BlockBefore

Murphys, California

34 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 2001. It stands in the Angels City census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95247. It lies near Pennsylvania Gulch. The Survey maps it on the Murphys quadrangle. 1,995 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,172 feet above sea level.

Murphys within Calaveras County

Then and now

1891 to 2001

The same ground, surveyed 110 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Murphys, surveyed 2001
Topographic sheet of Murphys, surveyed 1891

Compare 1891 against another survey:

On record in Murphys

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 2 records

Population over time

2 figures

Murphys fell from 2,213 to 1,995 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20102,213
20201,995-218 (-10%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

13 surveys from 34 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

312 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 312 fires within 5 miles of Murphys between 1992 and 2020, burning about 912 acres in total. 22 started naturally. 30 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/undetermined106
Equipment and vehicle use64
Debris and open burning63
Arson/incendiarism30
Natural22
Power generation/transmission/distribution9
Misuse of fire by a minor8
Smoking6
Recreation and ceremony3
Fireworks1

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 2011Naturalunder an acreTuolumne-Calaveras UnitBLUFF
9 September 2008Equipment and vehicle use4.0 acresCentral California Area OfficeNINE
9 September 1998Naturalunder an acreTuolumne-Calaveras UnitLIGHTNING 4
9 September 1993Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresTuolumne-Calaveras UnitPOAG
7 September 1997Missing data/not specified/undetermined15 acresTuolumne-Calaveras UnitCAMP
6 September 2012Natural7.5 acresTuolumne-Calaveras Unit2-7
6 September 1995Equipment and vehicle use2.0 acresTuolumne-Calaveras UnitWALTERS
6 September 1992Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreTuolumne-Calaveras UnitHWY 4 #8

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Calaveras County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 492 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 492 workings within 5 miles of Murphys: 188 occurrences, 155 past producers, 108 unknowns, 37 producers. 37 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Manganese, Gold, Silver, Stone. 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
Cataract Slurry PlantCalciumProducer
Collier MineGold, Zinc, Silver, Copper, Lead, AntimonyPast ProducerAntimony, Gold, Sphalerite
DodsonGold, Copper, LeadPast ProducerChalcopyrite, Galena
Douglas FlatGold, PlatinumProducer1848
Douglas FlatGold, PGEUnknown
Madrid MineChromium, IronPast Producer1916, 1917
MarjonCobalt, NickelOccurrenceVein
Murphy Divide MineGold, Silver, LeadPast ProducerReplacement
Oro Plata MineAntimonyOccurrence
Oro Y PlataGold, Silver, Copper, Lead, Tin, Zinc, MercuryPast ProducerCinnabar, Gold, Stibnite

Every working recorded in Calaveras 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
Wyldewood0.6 miles34
Rocky Hill0.7 miles34
Douglas Flat1.6 miles37
Big Valley1.7 miles34
La Honda Park2.3 miles37
Indian Creek3.3 miles34
Vallecito3.3 miles37
Cedar Vista3.5 miles34

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 MurphysAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1978709The 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 277560. 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.