BlockBefore

Colton, California

38 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1896 and the latest in 1982. It stands in the San Bernardino census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92324. It stands on Warm Creek. The Survey maps it on the San Bernardino South quadrangle. 53,909 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,004 feet above sea level.

Colton within San Bernardino County

Then and now

1896 to 1982

The same ground, surveyed 86 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Colton, surveyed 1982
Topographic sheet of Colton, surveyed 1896

Compare 1896 against another survey:

On record in Colton

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 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Colton grew from 52,154 to 53,909 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
201052,154
202053,909+1,755 (+3%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

19 surveys from 38 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

909 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 909 fires within 5 miles of Colton between 1992 and 2020, burning about 3,836 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 123 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/undetermined572
Arson/incendiarism123
Equipment and vehicle use90
Misuse of fire by a minor55
Smoking33
Debris and open burning25
Recreation and ceremony6
Railroad operations and maintenance2
Natural2
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

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 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
9 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
9 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
8 September 2006Debris and open burningunder an acreSan Bernardino UnitGOLFBALL
7 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Bernardino Unitnot named
7 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
7 September 2006Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresRiverside UnitCHAMOMILE INC
7 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in San Bernardino County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 27 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 27 workings within 5 miles of Colton: 20 past producers, 6 producers, 1 occurrence. 6 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Limestone, General, Calcium, Marble, Dimension. 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
City CreekMercuryOccurrence
Colton Cement PlantLimestone, General, Calcium, Cement RockProducer
Hancock's Brick YardClayPast Producer
San Bernardino PlantLimestone, DimensionProducer
Santa Ana River PitSilicaPast Producer
Slover Mountain QuarryCalcium, Marble, DimensionPast Producer
Calif. Portland Cement Co.Limestone, GeneralPast ProducerSedimentary
Colton DepositLimestone, GeneralPast Producer
San Bernadino PlantLimestone, GeneralProducer
Bloomington PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in San Bernardino County

Storms near this place

10 since 2001

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Colton in 10 storm reports between 2001 and 2017: 4 wildfire, 2 flood, 1 heavy rain, 1 flash flood. The reports record 2 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
July 2002WildfireColton2 hurtno account filed
February 2001Heavy RainColton$150,000no account filed
June 2001WildfireColton$25,000no account filed
August 2017LightningColton$15,000A lightning strike damaged a critical power transformer in Colton, cutting power to 95% of the city. An estimated 50,000 customers lost power. Area schools closed due to a lack of power that lingered into the following day.
February 2004Flash FloodColton$10,000no account filed
September 2015FloodColton-Valley Blvd. was flooded between Hermosa and Grand Avenues.
August 2014FloodColton-CHP reported a vehicle almost under water at the intersection of Reche Canyon Road and Prado Lane.
February 2004Funnel CloudColton-no account filed
January 2002WildfireColton-no account filed
July 2002WildfireColton-no account filed

Every storm recorded in San Bernardino 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
Bethune0.5 miles38
Bunker Hill0.7 miles38
Rana1.1 miles38
Valley Gardens1.9 miles38
East Colton Heights1.9 miles38
West Colton2.1 miles38
Garden Park2.6 miles38
San Bernardino2.7 miles38

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 ColtonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q846606The 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 1652688. 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.