BlockBefore

Alton, California

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1944 and the latest in 1987. It stands in the Fortuna census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95540. It stands on Van Duzen River. The Survey maps it on the Fortuna quadrangle. It stands 62 feet above sea level.

Alton within Humboldt County

Then and now

1944 to 1987

The same ground, surveyed 43 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Alton, surveyed 1987
Topographic sheet of Alton, surveyed 1944

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 15 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

122 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 122 fires within 5 miles of Alton between 1992 and 2020, burning about 215 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 11 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/undetermined41
Debris and open burning31
Equipment and vehicle use24
Arson/incendiarism11
Misuse of fire by a minor6
Recreation and ceremony2
Natural2
Smoking2
Other causes1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Fireworks1

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
6 September 2011Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreHumboldt-Del Norte UnitYARD
5 September 2013Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreHumboldt-Del Norte UnitPALMER
5 September 2011Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresHumboldt-Del Norte UnitLOOP
30 September 2001Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresHumboldt-Del Norte UnitCARLOTTA
28 September 2013Arson/incendiarismunder an acreHumboldt-Del Norte UnitCEMETARY
28 September 1994Naturalunder an acreHumboldt-Del Norte UnitLIGHTNING
22 September 2003Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresHumboldt-Del Norte UnitHYDESVILLE
21 September 1999Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreHumboldt-Del Norte UnitRIO

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Humboldt County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 13 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 13 workings within 5 miles of Alton: 9 producers, 3 past producers, 1 occurrence. 9 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Limestone, General, Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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
Rickter DepositLimestone, GeneralOccurrence
Rickter DepositStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unnamed LimestoneLimestone, GeneralPast ProducerSedimentary
Unnamed LimestoneStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Alton PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Eel River PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Ell River Crushing PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Fortuna BarSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Fortuna Ready Mix PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Fortuna Sand and GravelSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Humboldt 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
Rohnerville1.4 miles15
Grizzly Bluff (historical)1.9 miles15
Metropolitan2.3 miles15
Hydesville2.3 miles14
Stone2.8 miles14
Belleview3.0 miles14
Waddington3.5 miles15
Fortuna3.6 miles15

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 AltonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q4736851The 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 1655796. 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.