BlockBefore

Secret Town, California

36 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 2000. It stands in the Colfax-Monumental Ridge census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95713. It lies near Cold Spring Hill. The Survey maps it on the Chicago Park quadrangle. It stands 2,904 feet above sea level.

Secret Town within Placer 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 Secret Town, surveyed 2000
Topographic sheet of Secret Town, surveyed 1891

Compare 1891 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

14 surveys from 36 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

404 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 404 fires within 5 miles of Secret Town between 1992 and 2020, burning about 2,604 acres in total. 22 started naturally. 12 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/undetermined140
Equipment and vehicle use94
Debris and open burning74
Recreation and ceremony25
Natural22
Misuse of fire by a minor13
Arson/incendiarism12
Railroad operations and maintenance10
Smoking7
Power generation/transmission/distribution4
Other causes2
Firearms and explosives use1

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
9 September 1992Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitPGE
8 September 2013Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitSECRET
8 September 2009Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitDUTCH
7 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitPOWERLINE
7 September 2007Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCentral California DistrictUNNAMED FIRE 1434
7 September 2000Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCentral California DistrictSUCCOR
7 September 1999Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreCentral California DistrictPENINSULA
6 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitALTA

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Placer County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 249 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 249 workings within 5 miles of Secret Town: 81 unknowns, 67 past producers, 66 occurrences, 35 producers. 35 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Asbestos, Silver, Chromium. 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
Arkansas TravelerGold, Copper, SilverPast Producer
Big BlueGold, LeadPast ProducerGalena, Gold
Dutch Flat DistrictGold, Platinum, Silver, Lead, Iron, Zinc, Copper, IndiumPast Producer1849
North Fork Chrome MineChromium, IronPast Producer1941
Pacific Silica Greenhorn PlantSilicaProducer
Placer County Properties CoMagnesiteUnknown
Steele PropertyMineral PigmentsOccurrenceMineral Pigments
Steele PropertyStone, Crushed/BrokenOccurrence
VictoryGold, Silver, Copper, LeadPast ProducerChalcopyrite, Galena, Gold, Pyrite
GreenhornCopperOccurrenceChalcopyrite

Every working recorded in Placer 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
Magra1.1 miles36
Gold Run2.0 miles37
Monte Vista3.1 miles37
Cape Horn3.2 miles36
Iowa Hill3.5 miles33
Dutch Flat4.0 miles37
Shady Glen4.7 miles34
Alta4.9 miles37

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 Secret TownAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q7444127The 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 1656283. 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.