BlockBefore

Lee Vining, California

31 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1901 and the latest in 1994. It stands in the Mammoth Lakes census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93541. It lies in Lee Vining Canyon. The Survey maps it on the Lee Vining quadrangle. 217 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 6,781 feet above sea level.

Lee Vining within Mono County

Then and now

1901 to 1994

The same ground, surveyed 93 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Lee Vining, surveyed 1994
Topographic sheet of Lee Vining, surveyed 1901

Population over time

2 figures

Lee Vining fell from 222 to 217 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
2010222
2020217-5 (-2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 31 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

68 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 68 fires within 5 miles of Lee Vining between 1992 and 2019, burning about 2,146 acres in total. 36 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
Natural36
Missing data/not specified/undetermined13
Recreation and ceremony7
Power generation/transmission/distribution6
Equipment and vehicle use3
Smoking2
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
26 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreInyo National ForestLEE VINING
19 September 1992Debris and open burningunder an acreInyo National Forestnot named
18 September 1992Naturalunder an acreInyo National Forestnot named
9 August 2001Naturalunder an acreInyo National ForestPLUMB BOB
9 August 2001Natural2.5 acresCentral California DistrictHORSE
7 August 2005Naturalunder an acreInyo National ForestSKUNK
7 August 1997Naturalunder an acreInyo National ForestMT.DANA
6 August 1995Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreInyo National ForestTIOGA - INF 812

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Mono County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 19 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 19 workings within 5 miles of Lee Vining: 7 prospects, 6 past producers, 3 occurrences, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Zinc, 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
Cinder PitStoneOccurrence
Indian & Big Horse GroupsTungstenUnknown
Log Cabin and Sunrise GroupGold, Silver, LeadPast ProducerGalena, Gold, Hematite
Old Glory ProspectLead, ZincProspect
SantiagoCopperProspect
UnknownGemstoneOccurrenceWollastonite
9991 ProspectGold, SilverProspect
Black Point Cinder MinePumicePast Producer
Bushotti ClaimsZincOccurrence
CentipedeGold, SilverProspect

Every working recorded in Mono County

Storms near this place

5 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Lee Vining in 5 storm reports between 2002 and 2025: 3 heavy rain, 1 flash flood, 1 flood. 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
June 2011FloodLee Vining$5,000The Lower Lee Vining, Moraine, Aspen, and Big Bend campgrounds are partially or completely closed due to snowmelt flooding from Lee Vining Creek. Monetary damages due to loss of income from the closed campsites and one culvert was washed out leading to higher water in campgrounds.
July 2002Flash FloodLee Vining$1,000no account filed
February 2025Heavy RainLee Vining-A Cocorahs station (CA-MN-5 Mammoth Lakes) located 1.0 mi SW of Toms Place, CA, and CocoRAHS station (CA-MN-6 Mono City) located 5.0 mi NNW of Lee Vining, CA, reported total rainfall amounts of 0.80 inches and 0.72 inches respectively.
November 2024Heavy RainLee Vining-A CoCoRAHS station (CA-MN-6 Mono City) located 5.0 mi NNW of Lee Vining, CA, reported a total rainfall amount of 0.97 inches.
March 2023Heavy RainLee Vining-A COCORAHS, CA-MN-6, located 5.0 mi NNW of Lee Vining, CA reported 24-hour rainfall totals of 1.99 inches.

Every storm recorded in Mono 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
Mono Lake3.9 miles24
Mono City5.9 miles24
Bennettville (historical)7.5 miles32
Lundy8.0 miles24
Virginia Lakes9.5 miles25
Mono Mills9.9 miles23
June Lake Junction10.6 miles31
Dunderberg Mill12.2 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 Lee ViningAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1062203The 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 262401. 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.