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
, United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
. The population was 3,836 at the 2000 census. The town is located at the northwest corner of the Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert

The Mojave Desert , , locally referred to as the High Desert, occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, and northwestern Arizona, in the United States....
, below the Oak Creek Pass. Telephone numbers in Mojave follow the format (661) 824-xxxx and the area includes three postal ZIP Codes.

The city of Mojave began in 1876 as a construction camp on the Southern Pacific Railroad
Southern Pacific Railroad

The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company , was an United States railroad....
. From 1884 to 1889, the town was the western terminus of the , twenty-mule team borax
Borax

Borax, also known as sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, or disodium tetraborate, is an important boron compound, a mineral, and a salt of boric acid....
 wagon route originating at Harmony Borax Works in Death Valley
Death Valley National Park

Death Valley National Park is a mostly arid United States National Park located east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in southern Inyo County, California and northern San Bernardino County, California in California, with a small extension into southwestern Nye County, Nevada and extreme southern Esmeralda County, Nevada in Nevada....
. It later served as headquarters for construction of the Los Angeles Aqueduct
Los Angeles Aqueduct

There are two Los Angeles Aqueducts, the First Los Angeles Aqueduct and the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct ....
.

Today, the town of Mojave offers numerous restaurants, motels, and gas stations for motorists.

The name Mojave comes from the name of the Indian nation occupying the area before the arrival of European settlers. Geographic features using the word Mojave are spelled differently from state to state. The convention is to spell it Mojave in California and Mohave in Arizona according to David Darlington's book on the Mojave Desert.

Aerospace history

Located near Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base

Edwards Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located on the border of Kern County, California and Los Angeles County, California in the Antelope Valley....
, Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake
Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake

Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake or NAWS China Lake is an airborne weapons testing and training range operated by the United States Navy and its contractors....
, and Palmdale Regional Airport
Palmdale Regional Airport

LA/Palmdale Regional Airport , also Plant 42, is an airport in the city of Palmdale, California in Los Angeles County, California, United States....
, Mojave has a rich aerospace history as well. Its airport is the home of various aerospace companies and institutions such as Scaled Composites
Scaled Composites

Scaled Composites , formerly the Rutan Aircraft Factory, is an aerospace Aerospace manufacturer currently owned by Northrop Grumman that is located at the Mojave Spaceport, Mojave, California, United States and is headed by aircraft designer Burt Rutan....
 and the civilian National Test Pilot School
National Test Pilot School

The National Test Pilot School is the only civilian school of the seven largest test pilot schools in the world. Located at the Mojave Spaceport in Mojave, California, the school attracts students primarily from commercial aircraft manufacturers and foreign air forces....
. The town was home to the Rutan Voyager, the first aircraft to fly around the world nonstop and unrefueled. The airport is also the first inland spaceport in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, the Mojave Spaceport
Mojave Spaceport

The Mojave Air & Space Port , also known as the Civilian Aerospace Test Center, is located in Mojave, California, at an elevation of ....
, which was the location of the first private spaceflight, the launch of SpaceShipOne
SpaceShipOne

SpaceShipOne is a spaceplane that completed the first privately funded human spaceflight on June 21, 2004. It was developed by Scaled Composites....
 on June 21, 2004.

After winning the Ansari X Prize
Ansari X Prize

The Ansari X PRIZE was a space competition in which the X PRIZE Foundation offered a United States dollar10,000,000 prize for the first Non-governmental organization to launch a reusable manned spaceflight into outer space twice within two weeks....
, Burt Rutan
Burt Rutan

Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan is an United States aerospace engineering noted for his originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, energy-efficient aircraft....
 quipped that the isolation of the Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert

The Mojave Desert , , locally referred to as the High Desert, occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, and northwestern Arizona, in the United States....
 fosters invention. "Innovation is what we do here," he said, "because there's not much else to do in Mojave."

Geography

Mojave is located at (35.016867, -118.189145). According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau

The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data....
, the town has a total area of 58.5 square miles (151.4 kmē), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census
Census

A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population....
 of 2000, there were 3,836 people, 1,408 households, and 940 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans....
 was 65.6 people per square mile (25.3/kmē). There were 1,806 housing units at an average density of 30.9/sq mi (11.9/kmē). The racial makeup of the town was 67.54% White
Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are Self-concept data items in which residents choose the Race in the United States or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are of Hispanic or Latino origin ....
, 5.58% Black
Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are Self-concept data items in which residents choose the Race in the United States or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are of Hispanic or Latino origin ....
 or African American
Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are Self-concept data items in which residents choose the Race in the United States or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are of Hispanic or Latino origin ....
, 1.33% Native American
Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are Self-concept data items in which residents choose the Race in the United States or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are of Hispanic or Latino origin ....
, 2.01% Asian
Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are Self-concept data items in which residents choose the Race in the United States or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are of Hispanic or Latino origin ....
, 0.13% Pacific Islander
Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are Self-concept data items in which residents choose the Race in the United States or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are of Hispanic or Latino origin ....
, 18.12% from other races
Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are Self-concept data items in which residents choose the Race in the United States or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are of Hispanic or Latino origin ....
, and 5.29% from two or more races. 28.31% of the population were Hispanic
Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are Self-concept data items in which residents choose the Race in the United States or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are of Hispanic or Latino origin ....
 or Latino
Race (United States Census)

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are Self-concept data items in which residents choose the Race in the United States or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are of Hispanic or Latino origin ....
 of any race.

There were 1,408 households out of which 37.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.7% were married couples
Marriage

Marriage is a social, spirituality, or law union of individuals. This union may also be called matrimony, while the ceremony that marks its beginning is usually called a wedding and the married status created is sometimes called wedlock....
 living together, 16.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.2% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.31.

In the town .5% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 103.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $24,761, and the median income for a family was $28,496. Males had a median income of $35,476 versus $19,250 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income

Per capita income means how much each individual receives, in monetary terms, of the yearly income generated in the country. This is what each citizen is to receive if the yearly national income is divided equally among everyone....
 for the town was $12,477. About 31.7% of families and 36.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 48.8% of those under age 18 and 11.7% of those age 65 or over.

Trivia

  • The opening line of the Frank Zappa
    Frank Zappa

    Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, electric guitarist, record producer, and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock music, jazz, electronic music, orchestral, and musique concr?te works....
     song "San Ber'dino," from the album One Size Fits All
    One Size Fits All

    One Size Fits All is a 1975 rock and roll album by Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. It is the last Zappa album to be recorded with The Mothers of Invention....
    , references Mojave, saying "She lives in Mojave in a Winnebago
    Recreational vehicle

    In North American English the term recreational vehicle, and its acronym RV, are generally used to refer to an enclosed piece of equipment dually used as both a vehicle and a temporary travel home....
    ." Zappa had attended high school in nearby Lancaster
    Lancaster, California

    Lancaster is the eighth-largest city in Los Angeles County and the 9th fastest growing city in the United States. Lancaster is located approximately 70 miles north of the city of Los Angeles in Southern California Antelope Valley....
    .


  • In Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, the "AMPM" gas station is located in Mojave.


Sources

  • Bailey, Richard C., Kern County Place Names, (Bakersfield, California: Merchant's Printing and Lithography Co., 1967).
  • Beck, Warren A. and Ynez D. Haase, "92: Borax Mines and Roads of the Late 1800s," Historical Atlas of California, (Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1974).
  • United States Postal Service web site, 2006.


External links