Chowchilla, California
15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1918 and the latest in 1983. It stands in the Chowchilla census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93610. The Survey maps it on the Chowchilla quadrangle. 19,039 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 240 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1918 to 1983The same ground, surveyed 65 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Population over time
2 figuresChowchilla grew from 18,720 to 19,039 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 18,720 | |
| 2020 | 19,039 | +319 (+2%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
10 surveys from 15 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.
- 1918 USGS Chowchilla quadrangle1:31680
- 1942 USGS Athlone quadrangle1:62500
- 1947 USGS San Jose quadrangle1:250000
- 1948 USGS Chowchilla quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS San Jose quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Chowchilla quadrangle1:62500
- 1960 USGS Chowchilla quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1962 USGS San Jose quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1966 USGS San Jose quadrangle1:250000
- 1983 USGS Merced quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
822 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 822 fires within 5 miles of Chowchilla between 1992 and 2020, burning about 3,190 acres in total. None started naturally. 36 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 | 540 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 132 |
| Debris and open burning | 62 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 36 |
| Smoking | 36 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 13 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 3 |
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 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | MAPLE ST CCWF |
| 9 September 2000 | Railroad operations and maintenance | under an acre | Merced-Mariposa Unit | ROADSIDE 13775 |
| 9 September 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 1.0 acres | Merced-Mariposa Unit | ROADSIDE 13095 |
| 9 September 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 1.0 acres | Merced-Mariposa Unit | ROADSIDE 13092 |
| 8 September 1996 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Merced-Mariposa Unit | MERRIAM |
| 8 September 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Merced-Mariposa Unit | RDSD 137 |
| 7 September 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Merced-Mariposa Unit | 152 |
| 7 September 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Merced-Mariposa Unit | 26 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
3 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Chowchilla: 2 producers, 1 past producer. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ash Slough Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Berenda Slough Sand Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Bliss Ranch | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
15 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Chowchilla in 15 storm reports between 1996 and 2015: 6 funnel cloud, 4 hail, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 1998 | Tornado (F0) | Chowchilla | $15,000 | Initial part of this severe storm was 2 miles in length with trees damaged in the Maddalena Orchard south of Highway 152 and east of Road 10. No other damage seen immediately to the northeast except phone line damage immediately along Highway 152 through the rural area. A spotter observed the tornado path. While not seen directly by any witnesses there was some damage to an orchard at Ave 251/2 and Road 14 located just south and west 2 miles from Chowchilla and some building damage 2 miles due west of Chowchilla that would be the same line and direction as the observed tornado...but 4 miles farther to the northeast! |
| March 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Chowchilla | $1,500 | Strong wind from a severe thunderstorm pushed a trailer house off of its foundation as well as damaging some dairy, calf sheds in an area 1/2 mile north of the storm's tornado track. |
| April 2015 | Hail | Chowchilla | - | Spotter reported one inch hail near Chowchilla, CA. |
| May 2012 | Funnel Cloud | Chowchilla | - | The public reported a funnel cloud near Chowchilla. |
| February 2009 | Funnel Cloud | Chowchilla | - | The public reported a funnel cloud near the city of Chowchilla. The report was relayed by local broadcast media. |
| May 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Chowchilla | - | Several hundred trees were downed in an orchard east of Chowchilla due to strong wind accompanying approximately 1" of rain with the event. |
| April 2001 | Hail | Chowchilla | - | Small hail southwest of Chowchilla caused more than $3.25M in damage to 600 acres of apples and 40 acres of cherries. |
| June 1998 | Flood | Chowchilla | - | By 1835PST 0.75" of rain had fallen from a thunderstorm in the previous 50 minutes in Chowchilla ...streets were flooded with standing water. Total rain in the period ending by 2000 PST was 1.46". |
| January 2006 | Funnel Cloud | Chowchilla | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Heavy Rain | Chowchilla | - | no account filed |
| May 2002 | Funnel Cloud | Chowchilla | - | no account filed |
| October 2000 | Hail | Chowchilla | - | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Funnel Cloud | Chowchilla | - | no account filed |
| April 1996 | Hail | Chowchilla | - | no account filed |
| October 1996 | Funnel Cloud | Chowchilla | - | no account filed |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minturn | 1.4 miles | 16 | |
| Sierra Vista | 2.4 miles | 16 | |
| Califa (historical) | 3.8 miles | 19 | |
| Ash (historical) | 4.4 miles | 15 | |
| Fairmead | 4.8 miles | 19 | |
| Tyler (historical) | 5.4 miles | 15 | |
| Ovejo (historical) | 5.6 miles | 15 | |
| Medano (historical) | 5.7 miles | 16 |
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 Chowchilla | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q985260 | 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 277601. 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.









