BlockBefore

Salinas, California

27 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1910 and the latest in 1983. It stands in the Salinas census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93901. It stands on Alisal Creek. The Survey maps it on the Salinas quadrangle. 163,542 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 52 feet above sea level.

Salinas within Monterey County

Then and now

1910 to 1983

The same ground, surveyed 73 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Salinas, surveyed 1983
Topographic sheet of Salinas, surveyed 1910

Compare 1910 against another survey:

On record in Salinas

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 11 records

Population over time

3 figures

Salinas grew from 599 to 163,542 between 1870 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
1870599
2010150,441
2020163,542+13,101 (+9%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

12 surveys from 27 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

126 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 126 fires within 5 miles of Salinas between 1993 and 2020, burning about 397 acres in total. None started naturally. 11 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/undetermined85
Equipment and vehicle use12
Arson/incendiarism11
Misuse of fire by a minor9
Debris and open burning5
Smoking3
Railroad operations and maintenance1

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
8 September 2004Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreSan Benito-Monterey UnitCABEU004147
5 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresSan Benito-Monterey Unitnot named
4 September 2008Missing data/not specified/undetermined6.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
30 September 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
25 September 2019Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreSan Benito-Monterey Unitnot named
21 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
2 September 1993Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Benito-Monterey UnitOLD STAGE #3
19 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Monterey County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 13 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 13 workings within 5 miles of Salinas: 5 producers, 4 past producers, 2 prospects, 2 occurrences. 5 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Clay, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Stone. 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
De Ameral-Carmel ValleyStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
SillacciStoneProducer
Sillacci Lower QuarryStone, Crushed/Broken, Limestone, GeneralPast Producer
Spreckels Sugar CoLimestone, GeneralProspectSedimentary
Unnamed MineStonePast Producer
Heins LakeClayOccurrence
Salinas BrickyardClayProspectSedimentary
Salinas BrickyardClayPast Producer
Bardin EstateSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrence
Foothill Road PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Monterey County

Storms near this place

12 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Salinas in 12 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 6 flood, 2 hail, 2 debris flow, 1 flash flood. The reports record 1 injury. 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
January 2021Debris FlowSalinas1 hurtMudslide from the River Fire burn scar. Crews worked to rescue residents and their animals (at least 50 large animals were in need of rescue). People were blocked into their homes with mild to moderate damage reported at at least 20 homes (exact amount unknown) with one homeowner injured and taken to the hospital https://www.ksbw.com/article/animals-being-rescued-people-trapped-in-their-homes-from-mudslide-near-river-fire-burn-scar/35337056 - https://abc7news.com/weather/homes-damaged-several-rescued-after-mudslide-in-monterey-co/10073282/ .
October 2025Funnel CloudSalinas$10Multiple videos on social media showed a funnel cloud over Salinas. Location Approximate.
January 2017HailSalinas$10Hail covered ground.
January 2017HailSalinas$10Time and location is approximate.
March 2024Flash FloodSalinas-Broadcast TV meteorologist reported 1 inch of rain in 25 minutes with picture showing filled rain gauge via social media.
March 2023FloodSalinas-Roadway flooding was reported at the intersection of Blanco Road and Davis Road in Salinas.
January 2021FloodSalinas-Roadway flooding at US-101 N and Main St. Flooding is causing vehicles to hydroplane.
January 2021Debris FlowSalinas-Mud flowing onto the road near 645 River Rd.
December 2019FloodSalinas-Hwy 101 northbound lanes standing water.
November 2019FloodSalinas-Standing water in number 2 lane at SR-183 and E Market St.
February 2017FloodSalinas-Roll-over accident. No injuries. North Davis NE of West Market Street in Salinas. Driver hit water and went off the road.
December 1996FloodSalinas-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Monterey 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
Boronda1.8 miles27
Spreckels Junction1.9 miles27
Alisal2.0 miles27
Springtown2.3 miles27
Santa Rita3.2 miles27
Old Hilltown3.3 miles27
Spreckels3.9 miles28
Bolsa Knolls4.0 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 SalinasAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q488125The 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 277589. 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.