Highlands, California
43 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1892 and the latest in 1997. It stands in the San Mateo census division. It lies in ZIP code area 94402. It lies near Pulgas Ridge. The Survey maps it on the San Mateo quadrangle.
Then and now
1892 to 1997The 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.


Compare 1892 against another survey:
On record in Highlands
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.
X-100listed 2016 · 0.6 miles away
Topographic sheets covering this place
22 surveys from 43 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.
- 1892 USGS San Mateo quadrangle1:62500
- 1896 USGS San Mateo quadrangle1:62500
- 1899 USGS San Mateo quadrangle1:62500, 6 printings
- 1915 USGS San Mateo quadrangle1:62500, 6 printings
- 1939 USGS San Mateo quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1943 USGS San Mateo quadrangle1:62500
- 1947 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1947 USGS San Mateo quadrangle1:24000
- 1948 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1949 USGS San Mateo quadrangle1:24000
- 1955 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1956 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1956 USGS San Mateo quadrangle1:24000, 6 printings
- 1957 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1961 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1971 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1978 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1985 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1993 USGS San Mateo quadrangle1:24000
- 1997 USGS San Mateo quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
297 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 297 fires within 5 miles of Highlands between 1992 and 2020, burning about 195 acres in total. 5 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 | 158 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 64 |
| Smoking | 25 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 18 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 11 |
| Debris and open burning | 8 |
| Natural | 5 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 4 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 4 |
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 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | NB HWY 280 / EDGEWOOD OF |
| 9 September 1999 | Natural | under an acre | San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit | SCARPER |
| 9 September 1999 | Natural | under an acre | San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit | PILARCITOS |
| 7 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit | not named |
| 6 September 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit | EDGEWOOD |
| 6 September 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.5 acres | San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit | OYSTER POINT |
| 5 September 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 4 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.1 acres | San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit | BEL AIRE RD THE_HIGHLAND |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 39 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 39 workings within 5 miles of Highlands: 20 producers, 18 past producers, 1 unknown. 20 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Stone, Calcium, Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redwood Material Co. | Manganese | Producer | ||
| Redwood Material Co. | Manganese | Past Producer | ||
| Canada | Stone, Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Canada | Stone, Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Sand Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Hilltop | Calcium | Producer | ||
| Hilltop | Calcium | Past Producer | ||
| Skyline Quarry | Calcium | Producer | ||
| Skyline Quarry | Calcium | Past Producer | ||
| Britton Ranch | Stone | Producer |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baywood Park | 0.7 miles | 43 | |
| Laurel | 2.1 miles | 43 | |
| Hillsdale | 2.3 miles | 43 | |
| Belle Monte | 2.5 miles | 43 | |
| Hillsborough Park | 2.5 miles | 43 | |
| Hayward Park | 2.9 miles | 43 | |
| San Mateo | 3.1 miles | 43 | |
| San Mateo Park | 3.2 miles | 43 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1867028. 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.





















