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Alta Hill, California

28 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1888 and the latest in 1998. It stands in the Grass Valley census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95945. It stands on Slate Creek. The Survey maps it on the Grass Valley quadrangle. It stands 2,648 feet above sea level.

Alta Hill within Nevada County

Then and now

1888 to 1998

The same ground, surveyed 110 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Alta Hill, surveyed 1998
Topographic sheet of Alta Hill, surveyed 1888

Topographic sheets covering this place

13 surveys from 28 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

902 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 902 fires within 5 miles of Alta Hill between 1992 and 2020, burning about 3,582 acres in total. 13 started naturally. 38 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined351
Debris and open burning208
Equipment and vehicle use167
Misuse of fire by a minor46
Smoking40
Arson/incendiarism38
Power generation/transmission/distribution25
Natural13
Recreation and ceremony11
Other causes3

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 2019Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitSNMH CRISIS STABILIZATION
9 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionGOLDEN
9 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresCentral California DistrictUNNAMED FIRE 1887
9 September 2000Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreCentral California DistrictADAMS
9 September 1996Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitCAREY
8 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresCentral California DistrictUNNAMED FIRE 1886
8 September 1999Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitPOPPY
7 September 2020Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitHWY 20 / DORSEY DR

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Nevada County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 980 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 980 workings within 5 miles of Alta Hill: 525 past producers, 336 occurrences, 84 unknowns, 18 producers. 18 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Chromium, Copper, Silver. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Berkeley ProspectCopper, Lead, Zinc, Silver, Gold, Antimony, Sulfur, ArsenicPast Producer1904
BrunswickGold, Zinc, Lead, Copper, SilverPast ProducerChalcopyrite, Galena, Gold, Pyrite, Sphalerite
Bullion ConGold, Lead, TungstenPast ProducerGalena, Gold, Pyrite, Scheelite
Canada HillGold, Silver, Copper, Zinc, Lead, Antimony, Arsenic, TinPast ProducerChalcopyrite, Galena, Gold, Pyrite, Sphalerite, Stibnite
Champion Con QtzGold, Silver, Copper, Lead, ZincPast ProducerUnderground
Crown Point Con. Qtz.Gold, Copper, Silver, LeadPast ProducerGalena, Gold, Pyrite
Empire StarGold, Lead, Arsenic, ZincUnknown
Grass Valley DistrictTungsten, GoldProducer1915
Green LodeGold, Lead, SilverPast ProducerUnknown
MountaineerGold, Silver, Lead, Zinc, CopperPast ProducerChalcopyrite, Gold, Pyrite

Every working recorded in Nevada County

Storms near this place

2 since 2016

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Alta Hill in 2 storm reports between 2016 and 2024: 2 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
December 2016FloodAlta Hill$10,000Wolf Creek in Grass Valley flooded into residential backyards. In addition, road flooding was reported in the area.
February 2024FloodAlta Hill-California Highway Patrol reported roadway flooding at Alta Street and Alta Hill Mine Road from heavy rain.

Every storm recorded in Nevada County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Ridge View0.1 miles28
Sierra Vista Park0.1 miles28
Sunrise Heights0.3 miles28
Sahl Court0.5 miles28
Alta Vista Park0.6 miles28
The Oaks0.8 miles28
Cypress Hill0.9 miles28
Sunset View1.0 miles28

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikidata item Q4735974The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1657919. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.