Portuguese Bend, California
37 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1896 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Palos Verdes census division. It lies in ZIP code area 90275. It lies near Portuguese Canyon. The Survey maps it on the San Pedro quadrangle.
Then and now
1896 to 1981The same ground, surveyed 85 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1896 against another survey:
On record in Portuguese Bend
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 within a mile 2 records
The National Register names another town for these. They stand within one mile of this settlement's coordinate.
- Wayfarers ChapelNational Historic Landmark · 0.5 miles away
- Villa Francescalisted 1986 · 0.1 miles away
Topographic sheets covering this place
15 surveys from 37 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.
- 1896 USGS San Pedro quadrangle1:62500, 5 printings
- 1901 USGS Southern California Sheet No. 1 quadrangle1:250000, 6 printings
- 1904 USGS Southern California Sheet No. 1 quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1925 USGS San Pedro Hills quadrangle1:24000
- 1928 USGS San Pedro Hills quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1942 USGS San Pedro Hill quadrangle1:24000
- 1943 USGS San Pedro quadrangle1:125000
- 1944 USGS San Pedro quadrangle1:62500
- 1949 USGS Long Beach quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1951 USGS San Pedro quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS Long Beach quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1958 USGS Long Beach quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Long Beach quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1964 USGS San Pedro quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1981 USGS Long Beach quadrangle1:100000, 3 printings
Fires near this place
107 since 2005Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 107 fires within 5 miles of Portuguese Bend between 2005 and 2020, burning about 511 acres in total. None started naturally. 4 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 | 59 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 20 |
| Smoking | 15 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 4 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 4 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 3 |
| Debris and open burning | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 7 September 2011 | Smoking | 1.0 acres | Los Angeles County Fire Department | not named |
| 6 September 2020 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1.0 acres | Los Angeles County Fire Department | not named |
| 6 September 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Los Angeles County Fire Department | not named |
| 6 September 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 3 September 2006 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 5.0 acres | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 29 September 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 28 September 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | 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 11 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 11 workings within 5 miles of Portuguese Bend: 9 past producers, 2 occurrences. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Diatomite, Limestone, General, Dolomite. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hilltop Quarry | Limestone, General, Dolomite | Past Producer | ||
| Palos Verdes Stone Quarry | Stone | Past Producer | ||
| Diatomaceous Earth Deposit | Diatomite | Occurrence | ||
| Diatomaceous Earth Quarry | Diatomite | Past Producer | ||
| Dicalite | Diatomite | Occurrence | ||
| Chandlers Palos Verdes S&G Co. | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Edward Sidebotham and Sons, Inc. | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Graham Bros.-Lomita Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Livingston Rock and Gravel Co. | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Richard Ball | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rancho Palos Verdes | 1.0 miles | 39 | |
| Rolling Hills | 1.4 miles | 41 | |
| San Pedro Hill | 1.8 miles | 37 | |
| Palos Verdes Peninsula | 2.0 miles | 43 | |
| Miraleste | 2.5 miles | 41 | |
| Rolling Hills Estates | 3.4 miles | 41 | |
| Harbor Hills | 4.0 miles | 41 | |
| San Pedro | 4.1 miles | 36 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1661253. 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.














