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Merrimac, California

24 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1888 and the latest in 1994. It stands in the Feather Falls census division. The Survey maps it on the Soapstone Hill quadrangle. It stands 3,999 feet above sea level.

Merrimac within Butte County

Then and now

1888 to 1994

The same ground, surveyed 106 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Merrimac, surveyed 1994
Topographic sheet of Merrimac, surveyed 1888

Compare 1888 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 surveys from 24 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

77 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 77 fires within 5 miles of Merrimac between 1992 and 2020, burning about 2,208 acres in total. 35 started naturally. 5 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
Natural35
Missing data/not specified/undetermined13
Recreation and ceremony7
Debris and open burning6
Equipment and vehicle use6
Arson/incendiarism5
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Smoking2
Misuse of fire by a minor1

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 2004Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acrePlumas National ForestMOUNTAIN HOUSE
8 September 1993Equipment and vehicle use3.0 acresPlumas National ForestMALCOLM
5 September 2017Naturalunder an acrePlumas National ForestHAPHAZARD
4 September 1998Natural12 acresPlumas National ForestFORK
3 September 2014Equipment and vehicle useunder an acrePlumas National ForestMOUNTAIN HOUSE
3 September 2013Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acrePlumas National ForestLITTLE
28 September 1994Naturalunder an acrePlumas National Forestnot named
28 September 1994Natural20 acresPlumas National Forestnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Butte County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 73 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 73 workings within 5 miles of Merrimac: 26 past producers, 23 occurrences, 22 unknowns, 1 prospect. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Gold, Silver, Chromium, Nickel. 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
Marble Creek DepositLimestone, Dimension, Marble, DimensionPast Producer
Milsap BarStone, Crushed/BrokenUnknown
PocahontasCopper, Gold, SilverOccurrenceVein
RobinsonGold, Copper, Lead, SilverOccurrence
Unnamed QuarryLimestone, GeneralPast Producer
Yellow Jacket MineGold, QuartzProspect
Four LCopper, GoldOccurrence
PocahontasCopper, SilverUnknown
Coyote GapNickelUnknown
Coyote Gap Guard StationNickelOccurrence1957

Every working recorded in Butte 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
Gold Lake (historical)0.9 miles24
Junction House1.9 miles29
Kister4.9 miles24
Brush Creek5.5 miles29
Hughes Place5.7 miles28
Blinzing (historical)6.7 miles28
New Blinzing (historical)6.9 miles28
Brush (historical)7.1 miles28

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 MerrimacAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q6820265The 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 1659117. 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.