Clipper Gap, California
33 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1994. It stands in the Auburn census division. The Survey maps it on the Auburn quadrangle. It stands 1,676 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1891 to 1994The same ground, surveyed 103 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Topographic sheets covering this place
12 surveys from 33 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.
- 1891 USGS Sacramento quadrangle1:125000
- 1892 USGS Sacramento quadrangle1:125000, 5 printings
- 1893 USGS Sacramento quadrangle1:125000
- 1944 USGS Auburn quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1947 USGS Sacramento quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1948 USGS Sacramento quadrangle1:250000
- 1953 USGS Auburn quadrangle1:24000, 9 printings
- 1954 USGS Auburn quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Sacramento quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS Sacramento quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1975 USGS Auburn quadrangle1:24000
- 1994 USGS Sacramento quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
860 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 860 fires within 5 miles of Clipper Gap between 1992 and 2020, burning about 6,130 acres in total. 7 started naturally. 49 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 | 376 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 216 |
| Debris and open burning | 129 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 49 |
| Smoking | 28 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 26 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 18 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 8 |
| Natural | 7 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 1 |
| Other causes | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | GERRY |
| 9 September 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | EDGEWOOD |
| 9 September 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit | AUBURN |
| 9 September 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit | AIRPORT |
| 9 September 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 2.0 acres | Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit | CEADER |
| 9 September 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 150 acres | Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit | FORESTHILL |
| 8 September 2011 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 1.0 acres | Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit | LINCOLN |
| 8 September 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 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 165 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 165 workings within 5 miles of Clipper Gap: 59 occurrences, 53 unknowns, 38 past producers, 13 producers. 13 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Copper, 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cool-Cave Valley Quarry | Limestone, General | Producer | ||
| Coulton Lime and Stone-Auburn Plant | Limestone, Dimension | Producer | ||
| Elder Mine | Copper, Molybdenum | Occurrence | Chalcopyrite, Malachite, Pyrite | |
| Green Point Mercury and Uranium Psp | Mercury, Uranium | Prospect | ||
| Lakeview | Copper, Gold | Past Producer | Vein | |
| Mammoth Bar | Gold, Platinum, Rhodium, Palladium, Iridium, Osmium | Producer | Stream Placer | |
| Marguerite | Gold, Copper, Lead | Past Producer | Chalcopyrite, Galena, Gold, Pyrite | |
| Meadow Vista Quarry | Stone | Past Producer | ||
| Pacific Gold Dredging Co. | Gold, Platinum, Palladium, Rhodium, Iridium | Producer | Stream Placer | |
| Peter Oest Claim | Copper, Silver, Gold | Producer |
Storms near this place
2 since 2014Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Clipper Gap in 2 storm reports between 2014 and 2026: 1 flash flood, 1 heavy rain. The reports record 1 death. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2026 | Heavy Rain | Clipper Gap | 1 killed | There were numerous reports of roadway flooding and rises on small creeks and streams in the area due to heavy rain. A hiker went missing on January 2nd around 2:00 PM. Search and research operations from Placer County to help find the missing individual where underway through the weekend. The hiker's body was recovered Monday afternoon. |
| December 2014 | Flash Flood | Clipper Gap | $1,000 | I80 and Clipper Gap Rd. Lane 1 had 1-2 feet deep water, 75 feet across, flooding the entire off ramp. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nielsburg | 1.2 miles | 33 | |
| Meadow Vista | 2.2 miles | 29 | |
| Bowman | 2.5 miles | 33 | |
| Applegate | 2.5 miles | 34 | |
| Heather Glen | 3.9 miles | 34 | |
| North Auburn | 4.3 miles | 33 | |
| Twin Pines | 4.4 miles | 34 | |
| Elders Corner | 4.5 miles | 33 |
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 Clipper Gap | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q5134370 | 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 1658291. 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.











