BlockBefore

Topanga Beach, California

38 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1903 and the latest in 1991. It stands in the Agoura Hills-Malibu census division. It lies in ZIP code area 90265. It lies near Topanga Canyon. The Survey maps it on the Topanga quadrangle. It stands 36 feet above sea level.

Topanga Beach within Los Angeles County

Then and now

1903 to 1991

The same ground, surveyed 88 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Topanga Beach, surveyed 1991
Topographic sheet of Topanga Beach, surveyed 1903

Compare 1903 against another survey:

Topographic sheets covering this place

13 surveys from 38 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

78 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 78 fires within 5 miles of Topanga Beach between 1992 and 2020, burning about 171 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 3 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/undetermined48
Equipment and vehicle use12
Smoking4
Debris and open burning3
Arson/incendiarism3
Misuse of fire by a minor2
Other causes2
Natural1
Recreation and ceremony1
Fireworks1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

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
9 September 2013Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSanta Monica Mountains National Recreation AreaRAMBLA PACIFICA
8 September 2020Equipment and vehicle use6.7 acresSanta Monica Mountains National Recreation AreaTOPANGA
8 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreLos Angeles County Fire DepartmentTOPANGA 2
30 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresSanta Monica Mountains National Recreation AreaCALVARY
3 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSanta Monica Mountains National Recreation AreaTUNA
3 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
29 September 2008Missing data/not specified/undetermined4.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
2 September 2017Debris and open burningunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Los Angeles County

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Topanga Beach: 2 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Limestone, General, Flagstone. 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
Santa Ynez Canyon QuarryFlagstonePast Producer
Santa Ynez DepositsLimestone, GeneralPast Producer

Every working recorded in Los Angeles County

Storms near this place

5 since 2010

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Topanga Beach in 5 storm reports between 2010 and 2025: 4 debris flow, 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
February 2025Debris FlowTopanga Beach-A significant debris flow at the intersection of the Pacific Coast Highway and Big Rock Drive swept a Los Angeles County firefighters into the ocean. No significant injuries were reported.
February 2024Debris FlowTopanga Beach-A mudslide was reported along Highway 1 at the intersection with Porto Marina.
February 2024Debris FlowTopanga Beach-Heavy rainfall generated a mudslide, blocking the westbound land of Highway 1.
January 2018Debris FlowTopanga Beach-Due to heavy rain, a significant mud and debris flow closed the Pacific Coast Highway around the intersection of Topanga Canyon Boulevard. Over three feet of mud was reported across the roadway.
February 2010Flash FloodTopanga Beach-California Highway Patrol reported mud and debris flows near the intersection of the Pacific Coast Highway and Topanga Canyon Boulevard.

Every storm recorded in Los Angeles 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
Castellammare1.0 miles38
Inceville1.3 miles38
Pacific Palisades2.9 miles38
Fernwood3.0 miles37
Las Flores3.0 miles35
Wildwood3.2 miles38
Topanga3.9 miles37
Topanga Oaks4.3 miles39

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 Topanga BeachAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q9088418The 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 250539. 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.