Polaris, California
36 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 2000. It stands in the Donner census division. It lies in ZIP code area 96161. It lies near Martis Valley. The Survey maps it on the Truckee quadrangle. It stands 5,695 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1891 to 2000The same ground, surveyed 109 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
12 surveys from 36 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.
- 1891 USGS Truckee quadrangle1:125000
- 1893 USGS Truckee quadrangle1:125000
- 1895 USGS Truckee quadrangle1:125000, 9 printings
- 1932 USGS Truckee quadrangle1:96000
- 1940 USGS Truckee quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
- 1955 USGS Truckee quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
- 1955 USGS Truckee quadrangle1:24000, 5 printings
- 1958 USGS Chico quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1960 USGS Chico quadrangle1:250000
- 1977 USGS Truckee quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1992 USGS Truckee quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 2000 USGS Truckee quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
312 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 312 fires within 5 miles of Polaris between 1992 and 2020, burning about 2,164 acres in total. 34 started naturally. 13 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/undetermined | 101 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 81 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 34 |
| Natural | 34 |
| Debris and open burning | 20 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 13 |
| Smoking | 12 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 12 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 4 |
| 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 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit | DONNER PASS RD TRUCKEE_F |
| 9 September 2018 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Tahoe National Forest | SAWTOOTH |
| 9 September 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 1.0 acres | Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit | AIRPORT |
| 8 September 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | QUARRY |
| 6 September 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Tahoe National Forest | SAWTOOTH |
| 5 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit | HIPPY |
| 5 September 1994 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Nevada-Yuba-Placer Unit | AIRPLANE |
| 4 September 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 7.0 acres | Santa Clara Unit | COE |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
8 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Polaris: 6 producers, 1 prospect, 1 past producer. 6 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Pumice, Gold. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed Location | Gold | Prospect | ||
| Hirschdale Pit | Pumice | Producer | ||
| Red Rock Aggregates | Pumice | Producer | ||
| Cold Stream Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Martis Valley Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Sha-Neva-Plant No. 2 | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Teichert Aggregates Truckee Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Truckee Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Heights | 1.2 miles | 36 | |
| Ponderosa Fairway Estates | 1.7 miles | 36 | |
| Union Mills | 1.8 miles | 34 | |
| Prosser (historical) | 2.2 miles | 36 | |
| Prosser Lakeview Estates | 2.5 miles | 36 | |
| Prosser Lake Heights | 2.6 miles | 36 | |
| Truckee | 2.6 miles | 36 | |
| Gateway | 3.7 miles | 36 |
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 Polaris | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q7209116 | 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 1659416. 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.











