Arcata, California
21 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1922 and the latest in 1987. It stands in the Arcata census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95521. It stands on Jolly Giant Creek. The Survey maps it on the Arcata South quadrangle. 18,857 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 23 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1922 to 1987The same ground, surveyed 65 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


On record in Arcata
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 9 records
Hotel ArcataNational Historic Landmark · listed 1984
John G. Chapman Houselisted 2011
Jacoby Buildinglisted 1982
Phillips Houselisted 1985
Pythian Castlelisted 1986
Schorlig Houselisted 1978
Stone Houselisted 1986
Whaley Houselisted 1979- James Kleiser Houselisted 2023
Population over time
2 figuresArcata grew from 17,231 to 18,857 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 17,231 | |
| 2020 | 18,857 | +1,626 (+9%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
10 surveys from 21 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1922 USGS Eureka quadrangle1:62500
- 1933 USGS Eureka quadrangle1:48000
- 1942 USGS Eureka quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1949 USGS Eureka quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1951 USGS Eureka quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1958 USGS Eureka quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1959 USGS Arcata South quadrangle1:24000, 5 printings
- 1959 USGS Eureka quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1961 USGS Eureka quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1987 USGS Eureka quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
251 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 251 fires within 5 miles of Arcata between 1992 and 2020, burning about 367 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 15 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/undetermined | 129 |
| Debris and open burning | 45 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 25 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 15 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 11 |
| Smoking | 10 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 6 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 6 |
| Natural | 2 |
| Other causes | 2 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1.0 acres | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 7 September 2004 | Smoking | under an acre | Humboldt-Del Norte Unit | ESSEX |
| 6 September 2020 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Humboldt-Del Norte Unit | UNION ST / SAMOA BLVD |
| 6 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Humboldt-Del Norte Unit | not named |
| 6 September 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 5 September 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Humboldt-Del Norte Unit | FUSI |
| 4 September 2018 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Northern California District | YOUNG |
| 4 September 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.6 acres | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 28 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 28 workings within 5 miles of Arcata: 17 producers, 5 occurrences, 4 prospects, 2 past producers. 17 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Manganese, Iron, 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haw Quarry | Stone | Occurrence | ||
| Jacoby Creek Deposit | Limestone, General | Occurrence | ||
| Jacoby Creek Deposit | Limestone, Dimension | Past Producer | ||
| Unnamed Location | Clay | Prospect | ||
| Haw Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Rocky Gulch Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| W A Preston Prospect | Iron | Prospect | ||
| W. A. Preston Property | Iron | Occurrence | ||
| Hanes Creek | Manganese | Producer | ||
| Janes Creek | Manganese | Producer |
Storms near this place
7 since 2002Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Arcata in 7 storm reports between 2002 and 2025: 2 hail, 2 flood, 2 flash flood, 1 thunderstorm wind. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2025 | Flood | Arcata | - | Flooding reported on the onramp from Highway 101 to Highway 255 in Arcata. |
| September 2019 | Flash Flood | Arcata | - | The intersection of Lewis Avenue and Daina Court was flooded. |
| September 2019 | Flash Flood | Arcata | - | Six to eight inches of flood water observed. |
| February 2018 | Hail | Arcata | - | Hail covered road led to a 19 vehicle accident at the intersection of Highway 101 and Highway 255. 16 injuries were reported. |
| December 2016 | Flood | Arcata | - | Multiple roads around Humboldt Bay were closed due to flooding beginning December 15th in the morning. Roads gradually reopened through the early afternoon on December 16th as water receded. Roads closed included Hookton, Meridian, Port Kenyon, Coffee Creek, Pine Hill, Jackson Ranch, and Berta. Several other roads were also covered in water but remained open. Many of these roads typically flood during heavy rain events. Thus no damage was reported. |
| December 2015 | Hail | Arcata | - | Pea to quarter sized hail stones were reported by the public due to a thunderstorm. Photo included coins to reference the hail stone size. |
| December 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Arcata | - | Thunderstorm embedded in a strong cold front. |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunny Brae | 1.0 miles | 21 | |
| Alliance | 1.5 miles | 21 | |
| Bayside | 2.0 miles | 21 | |
| Fickle Hill | 2.1 miles | 21 | |
| Korblex | 2.6 miles | 21 | |
| Bracut | 2.7 miles | 21 | |
| Essex | 3.7 miles | 21 | |
| Indianola | 3.7 miles | 21 |
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 Arcata | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q631752 | The 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 277471. 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.









