Picacho, California
21 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1942 and the latest in 1986. It stands in the East Imperial census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92266. It stands on Little Picacho Wash. The Survey maps it on the Picacho quadrangle. It stands 203 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1942 to 1986The same ground, surveyed 44 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
11 surveys from 21 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.
- 1942 USGS Blythe quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1945 USGS Picacho quadrangle1:62500
- 1951 USGS Picacho quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1954 USGS Picacho quadrangle1:24000
- 1954 USGS Salton Sea quadrangle1:250000
- 1955 USGS Salton Sea quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1959 USGS Salton Sea quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1963 USGS Salton Sea quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS Picacho quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1965 USGS Salton Sea quadrangle1:250000
- 1986 USGS Trigo Mts quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
11 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 11 fires within 5 miles of Picacho between 1993 and 2020, burning about 3,966 acres in total. 5 started naturally. 3 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 |
|---|---|
| Natural | 5 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 3 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 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 1997 | Natural | under an acre | Colorado River District | STAMPMILL |
| 13 September 2011 | Natural | 1.5 acres | Colorado River District | PICACHO STATE PARK |
| 3 July 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 1.0 acres | Colorado River District | TAYLOR |
| 3 July 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Imperial National Wildlife Refuge | PICACHOTP |
| 23 July 2009 | Natural | 2.5 acres | Imperial National Wildlife Refuge | NORTON |
| 28 June 2006 | Natural | 20 acres | Imperial National Wildlife Refuge | CABIN |
| 21 May 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Colorado River District | PICACHO 2 |
| 19 May 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,200 acres | Imperial National Wildlife Refuge | ISLAND LAKE |
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 51 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 51 workings within 5 miles of Picacho: 25 occurrences, 15 past producers, 4 prospects, 4 unknowns. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Copper, Silver, Lead. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Rock Mine | Lead, Silver, Zinc, Fluorine-Fluorite, Manganese, Molybdenum | Past Producer | Vein | |
| Black Rock Mine | Fluorine-Fluorite, Lead, Silver, Zinc | Past Producer | ||
| Gold Reef Prospect | Iron, Tungsten | Past Producer | ||
| Mayflower | Lead, Silver | Occurrence | Galena, Lead | |
| Pacific and Mandan Claims | Silver, Lead, Iron, Manganese, Fluorine-Fluorite | Past Producer | Vein | |
| Pacific and Mandan Claims | Iron, Lead, Manganese, Silver | Past Producer | ||
| Papago Mine | Silver, Lead, Zinc, Vanadium, Fluorine-Fluorite, Iron, Chlorine, Bismuth, Copper, Manganese, Molybdenum | Past Producer | Anglesite, Cerargyrite, Malachite, Pyrolusite, Smithsonite, Vanadinite, Wulfenite | |
| Picacho Copper Mine | Gold, Silver, Copper | Past Producer | Vein | |
| Picacho Mine | Gold, Mercury, Arsenic, Antimony, Silver, Copper | Past Producer | 1880 | |
| Riho Prospect | Lead, Zinc, Barium-Barite | Occurrence | Vein |
Storms near this place
3 since 2017Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Picacho in 3 storm reports between 2017 and 2023: 3 flash flood. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2017 | Flash Flood | Picacho | $10,000 | Scattered thunderstorms developed across the far eastern portion of Imperial County during the late afternoon hours and some of the stronger storms produced locally heavy rains with peak rain rates in excess of one inch per hour. The intense rains led to an episode of flash flooding along highway 78, to the northeast of the town of Glamis. According to the California Highway Patrol and the El Centro Comms Center, heavy rains 15 miles northeast of Glamis caused significant mud, rocks and debris to wash across the highway and this occurred around 1833PST. A Flash Flood Warning was in effect at the time of the flooding; fortunately no accidents or injuries were reported due to the dangerous debris in the road. |
| September 2017 | Flash Flood | Picacho | $3,000 | Scattered thunderstorms developed over the eastern portion of Imperial County during the morning hours on September 9th, and some of the stronger storms produced locally heavy rains with peak rain rates in excess of one inch per hour. Much of the heavy rain fell over open country, but some of the intense rain fell along Highway 78, between Glamis and Palo Verde. At 1000PST, local law enforcement reported that Highway 78 was closed west of Ogilby Road due to flash flooding and radar indicated that over 2 inches had fallen in the area at the time of the flooding. A Flash Flood Warning had been issued at 0837PST for the area and the warning remained in effect through about 1136PST. Despite the flash flooding, no accidents were reported. |
| September 2023 | Flash Flood | Picacho | - | California Highway Patrol incident reports indicated there were vehicles stuck in and/or in between flooded washes on Black Mountain Rd. No injuries or damages were reported. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obregon | 14.8 miles | 24 | |
| Paymaster Landing | 15.9 miles | 21 | |
| Bard | 16.4 miles | 28 | |
| Ross Corner | 16.7 miles | 28 | |
| Inperial Gables | 18.3 miles | 19 | |
| Ogilby | 18.7 miles | 24 | |
| Cactus | 18.8 miles | 27 | |
| Dunes | 19.3 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 Picacho | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q7190480 | 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 1661216. 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.










