BlockBefore

Nortonville, California

27 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1896 and the latest in 1989. It stands in the Tassajara census division. It lies near Sidney Flat. The Survey maps it on the Clayton quadrangle. It stands 801 feet above sea level.

Nortonville within Contra Costa County

Then and now

1896 to 1989

The same ground, surveyed 93 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Nortonville, surveyed 1989
Topographic sheet of Nortonville, surveyed 1896

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 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

692 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 692 fires within 5 miles of Nortonville between 1992 and 2020, burning about 7,271 acres in total. None started naturally. 153 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/undetermined289
Arson/incendiarism153
Misuse of fire by a minor90
Equipment and vehicle use81
Smoking63
Debris and open burning11
Power generation/transmission/distribution4
Firearms and explosives use1

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 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSanta Clara Unitnot named
9 September 2019Arson/incendiarismunder an acreSanta Clara Unitnot named
9 September 2011Smokingunder an acreSanta Clara Unitnot named
8 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSanta Clara Unitnot named
8 September 2013Firearms and explosives use3,100 acresSanta Clara UnitMORGAN
7 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
7 September 2018Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
7 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionMITCHELL

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Contra Costa County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 68 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 68 workings within 5 miles of Nortonville: 23 occurrences, 19 past producers, 14 prospects, 10 producers. 10 still produce. What was taken out: Silica, Mercury, Silver, Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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
Mount Zion ChromeChromiumOccurrenceChromite
Silver MineCopper, Manganese, SilverPast Producer
Unnamed LocationSilica, Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Bailey Ranch Pumice DepositPumiceOccurrence
Bailey Ranch Pumice DepositPumicePast Producer
Mount Zion Copper CompanyCopper, Silver, GoldOccurrence
White Diamond ClaimSilver, GoldOccurrence
Harkinson Lime DepositCalciumProspect
Unnamed LocationCalciumProducer
Unnamed LocationCalciumPast Producer

Every working recorded in Contra Costa 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
Somersville0.9 miles29
Stewartville1.9 miles29
Clayton3.1 miles27
West Hartley3.8 miles29
Los Medanos4.1 miles30
Cornwall4.3 miles29
Diamond4.5 miles29
Hooper (historical)4.5 miles30

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 NortonvilleAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q7060713The 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 1656192. 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.