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Bell Springs, California

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1920 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Laytonville-Leggett census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95454. It stands on Bell Springs Mountain. The Survey maps it on the Bell Springs quadrangle. It stands 3,622 feet above sea level.

Bell Springs within Mendocino County

Then and now

1920 to 1981

The same ground, surveyed 61 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Bell Springs, surveyed 1981
Topographic sheet of Bell Springs, surveyed 1920

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 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

31 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 31 fires within 5 miles of Bell Springs between 1992 and 2018, burning about 193 acres in total. 7 started naturally. 1 was 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/undetermined12
Natural7
Equipment and vehicle use4
Debris and open burning3
Arson/incendiarism1
Other causes1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Smoking1

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
8 September 2003Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNorthern California DistrictJAMETON
26 September 1993Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMendocino UnitBLM #1
23 September 1994Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMendocino UnitCANDDLE
17 September 2014Power generation/transmission/distribution1.0 acresMendocino UnitRED
7 August 1999Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMendocino UnitLIGHTINING #3
19 August 2012Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresMendocino UnitBELL SPRINGS RD LAYT
12 August 1992Naturalunder an acreMendocino UnitCAMEL ROCK
4 July 2008Natural5.0 acresMendocino UnitADANAC LIGHTNING

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Mendocino County

Mines and quarries near this place

4 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Bell Springs: 1 occurrence, 1 producer, 1 past producer, 1 unknown. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Mineral Pigments, Manganese, Manganese, Silica, Graphite. 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
LinserManganeseProducer
Linser MineManganese, SilicaPast Producer
UnnamedMineral PigmentsOccurrenceMineral Paint
Western Graphite CoGraphiteUnknown

Every working recorded in Mendocino 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
Ramsey7.5 miles15
Pratt Place7.7 miles13
Cummings8.5 miles14
Tan Oak Park8.6 miles14
Empire (historical)8.7 miles14
Twin Rocks9.0 miles14
Leggett9.1 miles14
Spyrock9.1 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 Bell SpringsAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q4883258The 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 1658026. 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.