Big Bar, California
29 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1993. It stands in the San Andreas census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95245. It lies near Slocum Gulch. The Survey maps it on the Mokelumne Hill quadrangle. It stands 630 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1889 to 1993The same ground, surveyed 104 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
12 surveys from 29 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.
- 1889 USGS Jackson quadrangle1:125000
- 1892 USGS Jackson quadrangle1:125000
- 1897 USGS Jackson quadrangle1:125000
- 1902 USGS Jackson quadrangle1:125000, 7 printings
- 1947 USGS Sacramento quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1948 USGS Mokelumne Hill quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1948 USGS Mokelumne Hill quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1948 USGS Sacramento quadrangle1:250000
- 1949 USGS Mokelumne Hill quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Sacramento quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS Sacramento quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1993 USGS San Andreas quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
243 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 243 fires within 5 miles of Big Bar between 1992 and 2020, burning about 72,673 acres in total. 7 started naturally. 19 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 | 80 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 68 |
| Debris and open burning | 42 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 19 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 9 |
| Natural | 7 |
| Smoking | 7 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 6 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 4 |
| Fireworks | 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 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 70,868 acres | Amador-El Dorado Unit | BUTTE |
| 9 September 1999 | Natural | 6.0 acres | Central California District | LIGHTNING 39 |
| 8 September 2004 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Central California District | BLAKELY |
| 7 September 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 6.0 acres | Amador-El Dorado Unit | CLINTON |
| 5 September 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit | 1-5 |
| 5 September 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Central California District | LAFAYETTE |
| 5 September 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 2.0 acres | Amador-El Dorado Unit | BUTTE |
| 30 September 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 3.0 acres | Amador-El Dorado Unit | ELECTRA |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 413 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 413 workings within 5 miles of Big Bar: 141 occurrences, 93 unknowns, 92 past producers, 43 prospects. 44 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Silver, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anita | Gold, Copper, Iron | Past Producer | Gold, Iron | |
| Digitalli | Cobalt, Copper, Manganese | Occurrence | Vein | |
| Digitalli | Manganese | Unknown | ||
| G. J. Alexander | Stone, Dimension | Occurrence | ||
| Mokelumne Hill Prospect | Nickel, Cobalt | Occurrence | ||
| Roberts Lease | Mineral Pigments | Occurrence | Mineral Pigments | |
| Rough Diamond Placer Mine | Gold, Quartz | Producer | Placer | |
| Aime Laidet | Talc-Soapstone | Occurrence | ||
| Aime Laidet | Talc-Soapstone | Occurrence | ||
| Boston | Gold, Lead, Zinc, Copper | Past Producer | Galena, Gold, Pyrite |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mokelumne Hill | 1.1 miles | 29 | |
| Happy Valley | 2.1 miles | 29 | |
| Jesus Maria | 4.3 miles | 29 | |
| Paloma | 4.3 miles | 29 | |
| Rich Gulch | 4.9 miles | 29 | |
| Alabama Hill | 7.4 miles | 30 | |
| Glencoe | 7.7 miles | 30 | |
| Toyon | 7.8 miles | 30 |
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 Q4905030 | 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 1659695. 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.











