BlockBefore

Cantil, California

26 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1915 and the latest in 1976. It stands in the East Kern census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93519. The Survey maps it on the Cantil quadrangle. It stands 2,018 feet above sea level.

Cantil within Kern County

Then and now

1915 to 1976

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 Cantil, surveyed 1976
Topographic sheet of Cantil, surveyed 1915

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 26 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

11 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 11 fires within 5 miles of Cantil between 1992 and 2018, burning about 3 acres in total. 1 started naturally. None 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/undetermined7
Equipment and vehicle use1
Fireworks1
Natural1
Recreation and ceremony1

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 1994Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictJAWBONE
2 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresCalifornia Desert DistrictABBOTT FIRE
16 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictONION
17 July 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictUNNAMED FIRE 0163
15 July 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictJAWBONE FIRE
23 May 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictUNNAMED FIRE 1013
23 May 1992Fireworks1.0 acresCalifornia Desert DistrictJAWBONE
27 November 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictBIRD

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Kern County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 28 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 28 workings within 5 miles of Cantil: 9 past producers, 6 occurrences, 6 unknowns, 5 prospects. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Mercury, Clay, Lead. 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
Carbonate ProspectLead, CopperOccurrenceChalcopyrite, Copper, Galena
CincoQuartz, FeldsparOccurrence
Cotton Ball BoraxBoron-BoratesPast Producer
Koehn LakeBoron-Borates, Halite, Gypsum-AnhydritePast Producer1873, 1929
Long Beach Salt CoBromineProducer
Orange BlossomCopper, GoldOccurrenceVein
QuartziteSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Rattle Snake GroupLead, Copper, Silver, GoldProspect
Red Rock CanyonSemiprecious GemstoneProspect
Sego-LilyTungstenUnknown

Every working recorded in Kern County

Storms near this place

34 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cantil in 34 storm reports between 1997 and 2025: 15 flash flood, 13 flood, 5 heavy rain, 1 debris flow. The reports record 4 injuries. 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
September 1997Flash FloodCantil4 hurt, $5,000,000A thunderstorm measured at 69 dBz moved from southwest to northeast up the El Paso Mountains in East Kern County on the evening of Wednesday, Sept 3rd. Reports indicated that 4.50" of rain fell from this storm in a little over an hour's time. The resulting flash flood through Red Rock Canyon State Park brought 28,000 CFS down through the park, across State Highway 14 and the Redrock-Randsburg Road, and on into Koehn Dry Lake. Nearly 100 motorists were stranded by the flooding with 4 cars swept into the water. Reports indicated that a 12-foot wall of water swept over Highway 14 at 7:10 PM PDT and subsequently over Redrock-Randsburg Road at 7:17 PM PDT. The number of injuries was estimated based on initial reports...no fatalities.
July 1999Flash FloodCantil$10,000no account filed
December 2025FloodCantil-CHP reports Jawbone Canyon Rd closed due to flooding.
September 2025Flash FloodCantil-Redrock Randsburg Road Highway 14 to Highway 395 impassable and closed.
February 2024FloodCantil-California Highway Patrol reported the Rodrock-Randsburg Road was closed between SR 14 and US 395 because the road had separated due to a washout.
January 2023FloodCantil-California Highway Patrol reported that Redrock-Randsburg Rd. was closed between SR 14 and Garlock due to flooding.
January 2023FloodCantil-California Highway Patrol reported roadway flooding along SR 14 near Redrock-Randsburg Rd.
August 2023Flash FloodCantil-California Highway Patrol reported several stuck vehicles on Neuralia Rd. near Cantil Rd. with a road closure in place.
August 2022FloodCantil-California Highway Patrol reported that the intersection of SR 14 and Jawbone Canyon Rd. was completely flooded over as a result of heavy rainfall.
August 2022Heavy RainCantil-An APRS CWOP station 2W Cantil measured 0.81 inches of rainfall from a thunderstorm in two hours.
March 2020Flash FloodCantil-California Highway Patrol reported water, debris and tree branches covering Redrock Randsburg Road.
March 2020FloodCantil-Kern County Emergency Manager reported Redrock Randsburg Road was closed from SR 14 to US 395 due to flooding.
May 2019FloodCantil-California Highway Patrol reported flooding due to heavy rain along Red Rock-Randsburg Rd. between State Route 14 and US 395. The road was closed due to flooding.
January 2018Debris FlowCantil-California Highway Patrol reported flooding and debris across Redrock-Randsburg Rd. near Cantil and the road was closed to traffic.
March 2018FloodCantil-California Highway Patrol reported Redrock-Randsburg Rd. at State Route 14 closed due to water over the road.
January 2017FloodCantil-California Highway Patrol reported roadway flooding at Highway 14 and Redrock Randsburg Road near Cantil.
January 2017FloodCantil-California Highway Patrol reported Highway 14 was closed near Redrock Randsburg Road due to flooding near Cantil.
January 2017FloodCantil-California Highway Patrol reported roadway flooding near Neurailia Road and Rogers Road just southwest of Cantil.
February 2017Flash FloodCantil-Kern County Roads reported mud and flash flooding along Redrock Randsburg Road and Garlock Road between State Route 14 and US Highway 395. Roadway was closed at 1920 PST.
October 2015Heavy RainCantil-California Highway Patrol reported water ponding on Highway 14. This resulted in the closure of both Randsburg and Garlock roads.
July 2015Flash FloodCantil-Flooding was reported near state road 14 near Jawbone Canyon road.
July 2015Flash FloodCantil-California Highway Patrol reported water threatening highway 14 near Red Rock Canyon.
August 2005Heavy RainCantil-Locally heavy rain occurred due to late afternoon thunderstorm activity in the Kern Deserts. Localized flooding was reported just east of Highway 14 on Redrock-Randsburg Road in the Cantil area.
February 2001FloodCantil-Early convection early on the 28th continued minor flood problems along the Redrock-Randsburg Road in the Kern County deserts. Total rainfall at California City from late on the 25th through the morning of the 28th was 1". Another 1/4" fell in a thunderstorm from 1400 to 1415 PST on the 28th.
February 1998Flash FloodCantil-After the fact by 7 hours but water cut a 20-foot section of the Redrock-Randsburg Road in the Kern Desert due to locally heavy rains. No injuries or vehicles involved.
February 2005Heavy RainCantil-no account filed
July 2005Flash FloodCantil-no account filed
July 2005Flash FloodCantil-no account filed
August 2005Heavy RainCantil-no account filed
October 2005Flash FloodCantil-no account filed
October 2005Flash FloodCantil-no account filed
August 2004Flash FloodCantil-no account filed
February 2001FloodCantil-no account filed
July 2001Flash FloodCantil-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Kern 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
Rancho Seco2.1 miles26
Gypsite2.5 miles26
Redrock (historical)2.5 miles26
Ricardo4.6 miles26
Cinco4.8 miles27
Ceneda4.9 miles26
Saltdale (historical)5.5 miles26
Neuralia (historical)8.6 miles28

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 CantilAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q3474540The 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 240206. 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.