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.
Then and now
1903 to 1991The 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.


Compare 1903 against another survey:
Population over time
2 figuresTopanga 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 8,289 | |
| 2020 | 8,560 | +271 (+3%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
13 surveys from 37 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.
- 1903 USGS Calabasas quadrangle1:62500, 8 printings
- 1903 USGS Camulos quadrangle1:125000, 5 printings
- 1932 USGS Las Flores quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1944 USGS Calabasas quadrangle1:62500
- 1949 USGS Los Angeles quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1952 USGS Topanga quadrangle1:24000, 8 printings
- 1955 USGS Los Angeles quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Los Angeles quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1966 USGS Los Angeles quadrangle1:250000
- 1975 USGS Los Angeles quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1976 USGS Topanga quadrangle1:24000
- 1979 USGS Los Angeles quadrangle1:100000
- 1991 USGS Topanga quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
122 since 1992Regional 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/undetermined | 69 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 24 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 13 |
| Fireworks | 3 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3 |
| Smoking | 3 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 3 |
| Other causes | 2 |
| Debris and open burning | 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 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area | RAMBLA PACIFICA |
| 8 September 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 6.7 acres | Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area | TOPANGA |
| 8 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Los Angeles County Fire Department | TOPANGA 2 |
| 7 September 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 3.0 acres | Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area | MULHOLLAND |
| 6 September 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Los Angeles County Fire Department | not named |
| 5 September 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area | VALLEY LINDO |
| 30 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area | CALVARY |
| 3 September 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area | TUNA |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
3 within 5 milesRegional 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mulholland Dg Co. | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Santa Ynez Canyon Quarry | Flagstone | Past Producer | ||
| Santa Ynez Deposits | Limestone, General | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
3 since 2011Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2025 | Debris Flow | Topanga | - | 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 2024 | Flash Flood | Topanga | - | 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 2011 | Flash Flood | Topanga | - | 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. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wildwood | 0.7 miles | 38 | |
| Topanga Oaks | 0.8 miles | 39 | |
| Fernwood | 1.0 miles | 37 | |
| Topanga Park | 1.8 miles | 38 | |
| Sylvia Park | 1.8 miles | 39 | |
| Glenview | 2.1 miles | 40 | |
| Santa Maria | 3.0 miles | 37 | |
| Calabasas Highlands | 3.5 miles | 40 |
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 | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q144792 | 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 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.












