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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.

Topaz within Mono County

Then and now

1889 to 1988

The 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.

Topographic sheet of Topaz, surveyed 1988
Topographic sheet of Topaz, surveyed 1889

Population over time

2 figures

Topaz 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.

YearPeople Change
201050
2020150+100 (+200%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 28 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

59 since 1992

Regional 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
Natural34
Missing data/not specified/undetermined10
Debris and open burning5
Recreation and ceremony4
Equipment and vehicle use3
Misuse of fire by a minor2
Smoking1

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
7 September 1997Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreCentral California DistrictWATER
28 September 1996Smokingunder an acreHumboldt-Toiyabe National ForestWILD OAT
22 September 2008Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCentral California DistrictHAY
18 September 1999Naturalunder an acreHumboldt-Toiyabe National ForestSLINKARD 2
18 September 1999Naturalunder an acreHumboldt-Toiyabe National ForestSLINKARD 1
4 August 1999Naturalunder an acreHumboldt-Toiyabe National ForestROUND MOUNTAIN
30 August 2008Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCentral California DistrictTOPAZ
29 August 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined26,759 acresHumboldt-Toiyabe National ForestSLINK

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Mono County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 within 5 miles

Regional 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
AntimonyLead, Silver, GoldPast ProducerReplacement
CassonSilver, Lead, GoldPast ProducerGold
CassonSilver, Lead, GoldPast Producer
Coleville AreaVanadium, Lead, Zinc, CopperOccurrence
DepositBarium-BariteOccurrenceBarite
Joe Mine No. 1TungstenOccurrenceVein
Sericite ClaimsMicaProspect
Topaz Lead-Silver MineLead, Silver, GoldPast Producer
UnknownVanadiumOccurrenceVanadinite
EsmeraldaGold, SilverOccurrence

Every working recorded in Mono 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
Coleville3.7 miles28
Walker7.5 miles22
Sonora Junction19.0 miles28
Belfort19.3 miles26
Fales Hot Springs19.5 miles28
Lower Town27.4 miles25
Upper Town28.0 miles25
Bridgeport29.3 miles24

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 TopazAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1650204The 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.