Priest, California
28 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1994. It stands in the Groveland census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95305. It lies near Tip Top Peak. The Survey maps it on the Moccasin quadrangle.
Then and now
1893 to 1994The same ground, surveyed 101 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 28 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.
- 1893 USGS Sonora quadrangle1:125000
- 1896 USGS Sonora quadrangle1:125000
- 1897 USGS Sonora quadrangle1:125000, 8 printings
- 1898 USGS Sonora quadrangle1:125000
- 1947 USGS San Jose quadrangle1:250000
- 1948 USGS Moccasin quadrangle1:24000, 5 printings
- 1948 USGS Sonora quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1949 USGS Moccasin quadrangle1:24000
- 1956 USGS San Jose quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS San Jose quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1966 USGS San Jose quadrangle1:250000
- 1994 USGS Oakdale quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
267 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 267 fires within 5 miles of Priest between 1992 and 2020, burning about 24,721 acres in total. 16 started naturally. 26 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 |
| Debris and open burning | 45 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 44 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 26 |
| Natural | 16 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 12 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 10 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 6 |
| Smoking | 4 |
| Firearms and explosives use | 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 1999 | Natural | under an acre | Central California District | LIGHTNING 134 |
| 9 September 1999 | Natural | under an acre | Central California District | LIGHTNING 26 |
| 9 September 1999 | Natural | under an acre | Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit | LIGHTNING#26 |
| 8 September 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Central California District | PROVOST |
| 8 September 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | 2.0 acres | Central California District | MARSHES |
| 8 September 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Central California District | RAILROAD |
| 8 September 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit | PRIEST #3 |
| 7 September 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | 470 acres | Central California District | PREIST II |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 162 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 162 workings within 5 miles of Priest: 55 occurrences, 47 past producers, 31 unknowns, 22 producers. 22 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Chromium, Silver, Copper. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashley Property | Asbestos | Prospect | ||
| Big Oak Flat No. 1 | Gold, Silver, Zinc, Lead, Copper | Past Producer | Chalcopyrite, Copper, Galena, Gold, Sphalerite | |
| La Guria | Gold, Lead, Copper, Silver | Prospect | ||
| Pine Mountain Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Reported Occurance | Gypsum-Anhydrite | Occurrence | ||
| Group | Gold, Lead | Past Producer | Galena, Gold, Pyrite | |
| Groveland-Moccasin-Jacksonville | Gold, Silver | Producer | ||
| Jack Lode | Gold, Silver | Producer | ||
| Little Wonder | Gold, Lead | Past Producer | Galena, Gold, Pyrite | |
| Sampson Lode | Diatomite | Producer | Sedimentary |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Oak Flat | 1.0 miles | 28 | |
| Moccasin | 1.5 miles | 28 | |
| Groveland | 2.7 miles | 30 | |
| Second Garrotte | 4.1 miles | 30 | |
| Buchanan | 8.2 miles | 29 | |
| Algerine | 8.9 miles | 28 | |
| Chinese Camp | 9.4 miles | 28 | |
| Buckhorn Estates | 9.6 miles | 27 |
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 Priest | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q14683710 | 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 252770. 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.











