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Atwater, California

17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1918 and the latest in 1983. It stands in the Atwater census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95301. The Survey maps it on the Atwater quadrangle. 31,970 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 151 feet above sea level.

Atwater within Merced County

Then and now

1918 to 1983

The 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.

Topographic sheet of Atwater, surveyed 1983
Topographic sheet of Atwater, surveyed 1918

On record in Atwater

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 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Atwater grew from 28,168 to 31,970 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
201028,168
202031,970+3,802 (+13%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 17 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

1,496 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1,496 fires within 5 miles of Atwater between 1992 and 2020, burning about 28,723 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 154 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/undetermined813
Equipment and vehicle use250
Debris and open burning156
Arson/incendiarism154
Misuse of fire by a minor53
Smoking42
Power generation/transmission/distribution12
Railroad operations and maintenance10
Natural3
Recreation and ceremony3

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 2020Debris and open burningunder an acreMerced-Mariposa UnitE BELLEVUE RD ATWATER_CI
9 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionALMOND AV / VINE AV
9 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMerced-Mariposa UnitDECOY AV / CONVOY RD
9 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMerced-Mariposa UnitN WINTON WY WINTON
9 September 1999Arson/incendiarismunder an acreMerced-Mariposa UnitGRAPE
8 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresMerced-Mariposa UnitATWATER BL ATWATER_CITY
8 September 2014Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresMerced-Mariposa UnitHWY 99 N/ SULTANA DR
8 September 2011Debris and open burningunder an acreMerced-Mariposa UnitEUCALYPTUS AV / CENTRAL A

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Merced County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Atwater: 2 producers, 1 past producer. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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
Borrow PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Clark PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Sunset PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Merced County

Storms near this place

12 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Atwater in 12 storm reports between 1998 and 2023: 5 funnel cloud, 4 hail, 1 lightning, 1 heavy rain. 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
March 2006Tornado (F0)Atwater$10,000no account filed
May 2023Funnel CloudAtwater-KMPH Channel 26 filmed a funnel cloud over Atwater.
May 2019HailAtwater-Pictures posted on Twitter indicated dome sized hail in Atwater.
April 2012HailAtwater-Trained spotters reported copious accumulating large hail just north of Merced.
April 2012HailAtwater-A trained spotter reported golf ball (1.75 inches) sized hail in Atwater. The hail accumulated several inches deep on area roads.
April 2012Funnel CloudAtwater-The public reported three different funnel clouds in the Atwater area.
April 1998HailAtwater-The time of convective activity was estimated in the late afternoon in Merced County. Small hail (less than 3/4") damaged many acres of strawberries between Atwater and Merced. Futher damage inflicted on stone fruits due to surface blemishes devaluing crop values.
March 1998Funnel CloudAtwater-Report received at 1600 PST by California Highway Patrol indicates funnel cloud sighted in Atwater. Reported to have touched the ground but no other reports and none of damage.
April 2006Funnel CloudAtwater-no account filed
September 2005LightningAtwater-no account filed
September 2005Heavy RainAtwater-no account filed
May 2003Funnel CloudAtwater-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Merced 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
Castle Gardens1.6 miles17
Buhach1.6 miles17
Fluhr2.0 miles17
Cuba (historical)2.3 miles17
Winton2.9 miles17
Hoff (historical)3.7 miles17
Arena3.9 miles16
The Grove3.9 miles17

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 AtwaterAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q595806The 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 277600. 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.