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.
Then and now
1912 to 1980The 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 sheets covering this place
10 surveys from 23 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.
- 1912 USGS Mariposa quadrangle1:125000, 6 printings
- 1942 USGS Raymond quadrangle1:62500
- 1944 USGS Raymond quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1947 USGS Mariposa quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1948 USGS Mariposa quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Mariposa quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1962 USGS Knowles quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1962 USGS Raymond quadrangle1:62500
- 1963 USGS Mariposa quadrangle1:250000
- 1980 USGS Shaver Lake quadrangle1:100000, 3 printings
Fires near this place
125 since 1992Regional 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/undetermined | 48 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 27 |
| Debris and open burning | 19 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 14 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 9 |
| Natural | 5 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 1 |
| Smoking | 1 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 1992 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Merced-Mariposa Unit | BEN HUR |
| 6 September 1997 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Merced-Mariposa Unit | FOREST |
| 4 September 1995 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Merced-Mariposa Unit | RIFLE |
| 30 September 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 3.0 acres | Merced-Mariposa Unit | BRIZZOLARA |
| 3 September 1994 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Merced-Mariposa Unit | GRANT |
| 3 September 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Merced-Mariposa Unit | BLUFF |
| 3 September 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 3.0 acres | Merced-Mariposa Unit | ROCKIN RANCH |
| 3 September 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Merced-Mariposa Unit | MILES |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 22 shownRegional 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madera Quarry | Granite | Producer | ||
| Bussolini | Copper, Gold, Silver | Unknown | ||
| Felts | Copper, Gold, Silver | Unknown | ||
| Pearce & Pearce | Copper, Gold, Silver | Unknown | ||
| Barnett | Copper, Silver | Unknown | ||
| Ed Wells Property | Gold, Silver | Past Producer | ||
| Erskine | Copper, Silver | Unknown | ||
| Halliday | Copper, Silver | Unknown | ||
| Pierce Ranch | Gold, Silver | Past Producer | ||
| San Jose | Copper, Silver | Unknown |
Storms near this place
1 since 2019Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2019 | Tornado (EF0) | Knowles | - | An EF 0 tornado near Yosemite Lakes was determined by video and pictures posted on Facebook. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hillside (historical) | 1.0 miles | 24 | |
| Raymond | 1.7 miles | 24 | |
| Knowles Junction | 2.2 miles | 24 | |
| Fresno Crossing | 5.4 miles | 23 | |
| Yosemite Lakes | 5.7 miles | 23 | |
| Yosemite Lakes Park | 6.2 miles | 23 | |
| Jesbel (historical) | 6.4 miles | 24 | |
| Willow Glen (historical) | 8.8 miles | 25 |
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 Knowles | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q6423407 | The 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.









