Somes Bar, California
14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1948 and the latest in 2001. It stands in the Etna census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95568. It stands on Merrill Creek. The Survey maps it on the Somes Bar quadrangle. It stands 682 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1948 to 2001The same ground, surveyed 53 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
8 surveys from 14 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.
- 1948 USGS Weed quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1950 USGS Weed quadrangle1:250000
- 1955 USGS Forks of Salmon quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
- 1958 USGS Weed quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1963 USGS Weed quadrangle1:250000
- 1979 USGS Somes Bar quadrangle1:24000
- 1983 USGS Hoopa quadrangle1:100000
- 2001 USGS Somes Bar quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
135 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 135 fires within 5 miles of Somes Bar between 1992 and 2020, burning about 24,446 acres in total. 30 started naturally. 39 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 |
|---|---|
| Arson/incendiarism | 39 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 35 |
| Natural | 30 |
| Debris and open burning | 14 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 7 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 6 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
| Other causes | 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 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Six Rivers National Forest | JUNCTION |
| 7 September 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Six Rivers National Forest | GO 2 |
| 6 September 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Six Rivers National Forest | not named |
| 4 September 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 175 acres | Six Rivers National Forest | GEARY |
| 3 September 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Six Rivers National Forest | ISHI |
| 3 September 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Six Rivers National Forest | SOMES |
| 29 September 1994 | Natural | under an acre | Klamath National Forest | not named |
| 29 September 1994 | Natural | under an acre | Klamath National Forest | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 57 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 57 workings within 5 miles of Somes Bar: 17 occurrences, 15 past producers, 15 unknowns, 8 producers. 8 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Platinum, 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forks of Salmon | Gold, PGE, Platinum | Unknown | ||
| Ishi Pishi Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Mann and Ross Mine | Gold, Platinum, Iridium, Osmium | Producer | Stream Placer | |
| Ten Eyck Mine | Gold, Iridium, Osmium, Platinum | Producer | Stream Placer | |
| Little Wilder Creek | Chromium | Occurrence | ||
| Unknown | Chromium | Occurrence | Chromite | |
| Unnamed Location | Chromium | Unknown | ||
| All Good | Gold, Silver | Past Producer | ||
| Brannon Bar | Gold, Silver | Past Producer | ||
| Forks of Salmon | Gold, Platinum | Producer | Stream Placer |
Storms near this place
1 since 2006Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Somes Bar in 1 storm report in 2006: 1 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2006 | Flash Flood | Somes Bar | - | An incident meteorologist working in the Uncles Fire Camp reported that two feet of water flowed through a nearby wash, damaging the camp laundry facilities. This occurred 35 miles southeast of Somes Bar. This water came from a thunderstorm occurring nearby. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eyese Bar (historical) | 9.2 miles | 20 | |
| Patsiluvra (historical) | 12.0 miles | 20 | |
| Gilta (historical) | 14.8 miles | 14 | |
| Cottage Grove | 15.7 miles | 20 | |
| Black Bear | 18.4 miles | 18 | |
| Bestville | 18.4 miles | 15 | |
| Sawyers Bar | 19.1 miles | 15 | |
| Ferry Point (historical) | 20.5 miles | 19 |
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 Somes Bar | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q7559992 | 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 1659814. 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.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.







