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El Granada, California

43 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1892 and the latest in 1997. It stands in the Half Moon Bay census division. It lies in ZIP code area 94019. It stands on Deer Creek. The Survey maps it on the Montara Mountain quadrangle. 5,481 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 39 feet above sea level.

El Granada within San Mateo County

Then and now

1892 to 1997

The same ground, surveyed 105 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of El Granada, surveyed 1997
Topographic sheet of El Granada, surveyed 1892

Compare 1892 against another survey:

On record in El Granada

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.

Population over time

2 figures

El Granada grew from 5,467 to 5,481 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
20105,467
20205,481+14 (+0%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

21 surveys from 43 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

102 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 102 fires within 5 miles of El Granada between 1992 and 2020, burning about 56 acres in total. 9 started naturally. 7 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/undetermined64
Natural9
Equipment and vehicle use7
Arson/incendiarism7
Misuse of fire by a minor6
Recreation and ceremony4
Debris and open burning2
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Smoking1

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 1999Naturalunder an acreSan Mateo-Santa Cruz UnitSCARPER
9 September 1999Naturalunder an acreSan Mateo-Santa Cruz UnitPILARCITOS
28 September 2020Arson/incendiarismunder an acreSan Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit5TH ST / EAST AV
28 September 2012Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Mateo-Santa Cruz UnitMADRONA AV EL_GRANADA
25 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresSan Mateo-Santa Cruz UnitAIRPORT ST / LOS BANOS AV
21 September 2012Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Mateo-Santa Cruz UnitCORAL REEF AV EL_GRANADA
2 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionSAN MATEO
11 September 2017Naturalunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionMIRAMAR 2-1

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in San Mateo County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 15 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 15 workings within 5 miles of El Granada: 9 past producers, 4 producers, 1 unknown, 1 prospect. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Gold. 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
MiguelGraniteProducer
Deniston PeakGoldPast ProducerGold
Dennison PeakGoldProspect
MiguelStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Pilarcitos Quarry and Plant No. 138Stone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
VasquezStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
CanadaStone, Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
CanadaStone, Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
El GranadaStoneProducer
El GranadaStonePast Producer

Every working recorded in San Mateo County

Storms near this place

2 since 2020

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names El Granada in 2 storm reports between 2020 and 2025: 1 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. 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
December 2025Thunderstorm WindEl Granada-Broadcast media reported that a tree fell in the El Granada area, which led to additional power lines and trees coming down. 4 vehicles were damaged. Additionally, a tree fell on an apartment complex causing exterior damage. Location estimated. Time estimated based on radar and surrounding wind gust observations.
January 2020HailEl Granada-Spotter reported pea sized hail mixed with rain around Half Moon Bay.

Every storm recorded in San Mateo 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
Princeton0.9 miles43
Miramar1.0 miles38
Seal Cove2.6 miles15
Moss Beach2.9 miles15
Half Moon Bay3.5 miles38
Montara3.7 miles15
Pedro Valley6.4 miles43
Linda Mar6.5 miles43

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 El GranadaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1324217The 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 1659720. 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.