Tanforan, California
43 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1892 and the latest in 1995. It stands in the South San Francisco census division. It lies in ZIP code area 94080. It stands on Colma Creek. The Survey maps it on the San Francisco South quadrangle.
Then and now
1892 to 1995The same ground, surveyed 103 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1892 against another survey:
Topographic sheets covering this place
22 surveys from 43 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.
- 1892 USGS San Mateo quadrangle1:62500
- 1896 USGS San Mateo quadrangle1:62500
- 1899 USGS San Mateo quadrangle1:62500, 6 printings
- 1915 USGS San Mateo quadrangle1:62500, 6 printings
- 1939 USGS San Mateo quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1943 USGS San Mateo quadrangle1:62500
- 1947 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1947 USGS San Francisco South quadrangle1:24000
- 1948 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1950 USGS San Francisco South quadrangle1:24000
- 1955 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1956 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1956 USGS San Francisco South quadrangle1:24000, 6 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
- 1978 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1985 USGS San Francisco quadrangle1:250000
- 1993 USGS San Francisco South quadrangle1:24000
- 1995 USGS San Francisco South quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
339 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 339 fires within 5 miles of Tanforan between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,494 acres in total. None started naturally. 36 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 | 197 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 36 |
| Smoking | 36 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 32 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 18 |
| Debris and open burning | 9 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 6 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 4 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 9 September 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 7 September 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12 acres | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | BRUNO |
| 7 September 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 acres | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 7 September 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 41 acres | San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit | CHESTNUT 2 |
| 7 September 2013 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit | A1 |
| 7 September 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 7 September 2007 | Smoking | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 35 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 35 workings within 5 miles of Tanforan: 18 past producers, 17 producers. 17 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Silver, Lead, Zinc. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Mountain | Gold | Past Producer | ||
| Black Mtn. | Gold | Past Producer | Gold | |
| Brisbane Quarry | Stone | Producer | ||
| Marine Magnes Div. | Magnesite | Producer | ||
| Marine Magnes Div. | Magnesite | Past Producer | ||
| Marine Magnesium Co. Seawater Plant | Magnesite | Producer | ||
| Marks Materials Inc. | Calcium | Producer | ||
| Quarry | Stone | Producer | ||
| Quarry | Stone | Past Producer | ||
| Rockaway | Calcium | Producer |
Storms near this place
2 since 2019Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Tanforan in 2 storm reports between 2019 and 2025: 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 2025 | Flood | Tanforan | - | Three to six inches of water covered Interstate 280 near Sneath Lane. |
| January 2019 | Flood | Tanforan | - | Lane submurged in water I 280N and I 380E connector. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Bruno | 0.6 miles | 43 | |
| South San Francisco | 1.1 miles | 43 | |
| Baden | 1.4 miles | 43 | |
| Lomita Park | 1.6 miles | 43 | |
| Millbrae Meadows | 2.5 miles | 43 | |
| Westborough | 2.5 miles | 43 | |
| Brisbane | 3.0 miles | 43 | |
| Millbrae | 3.0 miles | 43 |
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 Q122591992 | 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 256019. 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.





















