Topaz, California
28 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1988. It stands in the North Mono census division. It lies in ZIP code area 96133. It stands on East Slough. The Survey maps it on the Coleville quadrangle. 150 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 5,033 feet above sea level.
Then and now
1889 to 1988The same ground, surveyed 99 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Population over time
2 figuresTopaz grew from 50 to 150 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 | 50 | |
| 2020 | 150 | +100 (+200%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
10 surveys from 28 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.
- 1889 USGS Markleeville quadrangle1:125000
- 1891 USGS Markleeville quadrangle1:125000
- 1893 USGS Markleeville quadrangle1:125000, 9 printings
- 1948 USGS Walker Lake quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Topaz Lake quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
- 1957 USGS Walker Lake quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1962 USGS Walker Lake quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS Walker Lake quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1985 USGS Smith Valley quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1988 USGS Coleville quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
59 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 59 fires within 5 miles of Topaz between 1992 and 2020, burning about 52,384 acres in total. 34 started naturally. None was 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 |
|---|---|
| Natural | 34 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 |
| Debris and open burning | 5 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 4 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 3 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 2 |
| Smoking | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 1997 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Central California District | WATER |
| 28 September 1996 | Smoking | under an acre | Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest | WILD OAT |
| 22 September 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Central California District | HAY |
| 18 September 1999 | Natural | under an acre | Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest | SLINKARD 2 |
| 18 September 1999 | Natural | under an acre | Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest | SLINKARD 1 |
| 4 August 1999 | Natural | under an acre | Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest | ROUND MOUNTAIN |
| 30 August 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Central California District | TOPAZ |
| 29 August 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 26,759 acres | Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest | SLINK |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 10 workings within 5 miles of Topaz: 5 occurrences, 4 past producers, 1 prospect. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Gold, Silver, Vanadium, Lead, Zinc, Copper, Tungsten. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antimony | Lead, Silver, Gold | Past Producer | Replacement | |
| Casson | Silver, Lead, Gold | Past Producer | Gold | |
| Casson | Silver, Lead, Gold | Past Producer | ||
| Coleville Area | Vanadium, Lead, Zinc, Copper | Occurrence | ||
| Deposit | Barium-Barite | Occurrence | Barite | |
| Joe Mine No. 1 | Tungsten | Occurrence | Vein | |
| Sericite Claims | Mica | Prospect | ||
| Topaz Lead-Silver Mine | Lead, Silver, Gold | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Vanadium | Occurrence | Vanadinite | |
| Esmeralda | Gold, Silver | Occurrence |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coleville | 3.7 miles | 28 | |
| Walker | 7.5 miles | 22 | |
| Sonora Junction | 19.0 miles | 28 | |
| Belfort | 19.3 miles | 26 | |
| Fales Hot Springs | 19.5 miles | 28 | |
| Lower Town | 27.4 miles | 25 | |
| Upper Town | 28.0 miles | 25 | |
| Bridgeport | 29.3 miles | 24 |
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 Topaz | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1650204 | 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 251927. 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.









