Pope, California
22 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1940 and the latest in 2002. It stands in the East Imperial census division. It lies in ZIP code area 92257. The Survey maps it on the Frink quadrangle. It lies 197 feet below sea level.
Then and now
1940 to 2002The same ground, surveyed 62 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
13 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.
- 1940 USGS Frink quadrangle1:62500
- 1944 USGS Frink quadrangle1:62500
- 1954 USGS Salton Sea quadrangle1:250000
- 1955 USGS Salton Sea quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Frink quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1956 USGS Frink quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1959 USGS Salton Sea quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1963 USGS Salton Sea quadrangle1:250000
- 1965 USGS Salton Sea quadrangle1:250000
- 1985 USGS Salton Sea quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1992 USGS Frink quadrangle1:24000
- 1998 USGS Frink quadrangle1:24000
- 2002 USGS Frink quadrangle1:50000
Fires near this place
4 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Pope between 1994 and 2008, burning about 492 acres in total. None started naturally. 2 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/incendiarism | 2 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1 |
| Firearms and explosives use | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 May 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 acres | California Desert District | HOT SPA |
| 13 May 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Merced-Mariposa Unit | CARLUCCI |
| 1 March 2008 | Firearms and explosives use | 41 acres | California Desert District | TRILEY |
| 16 December 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 150 acres | California Desert District | BOMBAY |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 11 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 11 workings within 5 miles of Pope: 9 past producers, 1 producer, 1 unknown. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Bromine, Sodium, Sodium, Sodium, Bromine. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bertram | Bromine, Sodium | Past Producer | 1903 | |
| Bertram Mine | Sodium | Past Producer | ||
| Imperial Salt Works | Sodium, Bromine | Past Producer | 1930 | |
| Imperial Salt Works | Salt | Past Producer | ||
| Frink Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Orange Co Rock Co Inc | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Orange Co Rock Co Inc | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unnamed Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unnamed Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unnamed Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
3 since 2019Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Pope in 3 storm reports between 2019 and 2024: 2 flash flood, 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2024 | Flood | Pope | - | State Route 111 closed between Mile Marker 55.7 and the Riverside County Line due to flooding. No damages or injuries were reported. |
| August 2023 | Flash Flood | Pope | - | Multiple unbridged areas along SR 111 between Niland and North Shore were impacted due to flash flooding. Flash flooding impacts spanned along this highway in Imperial and Riverside Counties. According to local media, there were at least 10 reports of vehicles that became stuck along the highway and needed assistance from Imperial County Fire Department. No injuries were reported. |
| December 2019 | Flash Flood | Pope | - | A large Pacific low spread considerable moisture into far southeast California on December 26th; the moisture combined with modest instability and strong upward lift to produce widespread showers that impacted areas around the Salton Sea. The heavy rain even led to an episode of flash flooding on the northeast shore of the Salton Sea during the morning hours. According to a report from the California Highway Patrol, flash flooding caused State Route 111 to become closed at 1017PST. The closure was roughly 6 miles to the southwest of Imperial Hot Mine. A Flash Flood Warning was in effect at the time of the flooding and there were no reports of accidents or injuries due to the flash flooding. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bombay Beach | 1.1 miles | 22 | |
| Bertram | 3.3 miles | 21 | |
| Frink | 4.0 miles | 22 | |
| Wister | 7.2 miles | 22 | |
| Mundo | 10.3 miles | 22 | |
| Salton City | 13.2 miles | 20 | |
| Niland | 13.9 miles | 22 | |
| Squeaky Springs (historical) | 14.1 miles | 20 |
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.
| Wikidata item Q7229141 | 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 1656599. 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.












