Bard, California
28 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1903 and the latest in 1993. It stands in the Winterhaven-Bard census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92222. The Survey maps it on the Bard quadrangle. It stands 138 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1903 to 1993The same ground, surveyed 90 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Topographic sheets covering this place
13 surveys from 28 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.
- 1903 USGS Yuma quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1905 USGS Yuma quadrangle1:125000, 5 printings
- 1942 USGS Yuma quadrangle1:250000
- 1945 USGS Picacho Peak quadrangle1:62500
- 1951 USGS Picacho Peak quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1952 USGS Bard quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS El Centro quadrangle1:250000
- 1955 USGS El Centro quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS El Centro quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1961 USGS El Centro quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS El Centro quadrangle1:250000
- 1965 USGS Bard quadrangle1:24000, 5 printings
- 1993 USGS Yuma quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
347 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 347 fires within 5 miles of Bard between 1992 and 2020, burning about 2,577 acres in total. 5 started naturally. 44 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 | 161 |
| Debris and open burning | 54 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 44 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 30 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 28 |
| Fireworks | 11 |
| Natural | 5 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 4 |
| Smoking | 3 |
| Other causes | 3 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 3 |
| Firearms and explosives use | 1 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Fort Yuma Agency | BRIDGE2 |
| 9 September 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Fort Yuma Agency | FIRESTONE |
| 9 September 1996 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Fort Yuma Agency | LAGUNA |
| 8 September 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Fort Yuma Agency | 3RD AVE |
| 7 September 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Colorado River District | BRIDGE |
| 7 September 2001 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Fort Yuma Agency | CEMETARY |
| 7 September 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Fort Yuma Agency | W/BRIDGE2 |
| 6 September 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Colorado River District | PRISON |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
9 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 9 workings within 5 miles of Bard: 4 past producers, 2 occurrences, 2 producers, 1 unknown. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Sand and Gravel, Construction, 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laguna Dam Placers and Prospects | Gold, Silver | Past Producer | ||
| Laguna Placers | Gold, Silver | Past Producer | Gold, Silver | |
| Unnamed Location | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Occurrence | ||
| Valenzuela Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Valley Sand and Gravel Dep | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Occurrence | ||
| Valley Sand and Gravel Deposit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Potholes Mine | Gold | Past Producer | ||
| Potholes Placer | Gold | Past Producer | ||
| Three C:S Mine | Gold | Unknown |
Storms near this place
7 since 2010Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bard in 7 storm reports between 2010 and 2025: 4 thunderstorm wind, 3 flash 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bard | $40,000 | Winds uprooted about 26 date palms, and damaged buildings in Bard and Winterhaven. Approximately half of the roof of a local community center in Bard collapsed, in addition to the roof of a business called the Old Bard Store. |
| October 2022 | Flash Flood | Bard | $5,000 | Car Stranded along Senator Wash Road about 5 miles south-southwest of Martinez Lake due to flooding. No injuries were reported. |
| September 2025 | Flash Flood | Bard | - | Social Media video showed rapidly running water in Mission Wash. Timing estimated from radar. No damages or injuries reported. |
| September 2025 | Flash Flood | Bard | - | Social media video shows quick flowing water over Parkman Rd. Timing estimated from radar. No damages or injuries reported. |
| October 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bard | - | A mesonet station at Senator Wash measured a 71 mph wind gust. |
| July 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bard | - | Thunderstorms with gusty outflow winds developed along the lower Colorado River Valley during the evening hours on July 9th; some of the stronger storms were located just to the north of the town of Yuma and south of Castle Dome Landing. A mesonet automatic weather station measured a wind gust to 71 mph with one of the the strong storms. |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bard | - | Scattered thunderstorms developed across eastern Imperial county during the late evening hours on August 27th. The storms generated strong and gusty outflow winds. The Squaw Lake RAWS weather station, located 4 miles southwest of Martinez Lake, measured a wind gust of 66 mph at approximately 1030 pm. No damage was reported in association with the strong winds. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ross Corner | 1.9 miles | 28 | |
| Winterhaven | 5.4 miles | 28 | |
| Araz Junction | 8.9 miles | 28 | |
| Felicity | 11.4 miles | 24 | |
| Dunes | 12.8 miles | 24 | |
| Obregon | 13.2 miles | 24 | |
| Ogilby | 15.1 miles | 24 | |
| Picacho | 16.4 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 Bard | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q4860020 | 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 1660309. 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.












