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.
Then and now
1910 to 1983The 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.


Compare 1910 against another survey:
Topographic sheets covering this place
12 surveys from 27 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.
- 1910 USGS Salinas quadrangle1:31680
- 1912 USGS Salinas quadrangle1:62500, 6 printings
- 1940 USGS Salinas quadrangle1:62500
- 1947 USGS Salinas quadrangle1:24000, 7 printings
- 1947 USGS Salinas quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1948 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1955 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1965 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:250000
- 1974 USGS Monterey quadrangle1:250000
- 1983 USGS Monterey quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
234 since 1992Regional 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/undetermined | 128 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 41 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 26 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 17 |
| Debris and open burning | 14 |
| Smoking | 3 |
| Other causes | 2 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 2 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 2018 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 7 September 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | San Benito-Monterey Unit | SAN JUAN GRADE RD / CRAZY |
| 5 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | San Benito-Monterey Unit | not named |
| 4 September 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6.0 acres | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 4 September 2004 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | San Benito-Monterey Unit | CABEU003585 |
| 4 September 1993 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | San Benito-Monterey Unit | PG&E #21 |
| 30 September 2018 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 3 September 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | San Benito-Monterey Unit | SAN JUAN GRADE RD / CRAZY |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 within 5 milesRegional 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foothill Road Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Salinas Brickyard | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Bethlehem Steel Co | Dolomite | Past Producer | ||
| Natividad Calcining Plant | Magnesite | Plant | ||
| Natividad Quarry & Mill | Magnesite, Limestone, General | Plant | 1940, 1942 | |
| Sugarloaf Deposit | Limestone, General, Dolomite | Occurrence | ||
| Bethlehem Steel Co | Limestone, General | Prospect | Sedimentary | |
| Natividad Deposit | Limestone, General | Prospect | Sedimentary | |
| Porter Deposit | Limestone, General | Occurrence | ||
| Sugarloaf Deposit | Limestone, General | Prospect | Sedimentary |
Storms near this place
11 since 2014Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2014 | Flood | Santa Rita | $30,000 | Fifteen homes were flooded and damaged due to flooding from Santa Rita Creek along Russel Road in Salinas. |
| February 2025 | Flood | Santa Rita | - | Harrison Road north of Salinas was closed between Sala Road to Russell Road because of reported flooding on Harrison and Sala. |
| January 2024 | Flood | Santa Rita | - | A car was stuck in flood waters on the intersection at Russell Road and North Main Street. |
| March 2024 | Flood | Santa Rita | - | Roadway flooding was reported at Southbound Espinosa Road at Rodgers. |
| March 2024 | Flood | Santa Rita | - | Flooding on Harrison Road between Sala and Boronda Roads. |
| March 2024 | Flood | Santa Rita | - | Flooding at North Main Street and Russell Road. |
| March 2024 | Heavy Rain | Santa Rita | - | Nine tenths of an inch of rain fell under 30 minutes. |
| February 2024 | Flood | Santa Rita | - | Roadway flooding was reported on Paul Avenue at Cornwall Street. |
| December 2022 | Flood | Santa Rita | - | The Santa Rita Creek overflowed into the Bolsa Knolls neighborhood of Salinas, as reported by KSBW television. |
| December 2019 | Flood | Santa Rita | - | Russell Rd at Harrison Rd cars unable to drive safely through water. |
| February 2017 | Flood | Santa Rita | - | Roadway flooding at intersection of Harrison and Sala Rd. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bolsa Knolls | 1.2 miles | 27 | |
| Boronda | 2.0 miles | 27 | |
| Gabilan Acres | 2.9 miles | 25 | |
| Salinas | 3.2 miles | 27 | |
| Natividad | 3.2 miles | 27 | |
| Cooper | 3.3 miles | 27 | |
| Prunedale | 3.7 miles | 25 | |
| Alisal | 3.7 miles | 27 |
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.











