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Topanga, California

37 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 90290. It lies near Greenleaf Canyon. The Survey maps it on the Topanga quadrangle. 8,560 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,084 feet above sea level.

Topanga 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, surveyed 1991
Topographic sheet of Topanga, surveyed 1903

Compare 1903 against another survey:

Population over time

2 figures

Topanga grew from 8,289 to 8,560 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
20108,289
20208,560+271 (+3%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

13 surveys from 37 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

122 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 122 fires within 5 miles of Topanga between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,098 acres in total. None started naturally. 13 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/undetermined69
Equipment and vehicle use24
Arson/incendiarism13
Fireworks3
Power generation/transmission/distribution3
Smoking3
Misuse of fire by a minor3
Other causes2
Debris and open burning2

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
7 September 1999Arson/incendiarism3.0 acresSanta Monica Mountains National Recreation AreaMULHOLLAND
6 September 2013Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreLos Angeles County Fire Departmentnot named
5 September 2012Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSanta Monica Mountains National Recreation AreaVALLEY LINDO
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

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Los Angeles County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Topanga: 3 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Limestone, General, Flagstone, Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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
Mulholland Dg Co.Stone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Santa Ynez Canyon QuarryFlagstonePast Producer
Santa Ynez DepositsLimestone, GeneralPast Producer

Every working recorded in Los Angeles County

Storms near this place

3 since 2011

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Topanga in 3 storm reports between 2011 and 2025: 2 flash flood, 1 debris flow. 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-Heavy rain produced significant debris flows across the intersection of Mulholland Highway and Stunt Road. A large boulder fell on top of a vehicle. No injuries were reported.
February 2024Flash FloodTopanga-Significant flooding was reported on Topanga Canyon Boulevard near Robinson Road. Several vehicles were stuck in the flood waters with the water reaching up to their vehicle hoods.
March 2011Flash FloodTopanga-California Highway Patrol reported flash flooding in the Woodland Hills area. The heavy rain produced a significant mud and debris flow down the road. Five cars were stuck in the mud and one car was swept away. No injuries were reported.

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
Wildwood0.7 miles38
Topanga Oaks0.8 miles39
Fernwood1.0 miles37
Topanga Park1.8 miles38
Sylvia Park1.8 miles39
Glenview2.1 miles40
Santa Maria3.0 miles37
Calabasas Highlands3.5 miles40

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 TopangaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q144792The 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 1661580. 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.