A comparison of Kern County and Sierra Nevadas
714 Words3 Pages
Of Oak Stumps and Oil Pumps
The Great Sierra Nevadas and Kern County are two strikingly different faces of California. The Sierra Nevadas, a natural refuge for a sizeable number of California’s wildlife, houses opportunities for harvesting lumber, a spiritual place to camp or hike on, and simply as an aesthetic marvel in contrast to LA’s bustling city streets. Kern County’s industrial benefits come from Black Gold, oil. The Kern River discovery started an oil boom, and a forest of wooden derricks sprang up overnight. Kern County resembles a dry rocky land. A noticeable lack of movement except for a thousand oil pumps bowing incessantly like Buddhist monks in a trance of prayer. These two places are similar in that they are resource-full and beauties to behold, but, The foothills of the Sierra Nevadas outweighs Kern County through its natural majesty, its beauty; Kern County on the other hand, has more financial worth because of its rich oil deposits which give it its industrial feel.
The inhabitants of the Sierra Nevadas are inspired to live in a nature filled environment, away from busy city streets and bright neon lights. The Great Sierra’s geography outlines its beauty by being surrounded with a dry, hardwood conifer forest, drought-resistant shrubs and bushes in the canyons; as is described by Gary Snyder in “Cultivating Wilderness” (Snyder 256). This place brings a feeling of growth and provides agricultural ...