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Sandy Gulch, California

28 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 95257. It lies near Independence Gulch. The Survey maps it on the West Point quadrangle. It stands 2,592 feet above sea level.

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

Topographic sheets covering this place

12 surveys from 28 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

472 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 472 fires within 5 miles of Sandy Gulch between 1992 and 2020, burning about 2,829 acres in total. 13 started naturally. 23 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
Debris and open burning145
Missing data/not specified/undetermined138
Equipment and vehicle use87
Arson/incendiarism23
Misuse of fire by a minor20
Power generation/transmission/distribution16
Smoking14
Recreation and ceremony14
Natural13
Fireworks1
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 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreTuolumne-Calaveras UnitMAIN
9 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCentral California DistrictPINEWOOD
8 September 2017Smokingunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionMADRONE LN BUCKHORN
8 September 1993Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreTuolumne-Calaveras UnitTAYLOR
6 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionSMITTY
6 September 2010Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreAmador-El Dorado UnitEZELLA CT PIONEER
6 September 1999Debris and open burningunder an acreCentral California DistrictKATHY
6 September 1995Debris and open burningunder an acreTuolumne-Calaveras UnitSEARCY

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Calaveras County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 506 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 506 workings within 5 miles of Sandy Gulch: 206 past producers, 172 occurrences, 111 unknowns, 12 producers. 12 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Lead, Copper, Lead, 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
AjaxSilver, Gold, LeadProducer
AjaxGold, Lead, SilverUnknown
BeldenGold, Lead, Zinc, IronPast Producer1855
Big PineSilver, Gold, Copper, LeadPast ProducerGold
BlackstoneGold, Lead, Zinc, CopperPast ProducerChalcopyrite, Galena, Gold, Pyrite, Sphalerite
DefenderGold, Lead, Zinc, Copper, IronPast ProducerChalcopyrite, Galena, Gold, Pyrite, Sphalerite
DepositsStone, Crushed/BrokenOccurrence
DepositsLimestone, DimensionOccurrence
ElkhornGold, Copper, ZincPast ProducerBornite, Gold, Pyrite, Sphalerite
Forest CreekGold, Lead, Copper, ZincPast ProducerChalcopyrite, Galena, Marcasite, Pyrite, Pyrrhotite, Sphalerite

Every working recorded in Calaveras County

Storms near this place

2 since 2019

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Sandy Gulch in 2 storm reports between 2019 and 2025: 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
February 2025FloodSandy Gulch-CHP reporting giant rock in Eastbound lane of Highway 26 just west of Woodhouse Mine Road from heavy rain.
February 2019Flash FloodSandy Gulch-Over 2-3 hours 1.5 to 2.5 inches of rain fell. A mudslide was reported at this particular location with the road being closed from Woodhouse Mine to West Point.

Every storm 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
Wilseyville1.0 miles28
Lynn Park Acres1.2 miles28
West Point1.3 miles28
Bummerville2.0 miles28
Independence2.4 miles30
Rail Road Flat2.8 miles30
Glencoe3.3 miles30
Alabama Hill3.6 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 Sandy GulchAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q7417271The 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 252787. 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.