Melones, California
37 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 2001. It stands in the Angels City census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95222. It lies near Squirrel Gulch. The Survey maps it on the Columbia quadrangle. It stands 955 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1891 to 2001The same ground, surveyed 110 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1891 against another survey:
Topographic sheets covering this place
13 surveys from 37 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 Big Trees quadrangle1:125000
- 1894 USGS Big Trees quadrangle1:125000
- 1897 USGS Big Trees quadrangle1:125000
- 1901 USGS Big Trees quadrangle1:125000, 9 printings
- 1947 USGS Sacramento quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1948 USGS Columbia quadrangle1:24000, 5 printings
- 1948 USGS Columbia quadrangle1:62500, 6 printings
- 1948 USGS Sacramento quadrangle1:250000
- 1949 USGS Columbia quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Sacramento quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS Sacramento quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1993 USGS San Andreas quadrangle1:100000
- 2001 USGS Columbia quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
315 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 315 fires within 5 miles of Melones between 1992 and 2020, burning about 4,733 acres in total. 17 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/undetermined | 105 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 71 |
| Debris and open burning | 54 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 21 |
| Natural | 17 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 16 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 12 |
| Smoking | 10 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 8 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
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 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Central California District | PARROTS |
| 9 September 1999 | Natural | 10 acres | Central California District | LIGHTNING 28 |
| 9 September 1996 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit | COX |
| 9 September 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit | FERENCZY |
| 8 September 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit | RAWHIDE |
| 8 September 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Central California District | NATURAL BRIDGES |
| 6 September 2012 | Natural | 2.0 acres | Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit | 2-6 |
| 6 September 2012 | Natural | 7.5 acres | Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit | 2-7 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 515 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 515 workings within 5 miles of Melones: 189 past producers, 138 unknowns, 118 occurrences, 59 producers. 60 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Silver, Chromium, Gold, 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bowery Bar | Magnesite | Prospect | ||
| Carson Creek | Gold, Silver, Zinc | Past Producer | Gold, Silver, Tetrahedrite | |
| Deposits | Limestone, Dimension | Occurrence | ||
| Golden Star | Gold, Copper, Lead, Silver | Past Producer | ||
| Hard To Find | Gold, Silver, Copper | Past Producer | ||
| Iron Rock | Silica | Unknown | ||
| Kahl Ranch | Chromium, Copper | Occurrence | ||
| Melones & Morgan | Gold, Bismuth | Occurrence | ||
| Mother Lode Central Mines | Gold, Silver, Copper, Lead | Past Producer | Gold | |
| Peirano | Gold, Stone | Past Producer | Gold, Soapstone |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carson Hill | 1.2 miles | 29 | |
| Angels Camp | 4.4 miles | 29 | |
| Vallecito | 5.5 miles | 37 | |
| Altaville | 6.0 miles | 29 | |
| Douglas Flat | 7.4 miles | 37 | |
| La Honda Park | 7.5 miles | 37 | |
| Copperopolis | 7.9 miles | 21 | |
| Copper Cove Village | 8.1 miles | 21 |
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 Melones | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q3305269 | 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 1656158. 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.












