Lotus, California
34 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1976. It stands in the North El Dorado census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95651. It stands on Shingle Creek. The Survey maps it on the Coloma quadrangle. It stands 722 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1891 to 1976The 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.


On record in Lotus
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 within a mile 1 record
The National Register names another town for these. They stand within one mile of this settlement's coordinate.
ColomaNational Historic Landmark · listed 1966 · 0.9 miles away
Topographic sheets covering this place
11 surveys from 34 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.
- 1891 USGS Placerville quadrangle1:125000
- 1892 USGS Placerville quadrangle1:125000
- 1893 USGS Placerville quadrangle1:125000, 9 printings
- 1947 USGS Sacramento quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1948 USGS Sacramento quadrangle1:250000
- 1949 USGS Coloma quadrangle1:24000, 6 printings
- 1949 USGS Georgetown quadrangle1:62500, 5 printings
- 1950 USGS Coloma quadrangle1:24000
- 1956 USGS Sacramento quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS Sacramento quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1976 USGS Placerville quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
486 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 486 fires within 5 miles of Lotus between 1992 and 2020, burning about 2,094 acres in total. 13 started naturally. 40 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 | 145 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 134 |
| Debris and open burning | 107 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 40 |
| Smoking | 14 |
| Natural | 13 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 12 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 10 |
| Other causes | 6 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 5 |
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 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | BOOT |
| 9 September 2015 | Smoking | under an acre | Amador-El Dorado Unit | BEALS RD GOLD_HILL |
| 9 September 2013 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Amador-El Dorado Unit | MARSHALL |
| 9 September 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Amador-El Dorado Unit | TANGLEWOOD |
| 9 September 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Central California District | COLOMA |
| 9 September 1999 | Natural | under an acre | Central California District | COLOMA 2 |
| 8 September 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | COLD |
| 8 September 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Amador-El Dorado Unit | LOTUS |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 304 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 304 workings within 5 miles of Lotus: 151 occurrences, 77 unknowns, 71 past producers, 4 producers. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Chromium, Copper, Slate, Dimension. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drumlummon Claim | Copper, Silver, Zinc | Prospect | ||
| El Dorado | Copper, Gold, Silver, Zinc, Nickel | Past Producer | Replacement | |
| Funny Bug | Gold, Copper, Zinc, Antimony, Molybdenum, Lead | Past Producer | Bornite, Chalcopyrite, Galena, Gold, Malachite, Molybdenite, Pyrite, Sphalerite, Stibnite | |
| Funny Bug Pendelco | Gold, Copper | Occurrence | ||
| Pioneer - Lilyama | Copper, Gold, Silver, Iron, Tungsten | Producer | Chalcopyrite, Idocrase, Pyrite | |
| Stuckslager Strucklager | Gold, Vanadium | Occurrence | ||
| Hummingbird Ranch | Stone | Occurrence | ||
| John Tynes Pit | Stone | Past Producer | ||
| Mccurdy Mine | Iron, Chromium | Past Producer | ||
| O'Brien Mine | Iron, Chromium | Past Producer | 1917, 1918 |
Storms near this place
1 since 2022Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Lotus in 1 storm report in 2022: 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2022 | Flood | Lotus | - | CHP reported the roadway was blocked due to flooding at Lotus Rd. and Granite Creek Rd. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coloma | 1.0 miles | 34 | |
| Koloma (historical) | 1.0 miles | 34 | |
| Gold Hill | 3.1 miles | 34 | |
| Garden Valley | 4.5 miles | 32 | |
| Gold Trail Park | 4.6 miles | 32 | |
| Cold Springs | 4.6 miles | 34 | |
| Kelsey | 4.7 miles | 32 | |
| Chili Bar | 5.2 miles | 32 |
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 Lotus | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q14683205 | 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 1656142. 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.










