Indian Wells Valley

Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake is a large military installation in California that supports the research, testing and evaluation programs of the United States Navy. It is part of Navy Region Southwest under Commander, Navy Installations Command, and was originally known as Naval Ordnance Test Station (NOTS).The installation is located in the Western Mojave Desert region of California, approximately 150 miles (240 km) north of Los Angeles. Occupying land in three counties – Kern, San Bernardino, and Inyo – the installation's closest neighbors are the city of Ridgecrest and the communities of Inyokern, Trona, and Darwin. China Lake is the United States Navy's largest single landholding, representing 85% of the Navy's land for weapons and armaments research, development, acquisition, testing, and evaluation (RDAT&E) use and 38% of the Navy's land holdings worldwide. In total, its two ranges and main site cover more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2), an area larger than the state of Rhode Island. As of 2010, at least 95% of that land is undeveloped. The roughly $3 billion infrastructure of the installation consists of 2,132 buildings and facilities, 329 miles (529 km) of paved roads, and 1,801 miles (2,898 km) of unpaved roads. The 19,600 square miles (51,000 km2) of restricted and controlled airspace at China Lake makes up 12% of California's total airspace. Jointly controlled by NAWS China Lake, Edwards Air Force Base and Fort Irwin, this airspace is known as the R-2508 Special Use Airspace Complex. A 7.1 magnitude earthquake on July 5, 2019, whose epicenter was within the boundaries of NAWS China Lake, resulted in the facility being temporarily evaluated as "not mission capable" due to damage.

China Lake is an unincorporated community in Kern County, California. It is located 2.5 miles (4 km) north-northeast of Ridgecrest, at an elevation of 2,264 feet (690 m). The place is on China Lake, a dry lake on the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake.The first post office at China Lake opened in 1948.

Ridgecrest Regional Hospital is a hospital located in Ridgecrest, California which is just east of the Southern Sierra Mountains in the Indian Wells Valley. It has two specialty units, including pediatric and intensive care. The hospital was established in the mid-1940s out of a need for medical care for the workforce of the growing China Lake Naval Weapons Station.It is the only regional healthcare system in the area and provides a variety of services to the region. Jim Suver serves as the CEO of the hospital.

KLOA (1240 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a sports format, licensed to and serving Ridgecrest, California, United States. The station is currently owned by Adelman Broadcasting, Inc. and features programming from CBS Sports Radio.

Sherman E. Burroughs High School is a public high school located in Ridgecrest, California. Established in 1945, the school is located in the upper Mojave Desert and is adjacent to the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. It derives its name from U.S. Navy officer Admiral Sherman E. Burroughs, who served as the first commanding officer of the base at China Lake (then known as the Naval Ordnance Test Station at China Lake). The school's mascot, the Burro, is taken from the animal which was imported to the area.Burroughs was originally housed at what was called Murray Middle School aboard the base, but moved to its current site in the Fall of 1959.

Maturango Museum is located in Ridgecrest, California. The museum is best known for the guided tours of the Coso Rock Art District located on China Lake Naval Weapons Station. The museum offers exhibits and displays featuring both the natural and the cultural history and diversity of the Northern Mojave Desert with exhibits of animals, plants, rocks and minerals, Native American artifacts, and contemporary arts and crafts.

The China Lake Museum is a military museum in Ridgecrest, California focused on the history of Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake and the development of naval aviation armament and technology.

Ridgecrest is a city in Kern County, California, United States, along U.S. Route 395 in the Indian Wells Valley in northeastern Kern County, adjacent to the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake (NAWS, or China Lake). It was incorporated as a city in 1963. The population was 27,959 at the 2020 census, up slightly from 27,616 at the 2010 census. 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 82 miles (132 km) from the Lancaster/Palmdale area, 110 miles (177 km) from Bakersfield, and 120 miles (193 km) from San Bernardino, the three nearest major urban centers. Private air travel in and out of the city is provided through the Inyokern Airport. There are currently no scheduled commercial flights. The city has been near the epicenter of major earthquakes, including one in 1995 and a series of quakes in July 2019.

KZFX (93.7 FM, "Z-93.7" and "The Super Rock") is a commercial radio station in Ridgecrest, California, United States, broadcasting to the area along US-395 from Ridgecrest to Lone Pine. The station is owned by KZFX, LLC, and broadcasts a classic rock format.

China Lake Acres is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kern County, California, United States. The population was 1,876 at the 2010 census, up from 1,761 at the 2000 census.

Ridgecrest Heights is a census-designated place (CDP) in northeastern Kern County, California, United States, bordered in the north and east by Ridgecrest. The population of Ridgecrest Heights was 380 in the 2020 census.

Cerro Coso Community College is a public community college in the Eastern Sierra region of Southern California. It was established in 1973 as a separate college within the Kern Community College District. The college offers traditional and online courses and two-year degrees. The college serves an area of approximately 18,000-square-miles. Cerro Coso has five instructional sites: Eastern Sierra Center Bishop and Mammoth Lakes, Indian Wells Valley, Kern River Valley, and South Kern. The college also has an Incarcerated Student Education Program in two locations, the California City Correctional Facility and Tehachapi California Correctional Institution.