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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.

Lake Elsinore within Riverside County

Then and now

1901 to 1997

The 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.

Topographic sheet of Lake Elsinore, surveyed 1997
Topographic sheet of Lake Elsinore, surveyed 1901

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

Population over time

2 figures

Lake 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.

YearPeople Change
201051,821
202070,265+18,444 (+36%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

15 surveys from 38 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

1,635 since 1992

Regional 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/undetermined771
Equipment and vehicle use322
Misuse of fire by a minor163
Arson/incendiarism127
Smoking78
Recreation and ceremony73
Debris and open burning53
Power generation/transmission/distribution22
Natural15
Fireworks5
Other causes3
Firearms and explosives use3

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
9 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreRiverside UnitMISSION TRL WILD
9 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCleveland National ForestVILLAGE
9 September 2004Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreRiverside UnitLOCAL
9 September 1998Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreRiverside UnitSTATE-1415
8 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreRiverside UnitEUCALYPTUS AV LELS
8 September 2012Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreRiverside UnitE LAKESHORE DR LELS
8 September 2002Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictSTATE 1832
8 September 1996Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreRiverside UnitSTATE-1745

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Riverside County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 59 shown

Regional 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Alberhill Coal & Clay Co.Clay, CoalPast Producer
American Flag and Monarch MinesTin, Cobalt, NickelUnknown
Best Ranch DepositLimestone, GeneralPast ProducerSedimentary
Best Ranch DepositLimestone, DimensionPast Producer
Biddle PitsKaolinPast Producer
Lucky Strike MineGold, SilverPast Producer
Nettleton DepositSilicaOccurrence
Palisades GroupLead, Copper, Silver, GoldOccurrenceVein
Palisades GroupLead, Silver, Copper, GoldOccurrence
Shining Star GroupArsenic, Gold, IronOccurrence

Every working recorded in Riverside County

Storms near this place

18 since 1998

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2001WildfireLake Elsinore1 killedno account filed
July 2003WildfireLake Elsinore5 hurt, $750,000no account filed
August 2007Thunderstorm WindLake Elsinore$35,000Strong 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 2005Flash FloodLake Elsinore$10,000Flash Flooding was reported along Grand and Highway 74 in Lake Elsinore.
February 2005Flash FloodLake Elsinore$10,000no account filed
August 2012Thunderstorm WindLake Elsinore$5,000The 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 2004Flash FloodLake Elsinore$5,000Heavy rains and runoff caused a large sink hole to form in the slow lane of south bound Interstate 15.
January 2005Flash FloodLake Elsinore$5,000no account filed
January 2005Flash FloodLake Elsinore$5,000no account filed
July 2006Thunderstorm WindLake Elsinore$1,000no account filed
October 2022Tornado (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 2005Tornado (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 2004Flash FloodLake Elsinore-Heavy rain caused water and mud to run across Temescal Canyon Road at Horsethief Canyon Road.
November 2002FloodLake Elsinore-no account filed
May 2002WildfireLake Elsinore-no account filed
October 2001WildfireLake Elsinore-no account filed
October 1999WildfireLake Elsinore-no account filed
March 1998Thunderstorm WindLake Elsinore-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Riverside 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
North Elsinore1.6 miles38
Lakeland Village2.2 miles38
Sedco Hills2.7 miles38
Canyon Lake3.1 miles38
Terra Cotta3.5 miles38
Quail Valley5.1 miles35
Wildomar5.4 miles35
Alberhill5.6 miles37

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 ElsinoreAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q948102The 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.