Big Bar, California
25 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1888 and the latest in 1994. It stands in the Feather Falls census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95965. It stands on Mill Creek. The Survey maps it on the Pulga quadrangle. It stands 1,414 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1888 to 1994The same ground, surveyed 106 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1888 against another survey:
Topographic sheets covering this place
11 surveys from 25 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.
- 1888 USGS Bidwell Bar quadrangle1:125000
- 1891 USGS Bidwell Bar quadrangle1:125000
- 1893 USGS Bidwell Bar quadrangle1:125000
- 1895 USGS Bidwell Bar quadrangle1:125000
- 1897 USGS Bidwell Bar quadrangle1:125000, 7 printings
- 1957 USGS Pulga quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Chico quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1960 USGS Chico quadrangle1:250000
- 1979 USGS Pulga quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1980 USGS Chico quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1994 USGS Pulga quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
125 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 125 fires within 5 miles of Big Bar between 1992 and 2020, burning about 160,837 acres in total. 29 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 |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 42 |
| Natural | 29 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 23 |
| Debris and open burning | 11 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 7 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 4 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 3 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 2 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 September 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Butte Unit | WINDERMERE 2 |
| 29 September 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Butte Unit | PULGA |
| 28 September 2016 | Natural | 1.5 acres | Plumas National Forest | PULGA |
| 28 September 1997 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Butte Unit | CONCOW |
| 27 September 2005 | Natural | under an acre | Plumas National Forest | SILVER |
| 26 September 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2.0 acres | Butte Unit | PULGA |
| 25 September 1994 | Natural | 1.0 acres | Butte Unit | ANDY |
| 25 September 1994 | Natural | 1.0 acres | Plumas National Forest | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 70 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 70 workings within 5 miles of Big Bar: 39 past producers, 17 occurrences, 9 unknowns, 4 producers. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Chromium, Gold, Silver, Nickel. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grizzley Tungsten No 1 | Tungsten | Unknown | ||
| Jade Prince No. 1 | Gemstone | Prospect | ||
| Little Hope and Mary Jane Claims | Chromium, Iron | Past Producer | 1942 | |
| Poe | Limestone, General | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Poe Limestone Deposit | Limestone, General, Marble, Dimension | Producer | Metamorphic | |
| Poe | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Poe Limestone Deposit | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Section 35 Mine | Iron, Chromium | Past Producer | 1915, 1916 | |
| Simmons | Iron, Chromium | Past Producer | 1916, 1917 | |
| Swayne Mine | Iron, Chromium | Past Producer | 1916, 1917 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pulga | 0.6 miles | 25 | |
| Mayaro | 1.5 miles | 25 | |
| Flea Valley (historical) | 2.9 miles | 25 | |
| Cresta | 3.2 miles | 25 | |
| Kister | 4.1 miles | 24 | |
| Poe | 4.6 miles | 28 | |
| Hughes Place | 5.7 miles | 28 | |
| New Blinzing (historical) | 6.0 miles | 28 |
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 Big Bar | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q4905026 | 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 1723844. 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.










