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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.

Mortero Palms within San Diego County

Then and now

1931 to 1997

The 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.

Topographic sheet of Mortero Palms, surveyed 1997
Topographic sheet of Mortero Palms, surveyed 1931

Compare 1931 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 surveys from 20 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

56 since 1993

Regional 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/undetermined18
Equipment and vehicle use15
Recreation and ceremony9
Natural3
Firearms and explosives use3
Arson/incendiarism3
Misuse of fire by a minor2
Fireworks1
Railroad operations and maintenance1
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
5 September 1998Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresSan Diego UnitRAILROAD
30 September 2008Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Diego UnitCARRIZO GORGE RD JACU 18
3 September 2003Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictBORDER 8
26 September 1993Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreSan Diego UnitBRAKE #2
26 September 1993Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreSan Diego UnitBRAKE #1
2 September 2006Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreSan Diego UnitEL CENTRO
2 September 1999Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictBORDER 92
18 September 1994Fireworks10 acresCalifornia Desert DistrictJOSHUA

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in San Diego County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 31 shown

Regional 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Atomic Flat GroupUranium, ThoriumProspect
Carrizo Gorge DepositWollastoniteOccurrence
Circle Group DepositVermiculitePast Producer
Overlook ProspectGold, FeldsparProspect
Packrat MineGemstone, Semiprecious GemstoneProducer
UnnamedNickel, CopperProspect
Weaver DepositStoneProducer
Weaver DepositStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Beebe Hole MineSemiprecious GemstoneProducer
Ruby GroupBerylliumProducer

Every working recorded in San Diego 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
Dos Cabezas1.9 miles20
Titus6.2 miles20
Bankhead Springs6.8 miles20
Jacumba Hot Springs7.3 miles15
Boulevard7.5 miles19
Calexico Lodge7.8 miles19
Manzanita8.1 miles19
Live Oak Springs9.9 miles19

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 Q122552680The 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.