BlockBefore

Scales, California

27 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 2000. It stands in the West Sierra census division. It stands on Shower Branch. The Survey maps it on the Goodyears Bar quadrangle.

Scales within Sierra County

Then and now

1891 to 2000

The same ground, surveyed 109 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Scales, surveyed 2000
Topographic sheet of Scales, surveyed 1891

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 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

53 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 53 fires within 5 miles of Scales between 1992 and 2019, burning about 274 acres in total. 29 started naturally. 1 was 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
Natural29
Missing data/not specified/undetermined10
Recreation and ceremony4
Equipment and vehicle use4
Debris and open burning3
Smoking2
Arson/incendiarism1

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 1998Naturalunder an acrePlumas National ForestPORT
6 September 2017Naturalunder an acreTahoe National ForestCHARLES
5 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acrePlumas National ForestAMERICAN
5 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acrePlumas National ForestAMERICAN 3
5 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acrePlumas National ForestAMERICAN 2
4 September 1998Naturalunder an acrePlumas National ForestSLATE
29 September 2019Naturalunder an acreTahoe National ForestCRAIG
28 September 1994Natural5.0 acresPlumas National Forestnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Sierra County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 80 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 80 workings within 5 miles of Scales: 27 occurrences, 20 past producers, 16 producers, 13 unknowns. 16 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Silver, Chromium, Platinum. 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
AlturasSilver, GoldProducer
Brandy City MineChromium, MagnesiteProducer1917
Carpenter DepositGold, IronUnknown
Diamond SpringsNickelUnknown
Magruder ProspectsClayUnknown
Sailor Boy DiggingsGold, PlatinumProducer1855
Sailor Boy DiggingsGold, PlatinumPast Producer
Unnamed Sand and GravelSand and Gravel, ConstructionProspectSedimentary
Unnamed Sand and GravelSand and Gravel, ConstructionProspect
D.E. Luce & CoChromiumPast Producer

Every working recorded in Sierra 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
Union Hill0.6 miles27
Mount Pleasant1.2 miles27
McMahons (historical)1.8 miles27
Poverty Hill1.8 miles27
Brandy City4.5 miles27
Cal-Ida5.1 miles27
Eureka (historical)5.2 miles27
Queen City5.4 miles26

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 ScalesAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q18355771The 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 1659607. 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.