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Searles Valley, California

24 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1915 and the latest in 1993. It stands in the Searles Valley census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93562. The Survey maps it on the Trona West quadrangle. 1,565 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,090 feet above sea level.

Searles Valley within San Bernardino County

Then and now

1915 to 1993

The same ground, surveyed 78 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 Valley, surveyed 1993
Topographic sheet of Searles Valley, surveyed 1915

Population over time

2 figures

Searles Valley fell from 1,739 to 1,565 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20101,739
20201,565-174 (-10%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 24 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

15 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 15 fires within 5 miles of Searles Valley between 1995 and 2020, burning about 26 acres in total. None started naturally. None 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined12
Debris and open burning2
Misuse of fire by a minor1

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
26 August 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
21 August 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresCalifornia Desert DistrictHORSE
20 August 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresSan Bernardino Unitnot named
19 July 1995Missing data/not specified/undetermined15 acresCalifornia Desert DistrictTECATE
9 June 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
1 June 2003Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictCHRISTMAS
5 May 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Desert DistrictCORRAL FIRE
18 May 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in San Bernardino County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 21 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 21 workings within 5 miles of Searles Valley: 10 occurrences, 5 producers, 4 past producers, 1 unknown. 6 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Iron, Salt, Silver, Gold, 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Argus EvaporatorsBoron-BoratesProducer
Lone Wolf ComplexCopper, Iron, Silver, Gold, Silica, SulfurPast Producer1938
Searles LakeSodium, Sodium Carbonate, Phosphorus-Phosphates, Soda Ash, Boron-Borates, Potassium, Sodium Sulfate, LithiumProducer1863, 1873
Searles LakeBromine, Tungsten, LithiumOccurrenceBrine
Searles LakeTungstenOccurrence
Searles LakePotassium, Sodium, Salt, Lithium, Tungsten, Boron-BoratesUnknownSurface
Searles Lake DepositSodium, Salt, Potassium, Potash, Boron-Borates, Tungsten, LithiumPlant1862, 1873
Un-Named ProspectSilver, Gold, Copper, Iron, SulfurOccurrenceMalachite
Un-Named ProspectCopper, Iron, Silica, SulfurOccurrence1939
Argus QueenGold, SilverOccurrence

Every working recorded in San Bernardino 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
Argus1.5 miles23
Trona1.7 miles24
Borosolvay2.2 miles23
Pioneer Point2.5 miles24
South Trona3.6 miles23
Westend4.2 miles23
Skytop6.8 miles23
Spangler15.3 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.

Wikipedia article on Searles ValleyAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1013444The 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 1867056. 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.