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Garden Valley, California

32 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1976. It stands in the North El Dorado census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95633. It stands on Empire Creek. The Survey maps it on the Garden Valley quadrangle. It stands 1,949 feet above sea level.

Garden Valley within El Dorado County

Then and now

1891 to 1976

The same ground, surveyed 85 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Garden Valley, surveyed 1976
Topographic sheet of Garden Valley, surveyed 1891

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 surveys from 32 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

566 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 566 fires within 5 miles of Garden Valley between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,494 acres in total. 12 started naturally. 50 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/undetermined168
Debris and open burning160
Equipment and vehicle use107
Arson/incendiarism50
Power generation/transmission/distribution23
Misuse of fire by a minor22
Smoking13
Natural12
Recreation and ceremony5
Other causes5
Fireworks1

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 2015Smokingunder an acreAmador-El Dorado UnitCROZIER
9 September 2013Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreAmador-El Dorado UnitMARSHALL
9 September 1999Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresCentral California DistrictCOLOMA
9 September 1999Naturalunder an acreCentral California DistrictCOLOMA 2
8 September 2014Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreAmador-El Dorado UnitLONGVIEW
7 September 1996Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreAmador-El Dorado UnitJOHNTOWN #2
6 September 2011Arson/incendiarism4.0 acresAmador-El Dorado UnitSTEWART
6 September 2005Debris and open burningunder an acreEldorado National ForestSHOEMAKER

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in El Dorado County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 534 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 534 workings within 5 miles of Garden Valley: 266 occurrences, 139 past producers, 125 unknowns, 3 producers. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Chromium, Copper, Slate, Dimension. 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
El DoradoCopper, Gold, Silver, Zinc, NickelPast ProducerReplacement
Iron CrownGold, CopperOccurrence
ContrabandCopper, AsbestosPast ProducerVein
ContrabandCopper, AsbestosUnknown
Henningsen Gravel PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Lotus Pit and MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Mccurdy MineIron, ChromiumPast Producer
O'Brien MineIron, ChromiumPast Producer1917, 1918
Shelley MineChromium, IronPast Producer1917
Sheppard MineChromium, IronPast Producer1916, 1917

Every working recorded in El Dorado 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
Meadow Brook1.4 miles32
Fornis2.6 miles32
Spanish Flat3.4 miles32
Georgetown3.8 miles32
Buffalo Hill3.8 miles32
Greenwood4.1 miles31
Koloma (historical)4.1 miles34
Coloma4.1 miles34

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 Garden ValleyAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q5522343The 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 1656039. 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.