Moss, California
26 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1912 and the latest in 1983. It stands in the Pajaro census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95039. It stands on Moro Cojo Slough. The Survey maps it on the Moss Landing quadrangle. It stands 3 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1912 to 1983The same ground, surveyed 71 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1912 against another survey:
Topographic sheets covering this place
11 surveys from 26 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.
- 1912 USGS Capitola quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1914 USGS Capitola quadrangle1:62500, 6 printings
- 1940 USGS Capitola quadrangle1:62500
- 1948 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS Moss Landing quadrangle1:24000, 7 printings
- 1955 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1965 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000
- 1974 USGS Monterey quadrangle1:250000
- 1983 USGS Monterey quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
82 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 82 fires within 5 miles of Moss between 1992 and 2020, burning about 98 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 6 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 | 33 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 29 |
| Debris and open burning | 7 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 6 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 2 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 1 |
| Natural | 1 |
| Other causes | 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 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | San Benito-Monterey Unit | ELKHORN |
| 7 September 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | San Benito-Monterey Unit | MELUGAN |
| 30 September 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | San Benito-Monterey Unit | CABEU003693 |
| 29 September 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | San Benito-Monterey Unit | ELKHORN |
| 25 September 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | ELKHORN |
| 24 September 2004 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | San Benito-Monterey Unit | CABEU003947 |
| 16 September 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | San Benito-Monterey Unit | PEARSON |
| 9 August 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | San Benito-Monterey Unit | ELKHORN |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
7 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Moss: 3 past producers, 2 plants, 1 occurrence, 1 producer. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Stone, Titanium, Chromium, Magnesite. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arca Roofing Tile Plant | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Borrow Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Monterey Bay Salt Works | Salt | Producer | ||
| Moss Landing Brick Plant | Magnesite | Plant | ||
| Moss Landing Magnesia Plant | Chromium, Magnesite | Plant | ||
| Triumph Steel Co | Titanium | Occurrence | ||
| Unnamed Mine | Stone | Past 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moss Landing | 0.4 miles | 26 | |
| Castroville | 2.7 miles | 26 | |
| Elkhorn | 3.0 miles | 25 | |
| Oak Hills | 4.0 miles | 25 | |
| Nashua | 4.1 miles | 30 | |
| Neponset | 4.8 miles | 30 | |
| Las Lomas | 5.3 miles | 25 | |
| Prunedale | 6.4 miles | 25 |
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 Moss | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q6916505 | 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 1670518. 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.










