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Hornitos, California

28 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1994. It stands in the Mariposa census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95338. It stands on Eldorado Creek. The Survey maps it on the Hornitos quadrangle. 38 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 843 feet above sea level.

Hornitos within Mariposa County

Then and now

1893 to 1994

The same ground, surveyed 101 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Hornitos, surveyed 1994
Topographic sheet of Hornitos, surveyed 1893

On record in Hornitos

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 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Hornitos fell from 75 to 38 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
201075
202038-37 (-49%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

12 surveys from 28 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

60 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 60 fires within 5 miles of Hornitos between 1992 and 2020, burning about 4,451 acres in total. None started naturally. 5 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/undetermined25
Equipment and vehicle use21
Arson/incendiarism5
Debris and open burning4
Power generation/transmission/distribution4
Recreation and ceremony1

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
8 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCentral California DistrictGAINES
29 September 1996Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresMerced-Mariposa UnitMCSWAIN
27 September 2009Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresMerced-Mariposa UnitSLATE GULCH RD CATHEYS_V
25 September 1993Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMerced-Mariposa UnitHORNITOS
20 September 2005Equipment and vehicle use700 acresMerced-Mariposa UnitLA PALOMA
15 September 1998Equipment and vehicle use5.0 acresMerced-Mariposa UnitMCCLURE/PG&E #41
12 September 2018Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionHORNITOS 2
12 September 2009Equipment and vehicle use3.6 acresMerced-Mariposa UnitHORNITOS RD / BEAR VALLEY

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Mariposa County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 109 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 109 workings within 5 miles of Hornitos: 36 past producers, 34 occurrences, 27 unknowns, 9 producers. 10 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Silver, Copper, Zinc. 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
American EagleCopper, Zinc, Gold, Silver, LeadPast Producer1890
American EaglesZinc, Gold, SilverProspect
Blue MoonZinc, Copper, Lead, Gold, SilverPast Producer1935, 1945
Blue MoonZinc, Copper, Gold, Lead, SilverPast ProducerUnderground
Bronsen Manganese ClaimManganeseOccurrence1917
DossGold, Lead, Copper, ZincPast Producer1870
Mount GainesGold, Lead, Silver, Copper, ZincPast Producer1853
Silver LeadGold, Copper, Lead, Zinc, SilverPast Producer1865
UnknownStoneOccurrence
WashingtonGold, Silver, Copper, LeadPast Producer1850

Every working recorded in Mariposa County

Storms near this place

7 since 2001

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Hornitos in 7 storm reports between 2001 and 2025: 4 flood, 1 wildfire, 1 hail, 1 tornado. 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
February 2025FloodHornitos-California Highway Patrol reported roadway flooding at the intersection of Hornitos Rd. and Bear Valley Rd.
January 2023FloodHornitos-Public report of a driver stuck in flood waters on the westbound lane of Hornitos Rd. near La Paloma Rd. just west of the Merced River.
January 2023FloodHornitos-Public report of a barn roof washed up onto Hornitos Rd. at High St.
March 2023FloodHornitos-California Highway Patrol reported flooding on Hornitos Rd. at Slate Gulch Rd. and Indian Gulch Rd.
June 2001WildfireHornitos-The Merced Falls Wildfire was caused by a metal-bladed weed eater. It burned approximately 400 acres but no fatalities or structures were lost. The cost to combat is unknown.
January 2006HailHornitos-no account filed
January 2006Tornado (F0)Hornitos-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Mariposa 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
Indian Gulch4.9 miles17
Bear Valley7.8 miles31
Catheys Valley8.9 miles20
Bagby9.3 miles28
Barrett9.8 miles28
Mount Bullion10.3 miles31
Agua Fria11.6 miles20
Hayward12.0 miles28

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 HornitosAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q5904452The 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 1659736. 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.