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Rich Gulch, California

29 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1993. It stands in the Arnold-West Point census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95245. The Survey maps it on the Mokelumne Hill quadrangle. It stands 1,903 feet above sea level.

Rich Gulch within Calaveras County

Then and now

1889 to 1993

The same ground, surveyed 104 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Rich Gulch, surveyed 1993
Topographic sheet of Rich Gulch, surveyed 1889

Topographic sheets covering this place

12 surveys from 29 printed sheets

Matched 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.

Fires near this place

260 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 260 fires within 5 miles of Rich Gulch between 1992 and 2020, burning about 72,204 acres in total. 17 started naturally. 17 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/undetermined72
Debris and open burning69
Equipment and vehicle use53
Natural17
Arson/incendiarism17
Misuse of fire by a minor11
Recreation and ceremony8
Power generation/transmission/distribution7
Smoking5
Fireworks1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undetermined70,868 acresAmador-El Dorado UnitBUTTE
9 September 1999Natural1.0 acresCentral California DistrictLIGHTNING 25
9 September 1999Natural1.0 acresTuolumne-Calaveras UnitLIGHTNING #25
9 September 1999Naturalunder an acreCentral California DistrictLIGHTNING 33
7 September 2012Naturalunder an acreTuolumne-Calaveras UnitBAKER RILEY WY / JESUS MA
7 September 2001Equipment and vehicle use6.0 acresAmador-El Dorado UnitCLINTON
5 September 2002Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreCentral California DistrictLAFAYETTE
5 September 1998Naturalunder an acreCentral California DistrictPATEL INC

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Calaveras County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 293 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 293 workings within 5 miles of Rich Gulch: 101 past producers, 98 unknowns, 83 occurrences, 10 producers. 10 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Silver, Lead, Limestone, Dimension. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
BostonGold, Lead, Zinc, CopperPast ProducerGalena, Gold, Pyrite
Clinton ConsolidatedGold, Silver, Iron, LeadPast ProducerGalena, Gold, Silver
DigitalliCobalt, Copper, ManganeseOccurrenceVein
DigitalliManganeseUnknown
Ilex MineGold, Copper, Antimony, LeadPast ProducerChalcopyrite, Galena, Gold, Pyrite, Stibnite
Mokelumne Hill ProspectNickel, CobaltOccurrence
Mokulumne Hill PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
PodestaGold, CopperOccurrenceChalcopyrite, Gold, Pyrite
Unnamed LocationAntimonyOccurrence
Yale and Allyn PropertyGold, SilverOccurrence

Every working recorded in Calaveras County

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 PlaceDistance Sheets
Alabama Hill2.7 miles30
Glencoe2.9 miles30
Jesus Maria3.2 miles29
Happy Valley3.5 miles29
Mokelumne Hill4.5 miles29
Big Bar4.9 miles29
Sandy Gulch6.3 miles28
Independence6.4 miles30

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 Rich GulchAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q7323282The 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 252776. 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.