BlockBefore

Santa Rita, 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 93906. The Survey maps it on the Salinas quadrangle.

Santa Rita 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 Santa Rita, surveyed 1983
Topographic sheet of Santa Rita, surveyed 1910

Compare 1910 against another survey:

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

234 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 234 fires within 5 miles of Santa Rita between 1992 and 2020, burning about 370 acres in total. None started naturally. 26 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/undetermined128
Equipment and vehicle use41
Arson/incendiarism26
Misuse of fire by a minor17
Debris and open burning14
Smoking3
Other causes2
Recreation and ceremony2
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
7 September 2018Debris and open burning1.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
7 September 2008Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Benito-Monterey UnitSAN JUAN GRADE RD / CRAZY
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
4 September 2004Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreSan Benito-Monterey UnitCABEU003585
4 September 1993Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreSan Benito-Monterey UnitPG&E #21
30 September 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
3 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresSan Benito-Monterey UnitSAN JUAN GRADE RD / CRAZY

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Monterey County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 10 workings within 5 miles of Santa Rita: 3 prospects, 2 past producers, 2 plants, 2 occurrences. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Limestone, General, Dolomite, Magnesite, Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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
Foothill Road PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Salinas BrickyardClayPast Producer
Bethlehem Steel CoDolomitePast Producer
Natividad Calcining PlantMagnesitePlant
Natividad Quarry & MillMagnesite, Limestone, GeneralPlant1940, 1942
Sugarloaf DepositLimestone, General, DolomiteOccurrence
Bethlehem Steel CoLimestone, GeneralProspectSedimentary
Natividad DepositLimestone, GeneralProspectSedimentary
Porter DepositLimestone, GeneralOccurrence
Sugarloaf DepositLimestone, GeneralProspectSedimentary

Every working recorded in Monterey County

Storms near this place

11 since 2014

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Santa Rita in 11 storm reports between 2014 and 2025: 10 flood, 1 heavy rain. 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 2014FloodSanta Rita$30,000Fifteen homes were flooded and damaged due to flooding from Santa Rita Creek along Russel Road in Salinas.
February 2025FloodSanta Rita-Harrison Road north of Salinas was closed between Sala Road to Russell Road because of reported flooding on Harrison and Sala.
January 2024FloodSanta Rita-A car was stuck in flood waters on the intersection at Russell Road and North Main Street.
March 2024FloodSanta Rita-Roadway flooding was reported at Southbound Espinosa Road at Rodgers.
March 2024FloodSanta Rita-Flooding on Harrison Road between Sala and Boronda Roads.
March 2024FloodSanta Rita-Flooding at North Main Street and Russell Road.
March 2024Heavy RainSanta Rita-Nine tenths of an inch of rain fell under 30 minutes.
February 2024FloodSanta Rita-Roadway flooding was reported on Paul Avenue at Cornwall Street.
December 2022FloodSanta Rita-The Santa Rita Creek overflowed into the Bolsa Knolls neighborhood of Salinas, as reported by KSBW television.
December 2019FloodSanta Rita-Russell Rd at Harrison Rd cars unable to drive safely through water.
February 2017FloodSanta Rita-Roadway flooding at intersection of Harrison and Sala Rd.

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
Bolsa Knolls1.2 miles27
Boronda2.0 miles27
Gabilan Acres2.9 miles25
Salinas3.2 miles27
Natividad3.2 miles27
Cooper3.3 miles27
Prunedale3.7 miles25
Alisal3.7 miles27

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1659598. 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.