BlockBefore

Knowles, California

23 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1912 and the latest in 1980. It stands in the Yosemite Lakes census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93653. It stands on Whisky Creek. The Survey maps it on the Knowles quadrangle. It stands 928 feet above sea level.

Knowles within Madera County

Then and now

1912 to 1980

The same ground, surveyed 68 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Knowles, surveyed 1980
Topographic sheet of Knowles, surveyed 1912

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 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

125 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 125 fires within 5 miles of Knowles between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,820 acres in total. 5 started naturally. 14 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/undetermined48
Equipment and vehicle use27
Debris and open burning19
Arson/incendiarism14
Misuse of fire by a minor9
Natural5
Recreation and ceremony1
Smoking1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

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 1992Debris and open burning5.0 acresMerced-Mariposa UnitBEN HUR
6 September 1997Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresMerced-Mariposa UnitFOREST
4 September 1995Debris and open burning5.0 acresMerced-Mariposa UnitRIFLE
30 September 1993Arson/incendiarism3.0 acresMerced-Mariposa UnitBRIZZOLARA
3 September 1994Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMerced-Mariposa UnitGRANT
3 September 1994Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMerced-Mariposa UnitBLUFF
3 September 1993Arson/incendiarism3.0 acresMerced-Mariposa UnitROCKIN RANCH
3 September 1993Arson/incendiarismunder an acreMerced-Mariposa UnitMILES

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Madera County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 22 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 22 workings within 5 miles of Knowles: 10 unknowns, 6 past producers, 5 prospects, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Gold, Copper, Silver, Gold, Silver. 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
Madera QuarryGraniteProducer
BussoliniCopper, Gold, SilverUnknown
FeltsCopper, Gold, SilverUnknown
Pearce & PearceCopper, Gold, SilverUnknown
BarnettCopper, SilverUnknown
Ed Wells PropertyGold, SilverPast Producer
ErskineCopper, SilverUnknown
HallidayCopper, SilverUnknown
Pierce RanchGold, SilverPast Producer
San JoseCopper, SilverUnknown

Every working recorded in Madera County

Storms near this place

1 since 2019

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Knowles in 1 storm report in 2019: 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 2019Tornado (EF0)Knowles-An EF 0 tornado near Yosemite Lakes was determined by video and pictures posted on Facebook.

Every storm recorded in Madera 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
Hillside (historical)1.0 miles24
Raymond1.7 miles24
Knowles Junction2.2 miles24
Fresno Crossing5.4 miles23
Yosemite Lakes5.7 miles23
Yosemite Lakes Park6.2 miles23
Jesbel (historical)6.4 miles24
Willow Glen (historical)8.8 miles25

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 KnowlesAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q6423407The 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 1658917. 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.