Mission Beach, California
23 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1904 and the latest in 1996. It stands in the San Diego census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92109. It lies near Vacation Isle. The Survey maps it on the La Jolla OE W quadrangle.
Then and now
1904 to 1996The same ground, surveyed 92 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1904 against another survey:
On record in Mission Beach
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.
Mission Beach Roller CoasterNational Historic Landmark · listed 1978 · 0.8 miles away
Topographic sheets covering this place
10 surveys from 23 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.
- 1904 USGS Southern California Sheet No. 2 quadrangle1:250000, 5 printings
- 1943 USGS La Jolla quadrangle1:31680, 2 printings
- 1950 USGS San Diego quadrangle1:250000
- 1953 USGS La Jolla quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS San Diego quadrangle1:250000
- 1955 USGS San Diego quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS San Diego quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1967 USGS La Jolla quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1979 USGS San Diego quadrangle1:100000, 3 printings
- 1996 USGS La Jolla quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
127 since 2005Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 127 fires within 5 miles of Mission Beach between 2005 and 2020, burning about 39 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 20 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 | 77 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 20 |
| Debris and open burning | 10 |
| Smoking | 7 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 6 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 4 |
| Natural | 2 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 September 2006 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 5 September 2005 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 4 September 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 30 September 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 30 September 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 26 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | San Diego Unit | not named |
| 20 September 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 20 September 2005 | Natural | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
6 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Mission Beach: 6 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Clay, Salt. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portuguese Flat | Salt | Past Producer | ||
| La Jolla Clay Products Co. | Clay | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| La Jolla Clay Products Co. | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Union Brick Co. Mine, East Pit | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Union Brick Co. Mine, North Pit | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Union Brick Company Mine, West Pit | Clay | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
13 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Mission Beach in 13 storm reports between 1996 and 2024: 4 rip current, 3 flood, 2 funnel cloud, 2 waterspout. The reports record 2 deaths and 7 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 1998 | Rip Current | Mission Beach | 1 killed | no account filed |
| June 1996 | Rip Current | Mission Beach | 1 killed | no account filed |
| February 2004 | Rip Current | Mission Beach | 6 hurt | no account filed |
| June 1999 | Rip Current | Mission Beach | 1 hurt | An 18 year old male was caught in a rip current and drowned, but lifeguards were able to revive him after 45 minutes of CPR. |
| January 2024 | Flash Flood | Mission Beach | - | Pictures received via social media of flooding on roads in Ocean Beach, specifically on Spray Street near the dog beach. |
| January 2023 | Flood | Mission Beach | - | Heavy rain of 0.50 to 1.00 inch was reported on the afternoon and evening of January 14. The right lane of southbound I-805 north of Clairemont Mesa Blvd was flooded, and at Murray Ridge Road was flooded. All lanes except the HOV were flooded and vehicles were unable to pass. 10 inches of water were reported in lanes 1 and 2. |
| April 2020 | Flash Flood | Mission Beach | - | Media reported and had video of water above vehicle tires and streets flooded. Flood prone area but they received 1.8 inches of rain in 24 hours on saturated grounds. |
| September 1998 | Funnel Cloud | Mission Beach | - | Unstable conditions associated with a weak surface trough spawned a funnel cloud over Mission Bay. A pilot reported seeing the funnel dip below cloud base for only a few seconds. |
| January 2001 | Flood | Mission Beach | - | no account filed |
| January 2001 | Waterspout | Mission Beach | - | no account filed |
| April 1998 | Funnel Cloud | Mission Beach | - | no account filed |
| July 1998 | Flood | Mission Beach | - | no account filed |
| February 1998 | Waterspout | Mission Beach | - | no account filed |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riviera Shores | 0.7 miles | 34 | |
| Pacific Beach | 1.2 miles | 34 | |
| Morena | 2.4 miles | 34 | |
| Bay Park | 2.4 miles | 34 | |
| Bayside Village | 2.6 miles | 34 | |
| Ocean Beach | 2.6 miles | 24 | |
| La Jolla Hermosa | 2.6 miles | 23 | |
| The Muirlands | 2.8 miles | 23 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1661041. 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.









