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Alta Sierra, 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 95949. It lies near French Ravine. The Survey maps it on the Grass Valley quadrangle. 7,204 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,310 feet above sea level.

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

Population over time

2 figures

Alta Sierra grew from 6,911 to 7,204 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20106,911
20207,204+293 (+4%)

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

674 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 674 fires within 5 miles of Alta Sierra between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,637 acres in total. 6 started naturally. 25 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/undetermined264
Debris and open burning196
Equipment and vehicle use114
Misuse of fire by a minor29
Arson/incendiarism25
Smoking18
Power generation/transmission/distribution17
Natural6
Recreation and ceremony5

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 2006Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCentral California DistrictTHORNICROFT
9 September 2005Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCentral California DistrictOSCAR
9 September 2002Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCentral California DistrictGIBBONEY
8 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionOAK
8 September 2014Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitMC COURTNEY
7 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitPOWERLINE
7 September 2004Equipment and vehicle use3.0 acresCentral California DistrictBLUM
7 September 2001Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitMCCOURTNEY

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Nevada County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 469 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 469 workings within 5 miles of Alta Sierra: 261 past producers, 153 occurrences, 29 unknowns, 13 prospects. 13 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Chromium, Silver, Copper. 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
Allison Ranch Qtz.Gold, Lead, CopperPast ProducerChalcopyrite, Galena, Pyrite
AmadorGold, TungstenPast ProducerGold, Scheelite
Amador Consolidated ClaimsGold, MolybdenumOccurrence
Bullion ConGold, Lead, TungstenPast ProducerGalena, Gold, Pyrite, Scheelite
Champion LodeGold, Silver, Copper, LeadPast Producer
Empire Mines Co.Gold, Copper, Lead, Zinc, SilverPast ProducerGold
Empire StarGold, Lead, Arsenic, ZincUnknown
Green LodeGold, Lead, SilverPast ProducerUnknown
Half Chrome MineIron, ChromiumPast Producer1916
Iron-CopperIron, CopperOccurrence

Every working 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
Kenwood Estates1.2 miles28
Forest Spring (historical)1.6 miles28
Birch Meadow Acres1.8 miles28
Alta Sierra Estates1.9 miles29
La Barr Meadows2.3 miles28
Alta Sierra Ranches3.0 miles29
Cherry Creek Acres3.0 miles29
Highland Park3.3 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.

Wikipedia article on Alta SierraAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1931078The 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 1682830. 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.