BlockBefore

Los Angeles, California

43 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1894 and the latest in 1979. It stands in the Los Angeles census division. It lies in ZIP code area 90012. It lies near Chavez Ravine. The Survey maps it on the Los Angeles quadrangle. 3,898,747 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 348 feet above sea level.

Los Angeles within Los Angeles County

Then and now

1894 to 1979

The same ground, surveyed 85 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Los Angeles, surveyed 1979
Topographic sheet of Los Angeles, surveyed 1894

Compare 1894 against another survey:

On record in Los Angeles

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 12 of 259 shown

Every listing in Los Angeles County

Population over time

9 figures

Los Angeles grew from 1,610 to 3,898,747 between 1850 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
18501,610
18604,385+2,775 (+172%)
18705,728+1,343 (+31%)
188011,183+5,455 (+95%)
189050,395+39,212 (+351%)
1900102,479+52,084 (+103%)
1910319,198+216,719 (+211%)
20103,792,621
20203,898,747+106,126 (+3%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

15 surveys from 43 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

223 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 223 fires within 5 miles of Los Angeles between 2005 and 2020, burning about 1,239 acres in total. None started naturally. 21 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/undetermined139
Smoking22
Arson/incendiarism21
Misuse of fire by a minor19
Debris and open burning10
Equipment and vehicle use9
Railroad operations and maintenance2
Recreation and ceremony1

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
6 September 2009Smoking1.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
5 September 2019Arson/incendiarismunder an acreLos Angeles County Fire Departmentnot named
5 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
5 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
3 September 2012Smokingunder an acreLos Angeles County Fire Departmentnot named
28 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
24 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresLos Angeles County Fire Departmentnot named
23 September 2005Smoking1.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Los Angeles County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 28 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 28 workings within 5 miles of Los Angeles: 23 past producers, 3 prospects, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Limestone, General, Gold. 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
CahuengaGoldProspect
L.A. MillTalc-SoapstoneProducer
Reynolds Crushed Gravel Co. PitStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
California Portland Cement CompanyLimestone, General, ClayPast Producer
Southwestern Portland Cement CoLimestone, General, ClayPast Producer
Alameda St. PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
BeyrleSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Blue Diamond Corp. - Alameda PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
City of Los AngelesSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Home Teaming and Transfer Co.Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Los Angeles County

Storms near this place

8 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Los Angeles in 8 storm reports between 2000 and 2026: 3 flood, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 high wind, 1 tornado. The reports record 2 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
March 2023Tornado (EF1)East Los Angeles1 hurtA weak tornado developed in the community of Montebello. The EF1 tornado impacted the area around the intersection of Washington Boulevard and Maple Avenue. There was substantial damage to the industrial warehouse and commercial business district, including nearly total roof collapse in one building and a total of 17 damaged structures. Numerous vehicles were damaged due to flying debris.
February 2000Thunderstorm WindLos Angeles1 hurtno account filed
February 2026FloodLos Angeles-Heavy rain produced significant roadway flooding on Interstate 110 near West 39th Street.
February 2026Flash FloodLos Angeles-Heavy rainfall generated flash flooding near the intersection of Interstates 10 and 110.
February 2026Thunderstorm WindLos Angeles-Strong thunderstorm winds knocked down several trees in the South Los Angeles area.
March 2002High WindLos Angeles-no account filed
February 2000FloodLos Angeles-no account filed
April 2000FloodLos Angeles-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Los Angeles 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
Little Tokyo0.3 miles43
Old Chinatown (historical)0.5 miles43
Bunker Hill Towers0.5 miles41
Naud Junction0.7 miles43
New Chinatown0.8 miles43
Aliso Village0.9 miles43
Mission Junction1.1 miles43
Taylor Junction1.3 miles43

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 Los AngelesAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q65The 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 1662328. 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.