BlockBefore

Indian Wells, California

23 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1915 and the latest in 1993. It stands in the East Kern census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93527. It lies in Indian Wells Canyon. The Survey maps it on the Inyokern quadrangle. It stands 2,759 feet above sea level.

Indian Wells within Kern County

Then and now

1915 to 1993

The same ground, surveyed 78 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Indian Wells, surveyed 1993
Topographic sheet of Indian Wells, surveyed 1915

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 23 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

14 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 14 fires within 5 miles of Indian Wells between 1999 and 2016, burning about 16 acres in total. 2 started naturally. None was 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/undetermined7
Equipment and vehicle use2
Natural2
Recreation and ceremony2
Debris and open burning1

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
5 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.6 acresCalifornia Desert DistrictNONAME
3 September 2005Debris and open burning1.6 acresCalifornia Desert DistrictOWENS
22 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
3 August 2012Naturalunder an acreCalifornia Desert District178
4 July 2005Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
21 July 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined9.0 acresCalifornia Desert DistrictINDIAN
11 July 1999Naturalunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictSHORT
30 June 2001Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictSHORT

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Kern County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 10 workings within 5 miles of Indian Wells: 5 past producers, 2 occurrences, 2 prospects, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Tungsten, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Copper, Antimony. 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
High Peak MineTungsten, CopperPast ProducerChalcopyrite, Pyrite, Scheelite
Tungsten Peak MineTungsten, AntimonyPast Producer
Wilkerson No. 1 ProspectThoriumProspect
Grapevine Canyon PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Grosshardt PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Sand Canyon PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Grayhill and Blue Rock ClaimsTungstenOccurrence
High Peak MineTungstenPast Producer
Kerntung GroupTungstenOccurrenceScheelite
Kerntung GroupTungstenProspect

Every working recorded in Kern 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
Bradys2.6 miles23
Inyokern3.4 miles23
Leliter (historical)3.9 miles23
Freeman Junction4.7 miles23
China Lake Acres6.0 miles23
Brown7.6 miles23
Terese (historical)8.4 miles23
Armistead8.6 miles23

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 Indian WellsAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q6021856The 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 243848. 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.