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Chico, California

28 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1980. It stands in the Chico census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95928. It stands on Dead Horse Slough. The Survey maps it on the Chico quadrangle. 101,475 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 197 feet above sea level.

Chico within Butte County

Then and now

1891 to 1980

The same ground, surveyed 89 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Chico, surveyed 1980
Topographic sheet of Chico, surveyed 1891

On record in Chico

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 11 records

Population over time

2 figures

Chico grew from 86,187 to 101,475 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
201086,187
2020101,475+15,288 (+18%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 28 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

554 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 554 fires within 5 miles of Chico between 1992 and 2020, burning about 2,174 acres in total. 5 started naturally. 33 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/undetermined212
Equipment and vehicle use157
Debris and open burning86
Arson/incendiarism33
Misuse of fire by a minor26
Smoking22
Recreation and ceremony9
Natural5
Power generation/transmission/distribution4

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 2009Debris and open burningunder an acreButte Unit32
9 September 2005Arson/incendiarismunder an acreButte UnitSKYWAY
9 September 2000Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreButte UnitHEGAN
8 September 2019Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresButte UnitW EAST AVE WEST_CHICO
8 September 2011Smokingunder an acreButte UnitSOUTH
8 September 2010Debris and open burning1.0 acresButte UnitSACRAMENTO
8 September 2004Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreButte UnitMIDWAY1
8 September 2004Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreButte UnitMIDWAY2

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Butte County

Mines and quarries near this place

8 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Chico: 4 producers, 3 unknowns, 1 past producer. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Platinum, PGE. 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
Butte CreekGold, PlatinumProducer1848, 1949
Butte CreekGold, PGEUnknown
Chico Pit and QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Butte Creek Pit and MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Chico PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
L L UlticanSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Butte Creek DistrictGoldPast Producer1849
Unnamed LocationGoldUnknown

Every working recorded in Butte County

Storms near this place

13 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Chico in 13 storm reports between 1993 and 2023: 3 hail, 2 flash flood, 2 thunderstorm wind, 2 flood. 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
September 2000WildfireChico$1,900,000no account filed
November 2015Thunderstorm WindChico$1,000,000A collapsing thunderstorm resulted in a downburst which brought strong straight line winds which snapped 6 power poles along east Eaton Rd. and Godman Ave in Chico. There were 10000 PG&E customers without power.
April 2017LightningChico$45,000Lightning struck a very large oak tree near Bidwell Mansion in Chico. Large tree limbs came down, damaging 9 cars. Report time based on radar.
April 2019FloodChico$5,000Two feet of standing water was observed on Pillsbury Road between Cohasset Rd. and East Ave. Much of Cohasset Road from Highway 99 to Chico Airport was underwater as well. Time was estimated.
January 2023Thunderstorm WindChico$1,000California Highway Patrol reported a large pine tree down across both lanes of SR 99 just north of East 1st Ave.
April 1993Tornado (F0)Chico$500A tornado touched down in the center of Chico near Fourth Street and Chico State University. The brief touchdown resulted in damage to a number of trees, and was observed by local authorities.
March 2023HailChico-There was 0.75 inch hail reported in Chico, reported via Facebook.
April 2019Flash FloodChico-Flooding was reported across all 3 lanes southbound on Highway 99.
January 2017FloodChico-Big Chico Creek overran its banks in Bidwell Park.
October 2016HailChico-Hail up to 1 inch in diameter was reported.
April 2015Heavy RainChico-The 24 hour total rain was 0.86 inches.
February 2001HailChico-no account filed
January 1997Flash FloodChico-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Butte 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
Michopdo (historical)0.9 miles28
Barber1.0 miles28
Chapmantown1.2 miles28
Stirling Junction1.6 miles28
Roble4.7 miles28
Dayton5.8 miles28
Durham6.0 miles28
Eskini (historical)6.1 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 ChicoAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q432152The 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 1655890. 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.