BlockBefore

Bear Valley, California

34 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 2000. It stands in the Nevada City census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95959. It lies near Lowell Hill Ridge. The Survey maps it on the Blue Canyon quadrangle. It stands 4,570 feet above sea level. The federal gazetteer marks this settlement historical: it is no longer a populated place, though the surveys that recorded it still are.

Bear Valley within Nevada County

Then and now

1891 to 2000

The same ground, surveyed 109 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Bear Valley (historical), surveyed 2000
Topographic sheet of Bear Valley (historical), surveyed 1891

Topographic sheets covering this place

13 surveys from 34 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

181 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 181 fires within 5 miles of Bear Valley (historical) between 1992 and 2020, burning about 6,043 acres in total. 33 started naturally. 7 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
Recreation and ceremony72
Natural33
Missing data/not specified/undetermined32
Equipment and vehicle use13
Debris and open burning9
Smoking8
Arson/incendiarism7
Fireworks2
Railroad operations and maintenance1
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Firearms and explosives use1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Other causes1

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 2015Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreTahoe National ForestHILL
9 September 2007Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreTahoe National ForestFULLER
9 September 2002Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreTahoe National ForestBLUE
8 September 2013Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitEMIGRANT
8 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitZIEBRIGHT
8 September 2003Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreTahoe National ForestCROSSING
7 September 2011Smokingunder an acreTahoe National ForestONION
7 September 2011Recreation and ceremony1.5 acresTahoe National ForestBLUE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Nevada County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 143 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 143 workings within 5 miles of Bear Valley (historical): 69 past producers, 48 occurrences, 20 unknowns, 6 producers. 6 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Silver, Copper, Mercury. 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
Alpha - Omega MinesGold, Platinum, SilverPast Producer1850
Black Squirrel DepositManganeseOccurrence
Blue Bell Qtz.Gold, LeadPast ProducerGalena, Gold, Pyrite
Blue CanyonGold, PlatinumProducerStream Placer
Blue CanyonGold, PGEUnknown
Diamond CreekGold, Silver, Zinc, LeadPast ProducerGalena, Gold, Pyrite, Sphalerite
Eagle Bird Qtz.Gold, Silver, Lead, ZincPast ProducerGalena, Gold, Pyrite, Sphalerite
Gould and Towle QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
OmegaGold, SilverProducer
Arctic GroupGold, Lead, ZincPast ProducerGold

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
Langs (historical)1.6 miles34
Camp Spaulding2.5 miles34
Eagle Bird (historical)2.6 miles34
Maybert (historical)3.1 miles34
Omega3.8 miles34
Yuba Pass4.6 miles37
Democrat (historical)5.3 miles34
Alpha (historical)5.4 miles34

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.

Wikidata item Q4876581The 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 1682840. 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.