Soapweed, California
31 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1976. It stands in the North El Dorado census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95634. It lies near Slate Mountain. The Survey maps it on the Slate Mountain quadrangle. It stands 3,596 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1891 to 1976The same ground, surveyed 85 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Topographic sheets covering this place
10 surveys from 31 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.
- 1891 USGS Placerville quadrangle1:125000
- 1892 USGS Placerville quadrangle1:125000
- 1893 USGS Placerville quadrangle1:125000, 9 printings
- 1947 USGS Sacramento quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1948 USGS Sacramento quadrangle1:250000
- 1950 USGS Saddle Mountain quadrangle1:62500, 5 printings
- 1950 USGS Slate Mtn quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1956 USGS Sacramento quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS Sacramento quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1976 USGS Placerville quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
161 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 161 fires within 5 miles of Soapweed between 1992 and 2018, burning about 1,083 acres in total. 33 started naturally. 8 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 40 |
| Natural | 33 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 33 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 23 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 13 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 8 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 6 |
| Other causes | 2 |
| Smoking | 1 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
| Fireworks | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Eldorado National Forest | MACE |
| 6 September 2003 | Natural | under an acre | Eldorado National Forest | SAND |
| 3 September 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Amador-El Dorado Unit | FOREBAY |
| 3 September 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Amador-El Dorado Unit | FINNON |
| 26 September 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Amador-El Dorado Unit | MOSQUITO |
| 25 September 2001 | Natural | under an acre | Eldorado National Forest | WHALER |
| 15 September 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 31 acres | Amador-El Dorado Unit | BUCKBOARD |
| 14 September 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Amador-El Dorado Unit | SHALE |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 45 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 45 workings within 5 miles of Soapweed: 22 occurrences, 12 unknowns, 9 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Gold, Tungsten, Uranium, Nickel. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgetown Area | Nickel | Occurrence | 1849 | |
| R. S. T. Claims | Uranium | Occurrence | ||
| R.S.T. Claims | Uranium | Occurrence | ||
| Slate Mountain Mine | Gold, Uranium | Unknown | ||
| Ajax Consolidated Mines | Tungsten | Prospect | ||
| Bear Creek | Tungsten, Gold | Past Producer | Vein | |
| Comeback Consolidatedbear Creek | Tungsten | Occurrence | 1930 | |
| Summers | Tungsten | Unknown | ||
| Tungo Mine | Tungsten | Producer | ||
| Bret Harte | Gold | Past Producer | Gold |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deer View | 0.6 miles | 31 | |
| Fairbanks | 1.7 miles | 31 | |
| Old Pino | 2.3 miles | 31 | |
| Pino Grande | 3.4 miles | 31 | |
| Claussenius | 3.4 miles | 31 | |
| Mosquito (historical) | 4.2 miles | 31 | |
| Quintette | 5.1 miles | 34 | |
| Cedar Grove | 6.8 miles | 33 |
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 Q7549844 | The 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 252800. 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.









