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Rio Del Mar, California

24 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1912 and the latest in 1983. It stands in the Santa Cruz census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95003. It stands on Aptos Creek. The Survey maps it on the Soquel quadrangle. 9,128 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 144 feet above sea level.

Rio Del Mar within Santa Cruz County

Then and now

1912 to 1983

The same ground, surveyed 71 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Rio Del Mar, surveyed 1983
Topographic sheet of Rio Del Mar, surveyed 1912

Compare 1912 against another survey:

On record in Rio Del Mar

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 1 record

The National Register names another town for these. They stand within one mile of this settlement's coordinate.

Population over time

2 figures

Rio Del Mar fell from 9,216 to 9,128 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20109,216
20209,128-88 (-1%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 surveys from 24 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

413 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 413 fires within 5 miles of Rio Del Mar between 1992 and 2020, burning about 230 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 37 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/undetermined209
Equipment and vehicle use84
Arson/incendiarism37
Debris and open burning30
Misuse of fire by a minor18
Smoking13
Recreation and ceremony12
Power generation/transmission/distribution8
Natural2

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 2001Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreSan Mateo-Santa Cruz UnitPALMER
8 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
6 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
6 September 2009Debris and open burning1.0 acresSan Mateo-Santa Cruz Unitnot named
6 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Mateo-Santa Cruz UnitCATHEDRAL
6 September 1997Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreSan Mateo-Santa Cruz UnitZIGLER
5 September 2011Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreSan Mateo-Santa Cruz UnitPORTER
3 September 2006Arson/incendiarismunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Santa Cruz County

Mines and quarries near this place

8 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Rio Del Mar: 3 producers, 3 occurrences, 2 past producers. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Iron, Titanium, Metal, Chromium, Titanium. 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
Aptos PlacerIron, Titanium, MetalProducerIlmenite, Magnetite
Triumph Steel CoIron, Chromium, TitaniumOccurrence
Cabrillo Sand and Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Gibson Sand FitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Gibson Sand PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Santa Cruz Sand Pit and MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Titus Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrence
Unnamed LocationSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrence

Every working recorded in Santa Cruz County

Storms near this place

2 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Rio Del Mar in 2 storm reports between 2000 and 2022: 1 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
December 2022FloodRio Del Mar-Heavy rain and high levels on Aptos Creek led to street flooding in the Rio Del Mar neighborhood of Aptos, trapping several people in their homes.
January 2000Flash FloodRio Del Mar-Flash flooding occurred along the flats at Rio Del Mar and at the Soquel river near Soquel in Santa Cruz County. W idspread stret flooding and some mudslides were reported including one that closed a highway. This was the first major rain in nearly four months so the ground was quite dry.The first major rain of 2000 fell over the area during the 72 hours from 4 am 1/23 to 4 am 1/25 the following heavy rainfall accumulations: Livermore 2.42 In the Santa Cruz Montains In Santa Lucia MountainsSan Rafeal 4.25 Mcqueens Ridge 12.44 Anderson Peak 12.96Oakland mueseum 5.37 Ben Lomand 10.90 Mining Ridge 12.92Redwood City 3.48 Lexington Res. 9.14 Chews ridge 9.14san Francisco (Arpt) 3.15San Francisco (Dwntwn) 4.08

Every storm recorded in Santa Cruz 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
Farley (historical)0.3 miles24
Aptos0.6 miles24
Seacliff0.9 miles24
Rob Roy Junction1.4 miles27
Monte Toyon1.9 miles24
New Brighton (historical)2.0 miles24
Aptos Hills2.0 miles27
Leonard (historical)2.2 miles27

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 Rio Del MarAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1898688The 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 1659513. 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.