Petaluma, California
22 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1914 and the latest in 1983. It stands in the Petaluma census division. It lies in ZIP code area 94952. It stands on Lynch Creek. The Survey maps it on the Petaluma quadrangle. 59,776 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 30 feet above sea level.
Research this city
Then and now
1914 to 1983The same ground, surveyed 69 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


On record in Petaluma
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 9 records
- Petaluma AdobeNational Historic Landmark · listed 1970
Ellis-Martin Houselisted 2006
Free Public Library of Petalumalisted 1988
Old Petaluma Opera Houselisted 1978
Petaluma Historic Commercial Districtlisted 1995
Petaluma Silk Milllisted 1986
Philip Sweed Houselisted 1992
US Post Office-Petalumalisted 1985- Petaluma Woman's Clublisted 2024
Population over time
2 figuresPetaluma grew from 57,941 to 59,776 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 57,941 | |
| 2020 | 59,776 | +1,835 (+3%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
11 surveys from 22 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.
- 1914 USGS Petaluma quadrangle1:62500, 5 printings
- 1942 USGS Petaluma quadrangle1:62500
- 1947 USGS Santa Rosa quadrangle1:250000
- 1949 USGS Santa Rosa quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1953 USGS Petaluma quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1954 USGS Petaluma quadrangle1:24000
- 1954 USGS Petaluma quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Santa Rosa quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1962 USGS Santa Rosa quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS Santa Rosa quadrangle1:250000
- 1983 USGS Napa quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
294 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 294 fires within 5 miles of Petaluma between 1992 and 2020, burning about 742 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 15 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 |
|---|---|
| Equipment and vehicle use | 118 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 109 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 17 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 15 |
| Debris and open burning | 14 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 8 |
| Smoking | 7 |
| Natural | 3 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 2 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Sonoma-Lake Napa Unit | HWY 101 / KASTANIA RD 6 |
| 9 September 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Sonoma-Lake Napa Unit | D STREET |
| 7 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Sonoma-Lake Napa Unit | not named |
| 7 September 1992 | Recreation and ceremony | 35 acres | Sonoma-Lake Napa Unit | BARBONI |
| 7 September 1992 | Smoking | under an acre | Sonoma-Lake Napa Unit | ADOBE |
| 6 September 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 4 September 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.4 acres | Sonoma-Lake Napa Unit | ADOBE |
| 3 September 2005 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 2.0 acres | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 29 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 29 workings within 5 miles of Petaluma: 12 producers, 8 occurrences, 5 past producers, 3 prospects. 12 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Mercury, Gemstone. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mazza Prospect | Nickel | Prospect | 1918 | |
| Petaluma Plant No. 7 | Stone, Dimension | Producer | ||
| West Mayacmas District Report | Chromium, Mercury | Producer | 1850, 1861 | |
| Skinner Ranch | Graphite | Producer | ||
| Skinner Ranch | Graphite | Past Producer | ||
| Hell's Half Acre Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Hillside Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Massa Hill | Gemstone | Occurrence | 1950 | |
| Massa Hill | Gemstone | Producer | ||
| Massa Hill | Gemstone | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
15 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Petaluma in 15 storm reports between 1998 and 2020: 6 hail, 5 flash flood, 3 flood, 1 lightning. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 1998 | Flash Flood | Petaluma | $2,000,000 | Flash Flood on Willow Brook at Stoney Point Road near Petaluma. 25 homes near the river were evacuated as well as 40 to 50 residents of a Mobile home park. |
| January 2008 | Flash Flood | Petaluma | $800,000 | Very heavy rain caused flash flooding around Petaluma late Friday night, January 26th. The Petaluma River near Corona Road went over its flood stage of 25.5 feet reaching nearly 30 feet. At least a dozen homes were flooded as were several businesses. |
| December 2012 | Flood | Petaluma | $100 | Minor Flooding on Willow Brook observed. |
| March 2020 | Hail | Petaluma | - | Video on social media showing small hail near Petaluma. |
| February 2019 | Flood | Petaluma | - | Near creek roadway flooded, D St at San Antonio Rd. |
| January 2018 | Hail | Petaluma | - | BB sized hail. |
| January 2018 | Hail | Petaluma | - | Spotter reported thunderstorms with pea sized hail and lightning. |
| January 2018 | Hail | Petaluma | - | CoCoRaHS observer reported pea sized hail near Petaluma. |
| March 2018 | Lightning | Petaluma | - | The Press Democrat in Santa Rosa reported that lightning struck a PG&E circuit at 11 am the morning of the 14th causing a power outage for 25 Petaluma residents lasting through the evening|http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/8113975-181/rainfall-hail-in-sonoma-county?gallery=8113553&sba=AAS. |
| March 2018 | Hail | Petaluma | - | The Press Democrat in Santa Rosa showed multiple reports of accumulating small hail in downtown Petaluma|http://www.pressdemocrat.com/gallery/8113553-181/reader-submitted-photos-rain-hail-hits?sba=AAS&artslide=0. |
| December 2016 | Flood | Petaluma | - | Northbound SR 121 closed due to flooding - Junction of Route 116 and 121, Arnold Drive, Fremont Drive to Schellville Road, Eighth Street. |
| February 1998 | Flash Flood | Petaluma | - | On Willow Brook |
| February 1998 | Flash Flood | Petaluma | - | On Willow Brook |
| February 1998 | Flash Flood | Petaluma | - | On Willow Brook |
| January 2018 | Hail | Petaluma | - | no account filed |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Petaluma | 0.5 miles | 22 | |
| McNear | 1.2 miles | 25 | |
| Haystack | 1.5 miles | 25 | |
| Corona (historical) | 2.5 miles | 24 | |
| Crown | 2.6 miles | 24 | |
| Denman (historical) | 3.5 miles | 24 | |
| Ely (historical) | 3.6 miles | 24 | |
| Penngrove | 4.9 miles | 24 |
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 Petaluma | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q720087 | 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 277575. 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.










