Swanton, California
32 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1902 and the latest in 1997. It stands in the West Santa Cruz census division. It lies in ZIP code area 95017. It stands on Little Creek. The Survey maps it on the Davenport quadrangle.
Then and now
1902 to 1997The same ground, surveyed 95 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
15 surveys from 32 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.
- 1902 USGS Santa Cruz quadrangle1:125000, 9 printings
- 1947 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1948 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1955 USGS Davenport quadrangle1:24000, 6 printings
- 1955 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1956 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1957 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1961 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1971 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1982 USGS Palo Alto quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1985 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1991 USGS Davenport quadrangle1:24000
- 1997 USGS Davenport quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
95 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 95 fires within 5 miles of Swanton between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,113 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 4 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/undetermined | 36 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 28 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 11 |
| Debris and open burning | 6 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 5 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 4 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3 |
| Natural | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2001 | Recreation and ceremony | 2.0 acres | San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit | REDWOOD |
| 9 September 1999 | Natural | under an acre | San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit | MARTIN |
| 8 September 2004 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4.0 acres | San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit | CEMENT |
| 7 September 2004 | Debris and open burning | 6.0 acres | San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit | LAST CHANCE |
| 3 September 1995 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit | DAVENPORT |
| 29 September 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit | PG&E #18 |
| 25 September 2001 | Natural | 3.0 acres | San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit | LOCKHEED |
| 24 September 2001 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit | WADDELL |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
6 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Swanton: 3 producers, 2 occurrences, 1 past producer. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Clay, Limestone, Dimension, Gold. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed Location | Limestone, Dimension | Occurrence | ||
| Waddell Creek | Gold | Occurrence | ||
| Davenport Cement Plant | Stone, Crushed/Broken, Clay | Producer | ||
| San Vicente Canyon | Stone, Crushed/Broken, Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Bonny Doon Shale | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| San Vincente Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer |
Storms near this place
4 since 2017Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Swanton in 4 storm reports between 2017 and 2024: 2 flood, 1 debris flow, 1 thunderstorm wind. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2024 | Flood | Swanton | $10 | Roadway flooding was reported at CA Highway 1 Southbound at Scott Creek. Water was reported across both lanes and vehicles were hydroplaning in the area. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Swanton | - | Mesonet station at Las Trancas. |
| February 2019 | Flood | Swanton | - | Mud/water across traffic lanes SR 1 at mile marker 34. |
| February 2017 | Debris Flow | Swanton | - | Slide blocking NB lane of HWY1 near Scott Creek. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Davenport Landing | 2.8 miles | 32 | |
| Davenport | 4.1 miles | 32 | |
| Bonny Doon | 4.4 miles | 32 | |
| Forest Springs | 6.6 miles | 33 | |
| Forest Park | 6.7 miles | 33 | |
| Bracken Brae | 6.8 miles | 33 | |
| Petroleum (historical) | 6.9 miles | 16 | |
| Boulder Creek | 7.0 miles | 34 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1656350. 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.














