Rosamond is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kern County, California, USA, 20 miles North of Palmdale, in the Antelope Valley, the westernmost desert valley of the Mojave Desert. It has a significant number of military personnel who are residents, primarily from the United States Air Force, but also of late the United States Marine Corps as well, forming a large off-base contingent attached to adjacent Edwards Air Force Base. According to 2000 United States census data, the town population was 14,349. However, those numbers do include active duty military personnel and their family members; thus, the numbers reflect many individuals who are temporary residents.
The Postal Service shows portions of Rosamond as having the names Tropico Village, named after a mine, and Willow Springs.
Rosamond Skypark, Federal Aviation Administration identifier L00 (with two zeroes), is located at 37°52′15″N, 118°12′32″W and features a paved 3,600-foot runway.
Wired telephone numbers in Rosamond follow the format (661) 256-xxxx and the entire city is included in ZIP Code 93560.
quickly travelled to the area and populated it in order to strike it rich; however, the industry waned for many years, yet later had some success with a small boom during the 1930s. In Rosamond was originally established in 1877 as a townsite which was owned by the Southern Pacific Railroad and was named 'Rosamond' after the daughter of one of the railroad officials. The first local industries were mining and cattle. During the 1890s, gold was discovered and Miners1933 Muroc Army Air Field was established, which has since been renamed Edwards Air Force Base in honor of fallen test pilot Glenn Edwards.
Rosamond is unincorporated and is represented by a Supervisor (elected county official) within the Kern County Board of Supervisors. The Southern Kern Unified School District is headquartered within Rosamond and provides public K-12 education for area residents. The Antelope Valley College (AVC) in nearby Lancaster and the new California State University, Bakersfield - Antelope Valley campus at the AVC campus provide degree programs in engineering and other mathematical and scientific courses, as well as English and other liberal arts courses.
Rosamond is situated in the west central area of the expansive Antelope Valley, which comprises the westernmost valley of the Mojave Desert. Because the elevation is in the range of 2000 to 3000 feet above sea level, the area, like the other parts of the Mojave Desert region, is alternatively referred to as the High Desert. Some cities and communities within the trading area of Rosamond include Lancaster, Palmdale, Lake Los Angeles, Quartz Hill, Ridgecrest, and Santa Clarita. Residents of these desert cities and unincorporated communities share Sierra Highway, Angeles Forest Highway, Angeles Crest Highway (California State Route 2), and the Antelope Valley Freeway (CA State Route 14) for commutes to the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles Basin in order to get to work.
Willow Springs lies west of central Rosamond and was a watering hole for stagecoach travelers for generations. Due to the water now not available at the surface as it once was, the age-old springs are but a memory. Today Willow Springs Raceway is nearby, which hosts a variety of motor racing events - and attracting people from all over Southern California and beyond.
Rosamond is located at 34°51′57″N, 118°12′25″W (34.865786, -118.206856)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 135.6 km² (52.3 mi²). 135.3 km² (52.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.19%) is water.
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