BlockBefore

Orleans, California

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1925 and the latest in 1997. It stands in the Willow Creek-Hoopa Valley census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95556. It lies near Wilder Gulch. The Survey maps it on the Orleans quadrangle. It stands 404 feet above sea level.

Orleans within Humboldt County

Then and now

1925 to 1997

The same ground, surveyed 72 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Orleans, surveyed 1997
Topographic sheet of Orleans, surveyed 1925

Compare 1925 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 16 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

234 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 234 fires within 5 miles of Orleans between 1992 and 2020, burning about 16,811 acres in total. 20 started naturally. 78 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
Arson/incendiarism78
Missing data/not specified/undetermined58
Debris and open burning30
Natural20
Recreation and ceremony20
Power generation/transmission/distribution13
Equipment and vehicle use11
Fireworks2
Other causes1
Misuse of fire by a minor1

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 2012Arson/incendiarismunder an acreSix Rivers National ForestCENTER
9 September 2004Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresSix Rivers National ForestPERCH2
9 September 1992Misuse of fire by a minor1.0 acresSix Rivers National Forestnot named
8 September 2017Naturalunder an acreSix Rivers National ForestANTENNA
8 September 2004Arson/incendiarismunder an acreSix Rivers National ForestPILGRIM
8 September 1993Arson/incendiarismunder an acreSix Rivers National Forestnot named
7 September 2017Naturalunder an acreSix Rivers National ForestRED
7 September 2010Arson/incendiarismunder an acreSix Rivers National ForestORLEANS

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Humboldt County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 58 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 58 workings within 5 miles of Orleans: 28 occurrences, 19 past producers, 6 producers, 3 unknowns. 6 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Silver, Platinum, Chromium. 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
Ishi Pishi PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Orleans DistrictGold, Platinum, SilverPast Producer1850
Red Cap CreekCopperOccurrence1880
Red GapChromiumProducerChromite
Red GapChromiumPast Producer
UnknownChromiumOccurrenceChromite
Unnamed LocationChromiumUnknown
Allen MineGold, PlatinumPast ProducerStream Placer
MurrayGold, PlatinumPast Producer
MurrayGold, PlatinumProducerStream Placer

Every working recorded in Humboldt County

Storms near this place

3 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Orleans in 3 storm reports between 1995 and 2026: 2 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. 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
May 1995Thunderstorm WindOrleans$2,000A microburst from a thunderstorm downed several trees at the northeast end of Orleans. Two of the trees fell on fences. A Forest Service ranger reported that the storm was rotating.
April 2026HailOrleans-A severe thunderstorm developed over the Trinity Alps Wilderness and moved north over Orleans. Numerous reports of hail were received with pea to nickel sized hail generally reported. One report was received of 1 inch hail stones near the Orleans store. Hail was covering the ground in the community.
July 2017HailOrleans-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Humboldt 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
Panamenik (historical)0.1 miles16
Dyer Place (historical)4.5 miles16
Opegoi (historical)4.5 miles16
Kworatem (historical)5.8 miles14
Lockharts (historical)6.3 miles16
Wright Place7.5 miles14
Pekwuteu (historical)11.8 miles16
Weitchpec11.8 miles16

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 OrleansAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q7103236The 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 264396. 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.