BlockBefore

Desert Lake, California

23 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1915 and the latest in 1976. It stands in the East Kern census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93516. The Survey maps it on the Boron quadrangle. It stands 2,402 feet above sea level.

Desert Lake within Kern County

Then and now

1915 to 1976

The same ground, surveyed 61 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 Lake, surveyed 1976
Topographic sheet of Desert Lake, surveyed 1915

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 23 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

14 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 14 fires within 5 miles of Desert Lake between 2005 and 2007, burning about 4 acres in total. None started naturally. 2 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/undetermined9
Arson/incendiarism2
Smoking1
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Equipment and vehicle use1

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
5 September 2005Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
5 August 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
23 August 2005Arson/incendiarismunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
7 July 2007Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
5 July 2006Misuse of fire by a minor1.0 acresCalifornia Desert DistrictUNNAMED FIRE 1136
30 July 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
13 July 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictUNNAMED FIRE 1117
26 June 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 Kern County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 19 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 19 workings within 5 miles of Desert Lake: 11 past producers, 6 prospects, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Boron-Borates, Bentonite, Antimony, Bentonite, Arsenic, Uranium. 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
Kramer Borate DepositBoron-Borates, Antimony, Bentonite, ArsenicProducer1913, 1927
Vanuray ProspectUraniumPast Producer
Unnamed Clay DepositBentonitePast Producer
Unnamed Clay DepositBentonitePast Producer
Baker Mine and MillBoron-BoratesPast Producer
Balling IiBoron-BoratesProspect
Four Corners 2Boron-BoratesProspect
Jenifer MineBoron-BoratesPast Producer
KohlerBoron-BoratesProspect
Kramer Borate DepositBoron-BoratesPast Producer

Every working recorded in Kern 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
Rich2.4 miles19
Boron2.6 miles19
Silt2.7 miles19
West Baker (historical)2.9 miles23
Baker3.2 miles23
Solon (historical)6.2 miles19
North Muroc (historical)6.4 miles28
North Edwards7.2 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 LakeAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q5263965The 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 1660543. 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.