BlockBefore

Big Valley, California

34 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 2001. It stands in the Angels City census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95247. It stands on Peppermint Creek. The Survey maps it on the Murphys quadrangle. It stands 2,155 feet above sea level.

Big Valley within Calaveras County

Then and now

1891 to 2001

The same ground, surveyed 110 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Big Valley, surveyed 2001
Topographic sheet of Big Valley, surveyed 1891

Compare 1891 against another survey:

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

317 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 317 fires within 5 miles of Big Valley between 1992 and 2020, burning about 15,321 acres in total. 24 started naturally. 29 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/undetermined105
Debris and open burning69
Equipment and vehicle use60
Arson/incendiarism29
Natural24
Power generation/transmission/distribution10
Misuse of fire by a minor10
Smoking5
Recreation and ceremony3
Other causes1
Fireworks1

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 2011Naturalunder an acreTuolumne-Calaveras UnitBLUFF
9 September 2008Equipment and vehicle use4.0 acresCentral California Area OfficeNINE
9 September 1998Naturalunder an acreTuolumne-Calaveras UnitLIGHTNING 4
9 September 1993Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresTuolumne-Calaveras UnitPOAG
7 September 1997Missing data/not specified/undetermined15 acresTuolumne-Calaveras UnitCAMP
6 September 2012Natural2.0 acresTuolumne-Calaveras Unit2-6
6 September 2012Natural7.5 acresTuolumne-Calaveras Unit2-7
6 September 1995Equipment and vehicle use2.0 acresTuolumne-Calaveras UnitWALTERS

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Calaveras County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 411 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 411 workings within 5 miles of Big Valley: 159 occurrences, 116 past producers, 93 unknowns, 38 producers. 38 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Manganese, Stone, 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Blue Mountian QuarryLimestone, GeneralProducer
Cataract Slurry PlantCalciumProducer
Collier MineGold, Zinc, Silver, Copper, Lead, AntimonyPast ProducerAntimony, Gold, Sphalerite
Columbia QuarryMagnesiteProducer
ContentionGold, Molybdenum, CopperOccurrence
DodsonGold, Copper, LeadPast ProducerChalcopyrite, Galena
Douglas FlatGold, PlatinumProducer1848
Douglas FlatGold, PGEUnknown
Madrid MineChromium, IronPast Producer1916, 1917
MarjonCobalt, NickelOccurrenceVein

Every working recorded in Calaveras 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
Wyldewood1.7 miles34
Murphys1.7 miles34
Douglas Flat1.9 miles37
Rocky Hill2.3 miles34
Forest Meadows2.8 miles34
Cedar Vista2.8 miles34
Hanford Hill3.2 miles34
Indian Creek3.4 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 Q4906637The 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 1804863. 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.