BlockBefore

Searles, California

28 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1903 and the latest in 1976. It stands in the East Kern census division. The Survey maps it on the El Paso Peaks quadrangle. It stands 3,245 feet above sea level.

Searles within Kern County

Then and now

1903 to 1976

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 Searles, surveyed 1976
Topographic sheet of Searles, surveyed 1903

Compare 1903 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 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

21 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 21 fires within 5 miles of Searles between 1992 and 2020, burning about 454 acres in total. None started naturally. 2 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/undetermined9
Equipment and vehicle use6
Recreation and ceremony3
Arson/incendiarism2
Smoking1

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
2 September 2013Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictHAIR
7 July 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictCHINA LAKE
2 July 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictUNNAMED FIRE 1094
2 July 2006Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.5 acresCalifornia Desert DistrictSEARLES
2 July 1993Equipment and vehicle use4.0 acresCalifornia Desert DistrictBLUE
13 July 2013Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresCalifornia Desert DistrictJAVIS
8 June 2013Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictHONDA
6 June 1996Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictSEARLES

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Kern County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 59 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 59 workings within 5 miles of Searles: 22 past producers, 21 prospects, 10 producers, 4 occurrences. 10 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Copper, Bentonite, Silver. 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
BeehiveLead, Silver, GoldOccurrenceReplacement
BeehiveLead, Gold, SilverProspect
Code SidingWollastoniteProducerWollastonite
Grossardt PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Hoover MineSilver, Copper, LeadPast Producer
Hummer MineGold, Silver, LeadPast ProducerUnderground
Montgomery ClaimsAntimonyProspect
Red Wing MineGold, LeadPast Producer
Unnamed ProspectGold, Arsenic, Barium-BariteProspect
Lucky BoyTungstenProducerScheelite

Every working recorded in Kern 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
Teagle (historical)3.3 miles28
Rand5.2 miles28
Goler Heights7.1 miles28
Johannesburg7.7 miles25
Randsburg8.0 miles25
Ridgecrest Heights8.7 miles23
Terese (historical)9.5 miles23
Ridgecrest9.7 miles23

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.

Wikidata item Q7441760The 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 252979. 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.