BlockBefore

Desert Beach, California

20 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1940 and the latest in 2003. It stands in the Coachella Valley census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92254. The Survey maps it on the Mortmar quadrangle. It lies 213 feet below sea level.

Desert Beach within Riverside County

Then and now

1940 to 2003

The same ground, surveyed 63 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Desert Beach, surveyed 2003
Topographic sheet of Desert Beach, surveyed 1940

On record in Desert Beach

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 within a mile 1 record

The National Register names another town for these. They stand within one mile of this settlement's coordinate.

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 surveys from 20 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

196 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 196 fires within 5 miles of Desert Beach between 1992 and 2020, burning about 405 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 28 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/undetermined117
Arson/incendiarism28
Equipment and vehicle use22
Debris and open burning11
Misuse of fire by a minor8
Smoking5
Natural2
Railroad operations and maintenance2
Recreation and ceremony1

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
6 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictUNNAMED FIRE 2717
5 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionVANDER VEER RD / SEA VIEW
27 September 2004Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresCalifornia Desert DistrictDUROS
19 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresRiverside UnitPARKSIDE DR / HY 111
18 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresRiverside UnitPARKSIDE
18 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreRiverside UnitHY 111 / BAY DR
18 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreRiverside Unit111
12 September 2008Debris and open burning2.0 acresCalifornia Desert DistrictPARKSIDE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Riverside County

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Desert Beach: 2 past producers. None of them still produces. 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Riverside 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
Mortmar0.8 miles20
Desert Camp3.3 miles20
Salton3.5 miles20
Caleb (historical)4.9 miles28
Ferrum5.1 miles21
Rancho Dos Palmas5.2 miles21
Durmid7.5 miles21
Mecca8.9 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 Desert BeachAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q14681823The 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 1660540. 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.