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Nipton, California

27 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1910 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the Newberry Springs-Baker census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92364. The Survey maps it on the Nipton quadrangle. It stands 3,031 feet above sea level.

Nipton within San Bernardino County

Then and now

1910 to 1985

The same ground, surveyed 75 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Nipton, surveyed 1985
Topographic sheet of Nipton, surveyed 1910

On record in Nipton

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 4 records

Topographic sheets covering this place

12 surveys from 27 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

10 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 10 fires within 5 miles of Nipton between 1993 and 2016, burning about 103 acres in total. 4 started naturally. None was 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
Natural4
Equipment and vehicle use3
Missing data/not specified/undetermined2
Railroad operations and maintenance1

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 2008Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictLOST
10 September 2012Railroad operations and maintenanceunder an acreMojave National PreserveTRACK
6 August 1996Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMojave National PreserveORANGE
5 August 2016Naturalunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictNIPTON
5 August 1993Natural102 acresJoshua Tree National MonumentLANDFARE
28 July 1996Naturalunder an acreMojave National PreserveNIPTON#2
19 July 2004Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictNIPTON
12 July 2008Naturalunder an acreSouthern Nevada District OfficeSEARCHLIGHT

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in San Bernardino County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 23 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 23 workings within 5 miles of Nipton: 16 prospects, 7 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Gold, Lead, Fluorine-Fluorite, Copper, Gold, Silver. 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
B. T. ProspectGold, Zinc, LeadProspect
Blue Crystal ProspectGold, Fluorine-Fluorite, SilverProspect
Crescent PeakFeldsparPast Producer
Helen ProspectZincProspect
NiptonFluorine-Fluorite, Gold, Silver, ZincProspect
Nu-Lite Insulated Homes Inc. MinePerlitePast Producer
San E Lani No. 1Lead, Barium-Barite, ZincProspect
Sani Lani ProspectLead, Silver, ZincProspect
Unnamed ShaftGold, Copper, Fluorine-FluoriteProspect
WhitehorseGold, Silver, Lead, CopperProspect

Every working recorded in San Bernardino County

Storms near this place

9 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Nipton in 9 storm reports between 1998 and 2020: 7 flash flood, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 1998Flash FloodNipton$25,000no account filed
July 1999Flash FloodNipton$5,000The California Highway Patrol reported that the Nipton Road was flooded out between Interstate 15 and the town of Nipton. Nearby Cima Road was also closed with a car trapped in a wash. There were no injuries.
August 1998Thunderstorm WindNipton$5,000no account filed
August 2020Flash FloodNipton$1,000Nipton Road was flooded.
September 2009Flash FloodNipton-Water and debris flowed across Nipton Rd. at the Nipton Trading Post.
September 2004Flash FloodNipton-Flash flooding near Nipton caused Nipton Rd to be completely washed out and impassable.
September 2004Flash FloodNipton-Flash flooding caused several roads to be closed near the town of Nipton. Rocks and debris covered the road in several locations.
September 2004Flash FloodNipton-Law enforcement reported Ivanpah and Nipton roads were closed due to flash flooding.
August 1998Tornado (F0)Nipton-no account filed

Every storm recorded in San Bernardino 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
Moore5.3 miles27
Ivanpah8.9 miles27
Calada9.4 miles27
Vanderbilt9.5 miles27
Wheaton Springs10.8 miles26
Juan12.0 miles27
Barnwell12.1 miles26
Brant13.2 miles27

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 NiptonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q3474639The 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 246562. 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.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.