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.
Then and now
1889 to 1993The 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 sheets covering this place
12 surveys from 28 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1889 USGS Jackson quadrangle1:125000
- 1892 USGS Jackson quadrangle1:125000
- 1897 USGS Jackson quadrangle1:125000
- 1902 USGS Jackson quadrangle1:125000, 7 printings
- 1947 USGS Sacramento quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1948 USGS Mokelumne Hill quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1948 USGS Sacramento quadrangle1:250000
- 1948 USGS West Point quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1949 USGS West Point quadrangle1:24000
- 1956 USGS Sacramento quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS Sacramento quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1993 USGS San Andreas quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
472 since 1992Regional 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 burning | 145 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 138 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 87 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 23 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 20 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 16 |
| Smoking | 14 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 14 |
| Natural | 13 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
| Other causes | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit | MAIN |
| 9 September 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Central California District | PINEWOOD |
| 8 September 2017 | Smoking | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | MADRONE LN BUCKHORN |
| 8 September 1993 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit | TAYLOR |
| 6 September 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | SMITTY |
| 6 September 2010 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | Amador-El Dorado Unit | EZELLA CT PIONEER |
| 6 September 1999 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Central California District | KATHY |
| 6 September 1995 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit | SEARCY |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 506 shownRegional 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ajax | Silver, Gold, Lead | Producer | ||
| Ajax | Gold, Lead, Silver | Unknown | ||
| Belden | Gold, Lead, Zinc, Iron | Past Producer | 1855 | |
| Big Pine | Silver, Gold, Copper, Lead | Past Producer | Gold | |
| Blackstone | Gold, Lead, Zinc, Copper | Past Producer | Chalcopyrite, Galena, Gold, Pyrite, Sphalerite | |
| Defender | Gold, Lead, Zinc, Copper, Iron | Past Producer | Chalcopyrite, Galena, Gold, Pyrite, Sphalerite | |
| Deposits | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Occurrence | ||
| Deposits | Limestone, Dimension | Occurrence | ||
| Elkhorn | Gold, Copper, Zinc | Past Producer | Bornite, Gold, Pyrite, Sphalerite | |
| Forest Creek | Gold, Lead, Copper, Zinc | Past Producer | Chalcopyrite, Galena, Marcasite, Pyrite, Pyrrhotite, Sphalerite |
Storms near this place
2 since 2019Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2025 | Flood | Sandy Gulch | - | CHP reporting giant rock in Eastbound lane of Highway 26 just west of Woodhouse Mine Road from heavy rain. |
| February 2019 | Flash Flood | Sandy 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. |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilseyville | 1.0 miles | 28 | |
| Lynn Park Acres | 1.2 miles | 28 | |
| West Point | 1.3 miles | 28 | |
| Bummerville | 2.0 miles | 28 | |
| Independence | 2.4 miles | 30 | |
| Rail Road Flat | 2.8 miles | 30 | |
| Glencoe | 3.3 miles | 30 | |
| Alabama Hill | 3.6 miles | 30 |
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 Gulch | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q7417271 | The 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.











