Cuesta-by-the-Sea, California
36 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1897 and the latest in 1998. It stands in the North Coast census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93402. It stands on Chorro Creek. The Survey maps it on the Morro Bay South quadrangle.
Then and now
1897 to 1998The same ground, surveyed 101 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1897 against another survey:
Topographic sheets covering this place
14 surveys from 36 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.
- 1897 USGS Cayucos quadrangle1:62500, 5 printings
- 1900 USGS San Luis quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
- 1937 USGS Cayucos quadrangle1:62500
- 1943 USGS Cayucos quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1947 USGS San Luis Obispo quadrangle1:250000
- 1948 USGS San Luis Obispo quadrangle1:250000
- 1951 USGS Cayucos quadrangle1:62500, 5 printings
- 1956 USGS San Luis Obispo quadrangle1:250000, 5 printings
- 1957 USGS San Luis Obispo quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS San Luis Obispo quadrangle1:250000
- 1965 USGS Morro Bay South quadrangle1:24000, 5 printings
- 1976 USGS Morro Bay South quadrangle1:24000
- 1981 USGS San Luis Obispo quadrangle1:100000, 3 printings
- 1998 USGS Morro Bay South quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
115 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 115 fires within 5 miles of Cuesta-by-the-Sea between 1992 and 2020, burning about 974 acres in total. None started naturally. 4 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 | 53 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 27 |
| Debris and open burning | 15 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 6 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 4 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 3 |
| Smoking | 3 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 3 |
| Firearms and explosives use | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 1992 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | San Luis Obispo Unit | SLU-2856 |
| 6 September 1992 | Smoking | under an acre | San Luis Obispo Unit | SLU-2842 |
| 5 September 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | San Luis Obispo Unit | EMS3CDF/ |
| 29 September 1993 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4.0 acres | San Luis Obispo Unit | P.G.& E. |
| 23 September 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | San Luis Obispo Unit | DORIS AV LOS_OSOS 4 |
| 21 September 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | San Luis Obispo Unit | CUESTA |
| 21 September 2010 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1.0 acres | San Luis Obispo Unit | GILARDI |
| 2 September 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | San Luis Obispo Unit | HIGHLAND,LOS OSOS |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 28 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 28 workings within 5 miles of Cuesta-by-the-Sea: 17 past producers, 5 producers, 3 occurrences, 3 prospects. 5 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Copper, Diatomite, Chromium. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrisa Mine | Gypsum-Anhydrite | Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Kester Prospect | Manganese | Occurrence | ||
| Los Osos | Copper, Silver, Gold, Cobalt, Nickel | Past Producer | Vein | |
| Los Osos Mine | Copper, Gold, Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Los Osos Mine | Copper, Gold, Silver | Past Producer | ||
| Morro Rock Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Red Rock Pit | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Rodrigues Pit | Stone | Producer | ||
| Unnamed Quarry | Stone | Past Producer | ||
| Cienaga Mine | Chromium | Producer | Chromite |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baywood Park | 0.8 miles | 36 | |
| Los Osos | 0.9 miles | 36 | |
| Morro Bay | 3.3 miles | 36 | |
| Goldtree | 8.7 miles | 31 | |
| Cayucos | 8.9 miles | 32 | |
| Chorro | 9.0 miles | 31 | |
| San Luis Obispo | 10.2 miles | 31 | |
| Serrano | 10.3 miles | 31 |
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.
| Wikidata item Q122572747 | 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 1660527. 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.













