Lake Elsinore, California
38 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1901 and the latest in 1997. It stands in the Elsinore Valley census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92530. It lies near Warm Springs Valley. The Survey maps it on the Lake Elsinore quadrangle. 70,265 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,296 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1901 to 1997The same ground, surveyed 96 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1901 against another survey:
On record in Lake Elsinore
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 2 records
Armory Halllisted 1992
Crescent Bathhouselisted 1975
Population over time
2 figuresLake Elsinore grew from 51,821 to 70,265 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 51,821 | |
| 2020 | 70,265 | +18,444 (+36%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
15 surveys from 38 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.
- 1901 USGS Elsinore quadrangle1:125000, 8 printings
- 1901 USGS Southern California Sheet No. 1 quadrangle1:250000, 6 printings
- 1904 USGS Southern California Sheet No. 1 quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1942 USGS Lake Elsinore quadrangle1:62500
- 1947 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000
- 1949 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000
- 1953 USGS Elsinore quadrangle1:24000, 6 printings
- 1953 USGS Lake Elsinore quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1956 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1960 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1965 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:250000
- 1974 USGS Elsinore quadrangle1:24000
- 1983 USGS Santa Ana quadrangle1:100000
- 1997 USGS Lake Elsinore quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
1,635 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1,635 fires within 5 miles of Lake Elsinore between 1992 and 2020, burning about 7,585 acres in total. 15 started naturally. 127 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 | 771 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 322 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 163 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 127 |
| Smoking | 78 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 73 |
| Debris and open burning | 53 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 22 |
| Natural | 15 |
| Fireworks | 5 |
| Other causes | 3 |
| Firearms and explosives use | 3 |
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 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Riverside Unit | MISSION TRL WILD |
| 9 September 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Cleveland National Forest | VILLAGE |
| 9 September 2004 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Riverside Unit | LOCAL |
| 9 September 1998 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | Riverside Unit | STATE-1415 |
| 8 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Riverside Unit | EUCALYPTUS AV LELS |
| 8 September 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Riverside Unit | E LAKESHORE DR LELS |
| 8 September 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Desert District | STATE 1832 |
| 8 September 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Riverside Unit | STATE-1745 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 59 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 59 workings within 5 miles of Lake Elsinore: 23 past producers, 17 prospects, 9 occurrences, 7 producers. 7 still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Gold, Tin, Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alberhill Coal & Clay Co. | Clay, Coal | Past Producer | ||
| American Flag and Monarch Mines | Tin, Cobalt, Nickel | Unknown | ||
| Best Ranch Deposit | Limestone, General | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Best Ranch Deposit | Limestone, Dimension | Past Producer | ||
| Biddle Pits | Kaolin | Past Producer | ||
| Lucky Strike Mine | Gold, Silver | Past Producer | ||
| Nettleton Deposit | Silica | Occurrence | ||
| Palisades Group | Lead, Copper, Silver, Gold | Occurrence | Vein | |
| Palisades Group | Lead, Silver, Copper, Gold | Occurrence | ||
| Shining Star Group | Arsenic, Gold, Iron | Occurrence |
Storms near this place
18 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Lake Elsinore in 18 storm reports between 1998 and 2022: 6 flash flood, 5 wildfire, 4 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado. The reports record 1 death and 5 injuries. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2001 | Wildfire | Lake Elsinore | 1 killed | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Wildfire | Lake Elsinore | 5 hurt, $750,000 | no account filed |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lake Elsinore | $35,000 | Strong winds from a severe thunderstorm in the Lake Elsinore area uprooted or damaged multiple trees, downed power lines, and caused roof damage to a health care center. According to the fire department, much of the damage was confined to areas near East Lakeshore Dr and west of Diamond Drive. |
| February 2005 | Flash Flood | Lake Elsinore | $10,000 | Flash Flooding was reported along Grand and Highway 74 in Lake Elsinore. |
| February 2005 | Flash Flood | Lake Elsinore | $10,000 | no account filed |
| August 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lake Elsinore | $5,000 | The Temescal RAWS near Lake Elsinore measured a wind gust of 88 mph between 1432 and 1532 PST, associated with a nearby warned thunderstorm. ||Winds were estimated at 60-65 mph from a microburst around 20 yards wide that caused damage in a residential neighborhood in northeast Temecula. It descended in a backyard and blew down the fences on the north and south ends of the yard. The fences were blown outward from the yard, indicative of a downward and outward thrust of winds.||Several large branches were broken and a few small trees downed in Trilogy at the Glen Ivy Resort and Spa. Estimated winds from the damage was 60 mph as determined by an NWS employee. |
| October 2004 | Flash Flood | Lake Elsinore | $5,000 | Heavy rains and runoff caused a large sink hole to form in the slow lane of south bound Interstate 15. |
| January 2005 | Flash Flood | Lake Elsinore | $5,000 | no account filed |
| January 2005 | Flash Flood | Lake Elsinore | $5,000 | no account filed |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lake Elsinore | $1,000 | no account filed |
| October 2022 | Tornado (EF0) | Lake Elsinore | - | An EF-0 landspout occurred from Menifee to Southern Canyon Lake along Highway 78. The landspout tracked across mostly open space before dissipating near I-15. Minor damage reported. Half inch hail was also reported. |
| February 2005 | Tornado (F0) | Lake Elsinore | - | Many people witnessed a tornado near Nichols Rd in northeastern Lake Elsinore. A photograph of the event clearly shows this to be a landspout. The landspout lasted 5 minutes and developed under a line of cumulus clouds in the Elsinore Convergence Zone. The landspout did not hit any structures and there were no reports of injuries. |
| October 2004 | Flash Flood | Lake Elsinore | - | Heavy rain caused water and mud to run across Temescal Canyon Road at Horsethief Canyon Road. |
| November 2002 | Flood | Lake Elsinore | - | no account filed |
| May 2002 | Wildfire | Lake Elsinore | - | no account filed |
| October 2001 | Wildfire | Lake Elsinore | - | no account filed |
| October 1999 | Wildfire | Lake Elsinore | - | no account filed |
| March 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Lake Elsinore | - | no account filed |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Elsinore | 1.6 miles | 38 | |
| Lakeland Village | 2.2 miles | 38 | |
| Sedco Hills | 2.7 miles | 38 | |
| Canyon Lake | 3.1 miles | 38 | |
| Terra Cotta | 3.5 miles | 38 | |
| Quail Valley | 5.1 miles | 35 | |
| Wildomar | 5.4 miles | 35 | |
| Alberhill | 5.6 miles | 37 |
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 Lake Elsinore | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q948102 | 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 1652704. 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.














