Mortero Palms, California
20 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1931 and the latest in 1997. It stands in the Borrego Springs census division. It lies in ZIP code area 91934. It lies near Piedras Grandes. The Survey maps it on the Jacumba quadrangle.
Then and now
1931 to 1997The same ground, surveyed 66 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1931 against another survey:
Topographic sheets covering this place
11 surveys from 20 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.
- 1931 USGS Carrizo quadrangle1:125000
- 1939 USGS Jacumba quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1942 USGS Jacumba quadrangle1:62500
- 1950 USGS San Diego quadrangle1:250000
- 1954 USGS San Diego quadrangle1:250000
- 1955 USGS San Diego quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS San Diego quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1959 USGS Jacumba quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1959 USGS Jacumba quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1979 USGS El Cajon quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1997 USGS Jacumba quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
56 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 56 fires within 5 miles of Mortero Palms between 1993 and 2019, burning about 363 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 3 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 | 18 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 15 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 9 |
| Natural | 3 |
| Firearms and explosives use | 3 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 3 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 2 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 1 |
| Debris and open burning | 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 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | San Diego Unit | RAILROAD |
| 30 September 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | San Diego Unit | CARRIZO GORGE RD JACU 18 |
| 3 September 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Desert District | BORDER 8 |
| 26 September 1993 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | San Diego Unit | BRAKE #2 |
| 26 September 1993 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | San Diego Unit | BRAKE #1 |
| 2 September 2006 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | San Diego Unit | EL CENTRO |
| 2 September 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | California Desert District | BORDER 92 |
| 18 September 1994 | Fireworks | 10 acres | California Desert District | JOSHUA |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 31 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 31 workings within 5 miles of Mortero Palms: 13 occurrences, 10 prospects, 4 past producers, 4 producers. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Tungsten, Manganese, Feldspar, Gemstone. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atomic Flat Group | Uranium, Thorium | Prospect | ||
| Carrizo Gorge Deposit | Wollastonite | Occurrence | ||
| Circle Group Deposit | Vermiculite | Past Producer | ||
| Overlook Prospect | Gold, Feldspar | Prospect | ||
| Packrat Mine | Gemstone, Semiprecious Gemstone | Producer | ||
| Unnamed | Nickel, Copper | Prospect | ||
| Weaver Deposit | Stone | Producer | ||
| Weaver Deposit | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Beebe Hole Mine | Semiprecious Gemstone | Producer | ||
| Ruby Group | Beryllium | Producer |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dos Cabezas | 1.9 miles | 20 | |
| Titus | 6.2 miles | 20 | |
| Bankhead Springs | 6.8 miles | 20 | |
| Jacumba Hot Springs | 7.3 miles | 15 | |
| Boulevard | 7.5 miles | 19 | |
| Calexico Lodge | 7.8 miles | 19 | |
| Manzanita | 8.1 miles | 19 | |
| Live Oak Springs | 9.9 miles | 19 |
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.
| Wikidata item Q122552680 | 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 1661063. 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.










