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Malibu, California

32 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1900 and the latest in 1995. It stands in the Agoura Hills-Malibu census division. It lies in ZIP code area 90265. It lies near Zuma Canyon. The Survey maps it on the Point Dume quadrangle. 10,654 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 105 feet above sea level.

Malibu within Los Angeles County

Then and now

1900 to 1995

The same ground, surveyed 95 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Malibu, surveyed 1995
Topographic sheet of Malibu, surveyed 1900

Compare 1900 against another survey:

On record in Malibu

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 4 records

Population over time

2 figures

Malibu fell from 12,645 to 10,654 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
201012,645
202010,654-1,991 (-16%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

15 surveys from 32 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

73 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 73 fires within 5 miles of Malibu between 1993 and 2020, burning about 832 acres in total. None started naturally. 4 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/undetermined34
Equipment and vehicle use18
Power generation/transmission/distribution7
Arson/incendiarism4
Smoking4
Misuse of fire by a minor2
Recreation and ceremony2
Fireworks1
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
9 September 2015Power generation/transmission/distribution1.0 acresLos Angeles County Fire Departmentnot named
6 September 2019Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreLos Angeles County Fire Departmentnot named
22 September 2013Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSanta Monica Mountains National Recreation AreaCORRAL
15 September 2009Smokingunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
15 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSanta Monica Mountains National Recreation AreaDUME
5 August 1994Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresSanta Monica Mountains National Recreation AreaKANAN
1 August 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSanta Monica Mountains National Recreation AreaSEABREEZE
8 July 2013Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSanta Monica Mountains National Recreation AreaOCEAN

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Los Angeles County

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Malibu: 1 past producer, 1 occurrence. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Diatomite. 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
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Point Dume DepositDiatomiteOccurrence

Every working recorded in Los Angeles County

Storms near this place

7 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Malibu in 7 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 2 wildfire, 2 flash flood, 1 rip current, 1 debris flow. The reports record 1 death and 17 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
December 2001Rip CurrentMalibu1 killed, 1 hurtGusty north winds generated dangerous rip currents off the coast of Malibu. The rip currents capsized a kayak. One kayaker died and another was injured.
October 1996WildfireMalibu16 hurt, $1,500,000no account filed
March 2025Thunderstorm WindMalibu-A thunderstorm wind gust of 65 MPH was reported at Saddle Peak in the Santa Monica Mountains.
February 2024Debris FlowMalibu-Heavy rainfall generated a mudslide across Rotunda Mesa Road.
January 2008Flash FloodMalibu-A mud and debris flow developed around the Corral Burn area between Malibu Canyon Road and Corral Canyon Road.
October 2000Flash FloodMalibu-Heavy rain, in excess of 1.5 inches per hour, produced flash flooding in the Malibu area. Flooding was reported in Malibu City Hall. Also, mudslides closed sections of Malibu Canyon Road.
January 2003WildfireMalibu-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
Mahou Riviera0.6 miles32
Trancas2.5 miles32
Malibu West2.8 miles32
Malibu Vista3.5 miles32
Oak Hill4.4 miles32
Malibu Hills4.6 miles36
Malibu Mar Vista (historical)4.6 miles32
El Nido4.6 miles36

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 MalibuAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q387047The 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 1668257. 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.