BlockBefore

Rio Nido, California

23 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1920 and the latest in 1997. It stands in the Russian River-Sonoma Coast census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95446. It lies near Pasquini Canyon. The Survey maps it on the Guerneville quadrangle. It stands 75 feet above sea level.

Rio Nido within Sonoma County

Then and now

1920 to 1997

The same ground, surveyed 77 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 Nido, surveyed 1997
Topographic sheet of Rio Nido, surveyed 1920

Topographic sheets covering this place

13 surveys from 23 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

388 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 388 fires within 5 miles of Rio Nido between 1992 and 2019, burning about 246 acres in total. 6 started naturally. 32 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/undetermined177
Equipment and vehicle use59
Debris and open burning45
Arson/incendiarism32
Recreation and ceremony26
Misuse of fire by a minor17
Power generation/transmission/distribution15
Smoking10
Natural6
Other causes1

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 2012Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresSonoma-Lake Napa UnitSUNSET
8 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionVISTA
8 September 2014Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreSonoma-Lake Napa UnitONE SIXTEEN
8 September 1998Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSonoma-Lake Napa UnitNEIDEAU
8 September 1995Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSonoma-Lake Napa UnitARMSTRONG
8 September 1995Arson/incendiarismunder an acreSonoma-Lake Napa UnitRIO NIDO#1
7 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionMARTINELLI RD / RIVER RD
7 September 2007Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreSonoma-Lake Napa UnitRIVERSIDE DR GUERNEVIL 4

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Sonoma County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 44 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 44 workings within 5 miles of Rio Nido: 19 unknowns, 17 occurrences, 4 past producers, 4 producers. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Mercury, Copper, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Chromium. 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
Altamont Copper GroupMercury, CopperOccurrence
Rowan DepositManganeseOccurrence
Unnamed ProspectIronOccurrence
Wall TractCopper, MercuryOccurrenceVein
Blue Rock QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Canyon Rock QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Giovaninni QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Burl Howell QuarryStoneUnknown
Clar QuarryStoneUnknown
Guerneville Mine & MillStoneProducer

Every working recorded in Sonoma County

Storms near this place

9 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Rio Nido in 9 storm reports between 1998 and 2025: 6 debris flow, 2 flood, 1 flash 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
February 1998Flash FloodRio Nido$5,000,000no account filed
February 2025FloodRio Nido$10The Russian River at Johnson's Beach in Guerneville crested at 35.6 feet during the day on February 5th.
February 2025Debris FlowRio Nido-The entirety of Mill Creek Road near the 5000-6000 block was blocked due to a debris flow.
November 2025FloodRio Nido-Westbound lane of Rover Road was blocked, 2 boulders rolled into eastbound lane.
February 2019Debris FlowRio Nido-Large rocks covering westbound lanes, near junction of River and Rio Nido Rd.
December 2019Debris FlowRio Nido-Rocks in both lanes on River Rd near intersection with Rio Nido Rd.
January 2017Debris FlowRio Nido-Mud/rock/dirt slide into river road near Korbel.
January 2017Debris FlowRio Nido-Mud dirt rocks on roadway. Rio Nido Road and Armstrong Road.
February 2017Debris FlowRio Nido-Mudslide wb ln River Rd/Odd Fellows Park Rd.

Every storm recorded in Sonoma 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
El Bonita0.7 miles23
Rolands0.7 miles23
Korbel1.1 miles23
Guerneville1.7 miles23
Santa Nella1.7 miles20
Noel Heights2.0 miles20
Odd Fellows Park2.0 miles23
Highcroft2.2 miles23

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 NidoAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q7335287The 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 1659515. 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.