El Capitan, California
40 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1997. It stands in the Laguna-Pine Valley census division. It stands on Sand Creek. The Survey maps it on the El Cajon Mountain quadrangle. The federal gazetteer marks this settlement historical: it is no longer a populated place, though the surveys that recorded it still are.
Then and now
1893 to 1997The same ground, surveyed 104 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1893 against another survey:
Topographic sheets covering this place
18 surveys from 40 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.
- 1893 USGS El Cajon quadrangle1:62500
- 1893 USGS Elcajon quadrangle1:62500
- 1901 USGS Elcajon quadrangle1:62500
- 1903 USGS Cuyamaca quadrangle1:125000, 6 printings
- 1903 USGS El Cajon quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1903 USGS Elcajon quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1904 USGS Southern California Sheet No. 2 quadrangle1:250000, 5 printings
- 1939 USGS El Cajon quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1942 USGS El Cajon quadrangle1:62500
- 1947 USGS El Cajon quadrangle1:62500
- 1950 USGS San Diego quadrangle1:250000
- 1954 USGS San Diego quadrangle1:250000
- 1955 USGS El Cajon Mountain quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1955 USGS El Cajon Mtn quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1955 USGS San Diego quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS San Diego quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1979 USGS El Cajon quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1997 USGS El Cajon Mountain quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
172 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 172 fires within 5 miles of El Capitan (historical) between 1992 and 2020, burning about 301,492 acres in total. 6 started naturally. 18 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 | 51 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 35 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 33 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 18 |
| Debris and open burning | 8 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 7 |
| Natural | 6 |
| Smoking | 5 |
| Fireworks | 4 |
| Firearms and explosives use | 2 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Cleveland National Forest | EL_MONTE_#2 |
| 8 September 1995 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | San Diego Unit | DAM |
| 8 September 1995 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3.0 acres | Cleveland National Forest | EL_MONTE |
| 8 September 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 acres | Cleveland National Forest | CAPITAN |
| 7 September 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | San Diego Unit | not named |
| 28 September 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Cleveland National Forest | MONTE |
| 27 September 1994 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | San Diego Unit | GRIFFIN |
| 25 September 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Cleveland National Forest | COTTON |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 11 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 11 workings within 5 miles of El Capitan (historical): 5 occurrences, 4 past producers, 2 prospects. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Iron, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Gold, Clay. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allanite Prospect | Uranium, Thorium | Prospect | ||
| El Cajon Kaolin Deposit | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| El Capitan Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Featherstone Deposit | Silica | Occurrence | ||
| Klondike Claim | Gold | Occurrence | ||
| Mcfall Mine | Garnet | Past Producer | ||
| Merrick Kaolin Deposit | Kaolin | Past Producer | ||
| Juch | Iron | Occurrence | ||
| Juch | Iron | Occurrence | ||
| Lakeview | Iron | Occurrence | Vein |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Four Corners | 3.0 miles | 40 | |
| Pine Grove | 3.3 miles | 33 | |
| San Diego Country Estates | 5.0 miles | 32 | |
| Barona | 5.0 miles | 40 | |
| Blossom Valley | 6.7 miles | 38 | |
| Glen Oaks | 6.8 miles | 38 | |
| Alpine | 6.9 miles | 38 | |
| Flinn Springs | 6.9 miles | 38 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1666237. 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.

















