Tehachapi is a city in Kern County, California, in the Tehachapi Mountains, at an elevation of between the San Joaquin Valley and the Mojave Desert.Tehachapi is 35mi east-southeast of Bakersfield, and west of Mojave. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.0sqmi and a population of 14,414.FeaturesThe Tehachapi area is known for the nearby Tehachapi Loop (a popular railfan site), Tehachapi Pass Wind Farm, The Indian Point Ostrich Ranch, the Tomo-Kahni State Historic Park and Tomi-Kahni Resource Center (Native American), and excellent air conditions for gliding. Ten miles to the west at Keene, is the National Chavez Center, established to share the legacy of Cesar Chavez.The California Correctional Institution maximum security prison, also known as Tehachapi State Prison, is in the area; as is proximity to Edwards Air Force Base (40 miles to the east).HistoryThe Kawaiisu people (also Nuwu ("people" in Kawaiisu), or Nuooah) are the Native American tribe whose homeland was the Tehachapi Valley, and seasonally the southern Sierra Nevada and Mojave Desert, for thousands of years.