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South Taft, California

24 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1910 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the West Kern census division. It lies in ZIP code area 93268. It lies near Spellacy Hill. The Survey maps it on the Taft quadrangle. 2,100 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,017 feet above sea level.

South Taft within Kern County

Then and now

1910 to 1981

The same ground, surveyed 71 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of South Taft, surveyed 1981
Topographic sheet of South Taft, surveyed 1910

Population over time

2 figures

South Taft fell from 2,169 to 2,100 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
20102,169
20202,100-69 (-3%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 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

390 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 390 fires within 5 miles of South Taft between 1992 and 2020, burning about 2,076 acres in total. 12 started naturally. 21 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/undetermined180
Power generation/transmission/distribution74
Equipment and vehicle use59
Misuse of fire by a minor31
Arson/incendiarism21
Natural12
Smoking5
Debris and open burning5
Fireworks1
Firearms and explosives use1
Recreation and ceremony1

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
8 September 1999Power generation/transmission/distributionunder an acreCentral California DistrictUNNAMED FIRE 0617
7 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreKern County Fire DepartmentELK HILLS
6 September 2017Power generation/transmission/distribution10 acresCentral California DistrictHILL
6 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
4 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresCentral California DistrictUNNAMED FIRE 0314
4 September 2004Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCentral California DistrictUNNAMED FIRE 0788
4 September 2000Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCentral California DistrictUNNAMED FIRE 0651
4 September 1999Power generation/transmission/distributionunder an acreCentral California DistrictUNNAMED FIRE 0114

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Kern County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 15 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 15 workings within 5 miles of South Taft: 9 past producers, 3 producers, 1 unknown, 1 occurrence. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Uranium, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Fullers Earth. 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
Taft PitSilicaPast Producer
Elkhorn Pit and MillClayPast ProducerSedimentary
Elkhorn Pit and MillClayProducer
Excel MillFullers EarthProducer
Excel PitFullers EarthProducer
Fellows Quarry No. 2Stone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Taft QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Morton PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Standard Oil Co. PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Taft PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

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
Taft0.5 miles24
Taft Heights0.9 miles24
Ford City1.4 miles24
Spellacy1.7 miles23
Wallace Center2.5 miles24
Midoil3.9 miles23
Warren (historical)4.4 miles23
Fellows5.4 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 South TaftAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2272525The 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 1661482. 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.