Nelson Mill, California
32 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 2000. It stands in the West Sierra census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95960. It lies near Alaska Peak. The Survey maps it on the Pike quadrangle.
Then and now
1891 to 2000The same ground, surveyed 109 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Topographic sheets covering this place
14 surveys from 32 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.
- 1891 USGS Colfax quadrangle1:125000
- 1892 USGS Colfax quadrangle1:125000
- 1894 USGS Colfax quadrangle1:125000
- 1898 USGS Colfax quadrangle1:125000
- 1900 USGS Colfax quadrangle1:125000
- 1902 USGS Colfax quadrangle1:125000, 7 printings
- 1938 USGS Colfax quadrangle1:125000, 3 printings
- 1949 USGS Pike quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1950 USGS Alleghany quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
- 1951 USGS Pike quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1958 USGS Chico quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1960 USGS Chico quadrangle1:250000
- 1977 USGS Truckee quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 2000 USGS Pike quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
196 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 196 fires within 5 miles of Nelson Mill between 1992 and 2020, burning about 127 acres in total. 13 started naturally. 11 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 57 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 52 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 29 |
| Natural | 13 |
| Smoking | 11 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 11 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 8 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 7 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 5 |
| Other causes | 3 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 September 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 30 September 2012 | Smoking | under an acre | Tahoe National Forest | MARYSVILLE |
| 29 September 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Tahoe National Forest | TOLLS |
| 28 September 1992 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Tahoe National Forest | KANAKA |
| 22 September 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit | COUGHLAN |
| 21 September 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit | SHADY |
| 20 September 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Tahoe National Forest | SLEIGHVILLE |
| 20 September 1996 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1.0 acres | Tahoe National Forest | CELESTIAL |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 155 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 155 workings within 5 miles of Nelson Mill: 64 past producers, 49 occurrences, 29 unknowns, 8 producers. 8 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Silver, Chromium, Copper. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | Gold, Silver, Lead, Copper | Past Producer | Gold, Silver | |
| Enterprise Qtz | Gold, Zinc, Lead, Copper | Past Producer | Chalcopyrite, Galena, Gold, Sphalerite | |
| Fern Leaf | Molybdenum, Arsenic, Gold | Occurrence | Vein | |
| Fern Leaf | Molybdenum, Arsenic, Gold | Unknown | ||
| Galena Hill | Asbestos | Occurrence | ||
| Grizzley Ridge | Gold, Silver, Copper | Past Producer | Surface/Underground | |
| Occurrence | Stone, Dimension | Occurrence | ||
| Red Ledge Mine Area | Nickel | Occurrence | 1855 | |
| San Juan Ridge | Gold, Platinum, Silver | Past Producer | 1851 | |
| West Delhi | Gold, Arsenic | Past Producer | Underground |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pike | 0.5 miles | 32 | |
| Grizzly Gulch (historical) | 2.1 miles | 32 | |
| Plum Valley | 2.3 miles | 32 | |
| Tippecanoe (historical) | 2.8 miles | 32 | |
| Cold Spring (historical) | 5.0 miles | 32 | |
| Indian Hill (historical) | 5.2 miles | 27 | |
| Cal-Ida | 6.6 miles | 27 | |
| Brandy City | 7.5 miles | 27 |
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 Q122539543 | 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 1701211. 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.













