Garnet, California
39 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1901 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Desert Hot Springs census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92258. It stands on Garnet Wash. The Survey maps it on the Desert Hot Springs quadrangle.
Then and now
1901 to 1984The same ground, surveyed 83 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1901 against another survey:
Topographic sheets covering this place
14 surveys from 39 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.
- 1901 USGS San Jacinto quadrangle1:125000, 9 printings
- 1901 USGS Southern California Sheet No. 1 quadrangle1:250000, 6 printings
- 1904 USGS Southern California Sheet No. 1 quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1940 USGS Palm Springs quadrangle1:62500
- 1944 USGS Palm Springs quadrangle1:62500
- 1947 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000
- 1949 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000
- 1955 USGS Desert Hot Springs quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1956 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Palm Springs quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
- 1959 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1960 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1965 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000
- 1984 USGS Palm Springs quadrangle1:100000, 3 printings
Fires near this place
595 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 595 fires within 5 miles of Garnet between 1992 and 2020, burning about 2,095 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 34 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 | 342 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 81 |
| Smoking | 55 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 38 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 34 |
| Debris and open burning | 17 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 13 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 8 |
| Natural | 4 |
| Fireworks | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 8 September 2007 | Smoking | 1.0 acres | California Desert District | UNNAMED FIRE 3130 |
| 8 September 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Riverside Unit | LOCAL |
| 8 September 2003 | Smoking | under an acre | California Desert District | LOCAL |
| 8 September 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Riverside Unit | PEREZ |
| 7 September 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | San Bernardino National Forest | not named |
| 6 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Riverside Unit | IRONWOOD DR / MESQUITE AV |
| 6 September 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | San Bernardino National Forest | WINDY |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
3 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Garnet: 1 past producer, 1 occurrence, 1 prospect. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Limestone, General, 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chino Canyon Deposits | Limestone, General | Occurrence | ||
| Frances Group | Gold | Prospect | ||
| Massey Indian Avenue | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
6 since 2009Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Garnet in 6 storm reports between 2009 and 2025: 4 flood, 2 flash flood. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2009 | Flash Flood | Garnet | $100,000 | Excessive runoff from the heavy rain in the San Bernardino Mountains produced strong currents in the Whitewater River wash, which caused an earthen berm at a percolation basin in Palm Springs to collapse. The water then continued to flow through the wash and across several streets, bringing large amounts of mud and debris with it. Indian Canyon Road, Gene Autry Road, and Vista Chino road, all of which lie across the wash's natural path, were closed due to flooding. Three cars were swept off the road during the flood - two on Indian Canyon Drive and one on Vista Chino. One of the percolation ponds also sustained damage. |
| December 2025 | Flood | Garnet | - | Multiple road closures in northern Palm Springs on low water crossings of drainage out of the San Bernardino Mts. Indian Canyon Dr, N Gene Autry Trail, and E Vista Chino all experienced road closures. Whitewater River Headwaters station upstream in the San Bernardino Mountains got 3.25 inches in under 3 hours. |
| March 2020 | Flood | Garnet | - | Indian Canyon Road just south of I-10 was closed for 3 hours due to roadway flooding. This was caused by runoff from the Whitewater Channel due to heavy rainfall in the San Bernardino Mountains. |
| April 2020 | Flood | Garnet | - | Indian Canyon Drive temporarily closed at the Whitewater Wash due to flooding (1-5 inches of water over the road) caused from rain runoff down the mountains. |
| September 2019 | Flash Flood | Garnet | - | North Indian Canyon Drive was closed on the morning of 9/2 due to water over the roadway. Media reports that the road was still closed monday evening. |
| December 2014 | Flood | Garnet | - | The Desert Sun reports that Gene Autry trail...Indian Canyon Drive...Araby Drive...and Vista Chino were closed due to flooding from water rushing down the Whitewater basin from heavy rains over Yucaipa. At the Snow Creek stream gage in Whitewater at 1830 PST the 2nd, the flow peaked at 157 cfs. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Palm Springs | 1.4 miles | 39 | |
| Dos Palmas Corners | 2.8 miles | 39 | |
| Salvia | 3.1 miles | 43 | |
| Desert Hot Springs | 4.7 miles | 39 | |
| Palm Springs | 4.9 miles | 43 | |
| White Water | 5.2 miles | 40 | |
| Desert Edge | 5.7 miles | 22 | |
| Bonnie Bell | 6.1 miles | 40 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 252894. 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.













