Bolsa Knolls, California
27 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1910 and the latest in 1983. It stands in the Salinas census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93906. The Survey maps it on the Salinas quadrangle. It stands 131 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1910 to 1983The same ground, surveyed 73 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1910 against another survey:
Topographic sheets covering this place
12 surveys from 27 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.
- 1910 USGS Salinas quadrangle1:31680
- 1912 USGS Salinas quadrangle1:62500, 6 printings
- 1940 USGS Salinas quadrangle1:62500
- 1947 USGS Salinas quadrangle1:24000, 7 printings
- 1947 USGS Salinas quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1948 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1955 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1965 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000
- 1974 USGS Monterey quadrangle1:250000
- 1983 USGS Monterey quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
266 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 266 fires within 5 miles of Bolsa Knolls between 1992 and 2020, burning about 632 acres in total. None 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/undetermined | 141 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 49 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 29 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 20 |
| Debris and open burning | 17 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 3 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Other causes | 2 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 2018 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 7 September 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | San Benito-Monterey Unit | SAN JUAN GRADE RD / CRAZY |
| 5 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | San Benito-Monterey Unit | not named |
| 4 September 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | San Benito-Monterey Unit | VIERRA CANYON RD NORTH_C |
| 4 September 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6.0 acres | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 4 September 2004 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | San Benito-Monterey Unit | CABEU003585 |
| 4 September 1993 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | San Benito-Monterey Unit | PG&E #21 |
| 30 September 2018 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 13 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 13 workings within 5 miles of Bolsa Knolls: 4 prospects, 3 past producers, 2 producers, 2 plants. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Limestone, General, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Dolomite, Magnesite. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foothill Road Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Sillacci | Stone | Producer | ||
| Bethlehem Steel Co | Dolomite | Past Producer | ||
| Natividad Calcining Plant | Magnesite | Plant | ||
| Natividad Quarry & Mill | Magnesite, Limestone, General | Plant | 1940, 1942 | |
| Sillacci Lower Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken, Limestone, General | Past Producer | ||
| Sugarloaf Deposit | Limestone, General, Dolomite | Occurrence | ||
| Unnamed Pit | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Bethlehem Steel Co | Limestone, General | Prospect | Sedimentary | |
| Natividad Deposit | Limestone, General | Prospect | Sedimentary |
Storms near this place
6 since 2000Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bolsa Knolls in 6 storm reports between 2000 and 2025: 4 flood, 1 flash flood, 1 hail. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2000 | Flash Flood | Bolsa Knolls | $1,000,000 | floods and mudslides water from the persistent rain washed out highway one south of Big Sur that still has not been reopened two months later.The Bolsa knolls area was flooded and water damaged a number of houses and businesses. Houses in Prunedale were flooded with water and mud. Fallen trees were the cause of power outages to around 2,400 people in North Monterey County. Pacific Grove Mifddle School was flooded and evacuated. |
| October 2009 | Flood | Bolsa Knolls | $200,000 | The Pacific Coast Christian Academy and Little Lamb Preschool flooded after Little Bear Creek breached its banks. At least one foot of standing water remained in the school through the evening. |
| January 2017 | Hail | Bolsa Knolls | $10 | Picture shared via twitter from media. |
| February 2025 | Flood | Bolsa Knolls | - | Roadway flooding was reported on Rogge Road and Natividad Road, causing a lot of traffic with people reportedly getting out of cars. |
| November 2025 | Flood | Bolsa Knolls | - | Denner Road was flooded between Paul Avenue and San Juan Grade Road. |
| December 2024 | Flood | Bolsa Knolls | - | Rogge Road and San Juan Grade Road closed due to flooding. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Rita | 1.2 miles | 27 | |
| Gabilan Acres | 1.8 miles | 25 | |
| Natividad | 2.2 miles | 27 | |
| Boronda | 3.1 miles | 27 | |
| Prunedale | 3.3 miles | 25 | |
| Alisal | 3.9 miles | 27 | |
| Salinas | 4.0 miles | 27 | |
| Cooper | 4.4 miles | 27 |
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 Bolsa Knolls | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q4940037 | 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 1658102. 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.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.











