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Los Banos, California

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1921 and the latest in 1983. It stands in the Los Banos census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93635. It lies near Henry Miller Field. The Survey maps it on the Los Banos quadrangle. 45,532 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 118 feet above sea level.

Los Banos within Merced County

Then and now

1921 to 1983

The same ground, surveyed 62 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 Banos, surveyed 1983
Topographic sheet of Los Banos, surveyed 1921

On record in Los Banos

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

Los Banos grew from 35,972 to 45,532 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
201035,972
202045,532+9,560 (+27%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 15 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

522 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 522 fires within 5 miles of Los Banos between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,028 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 23 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/undetermined333
Equipment and vehicle use93
Debris and open burning43
Arson/incendiarism23
Smoking13
Misuse of fire by a minor7
Recreation and ceremony5
Other causes2
Natural2
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

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 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionBADGER
8 September 1996Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMerced-Mariposa UnitMILLER
6 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMerced-Mariposa Unit152
5 September 2002Smokingunder an acreGrasslands Wildlife Management AreaROADSIDE
4 September 2001Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreGrasslands Wildlife Management AreaROADSIDE
30 September 1999Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreGrasslands Wildlife Management AreaVOLTA
30 September 1996Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMerced-Mariposa UnitGROOM
3 September 2004Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreGrasslands Wildlife Management AreaHILLYER

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Merced County

Mines and quarries near this place

6 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Los Banos: 4 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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
Claude C. Wood PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Los Banos Creek PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Los Banos Creek Pit No. 1Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Los Banos Gravel Co. PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
M-K, Hassler Construction Co.Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Richardson Sand and Gravel No. 2Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Merced County

Storms near this place

14 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Los Banos in 14 storm reports between 1996 and 2023: 3 thunderstorm wind, 3 funnel cloud, 3 flood, 2 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
April 1996Thunderstorm WindLos Banos$50,000no account filed
April 1996Thunderstorm WindLos Banos$20,000no account filed
April 1996Thunderstorm WindLos Banos$20,000no account filed
November 1997Tornado (F0)Los Banos$5,000An F0 tornado developed as a severe thunderstorm was dissipating in rural, west Merced County just south of Los Banos. Damage was essentially limited to stored grain/fodder for cattle and some fences. Tornado was reported by several witnesses with its last point 3 miles farther south than its initial touchdown point. The path was from the NNW to SSE.
August 2023FloodLos Banos-California Highway Patrol reported roadway flooding on Interstate 5 9S Los Banos north of the SR 165 exchange.
May 2019Funnel CloudLos Banos-Reports and photos on Facebook and Twitter of a funnel cloud over the northeastern portion of Los Banos.
January 2017FloodLos Banos-California Highway Patrol reported half of Henry Miller Avenue was flooded west of State Route 165 north of Los Banos.
May 2016Heavy RainLos Banos-Received several social media reports of nuisance flooding in Los Banos area around 1834 PST.
June 2003WildfireLos Banos-The 152 Fire was of unknown origin and burned 2750 acres in Western Merced County. The cost of the fire was unknown but no structures were lost nor were there any injuries.
June 2003WildfireLos Banos-The I5 Fire was human caused and burned 1500 acres before containment on the 30th. The cost was unknown.
April 1998Funnel CloudLos Banos-Funnel cloud reported by Merced County Sheriff in addition to lightning activity with a thunderstorm. This storm eventually moved southeastward and prompted issuance of a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Northwest Fresno County just a few miles to the southeast.
May 1998FloodLos Banos-Very heavy rain from a thunderstorm ponded water on State Highway 152 on both the west and east ends of Los Banos in West Merced County.
February 1998Tornado (F0)Los Banos-Storm spotter videotaped a very brief touchdown of a funnel from a wall cloud in rural Merced County. No damage occurred.
March 2005Funnel CloudLos Banos-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Merced 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
Abbato (historical)1.2 miles15
Trent2.1 miles17
Volta4.9 miles17
Gadwall (historical)5.2 miles15
Brito8.8 miles20
Santa Nella Village9.3 miles20
Ingomar10.5 miles14
Dos Palos Y11.4 miles17

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 BanosAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q590932The 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 277547. 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.