BlockBefore

Torrance, California

41 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1896 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Torrance census division. It lies in ZIP code area 90503. The Survey maps it on the Torrance quadrangle. 147,067 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 89 feet above sea level.

Torrance within Los Angeles County

Then and now

1896 to 1981

The same ground, surveyed 85 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Torrance, surveyed 1981
Topographic sheet of Torrance, surveyed 1896

Compare 1896 against another survey:

On record in Torrance

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 6 records

Population over time

2 figures

Torrance grew from 145,438 to 147,067 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
2010145,438
2020147,067+1,629 (+1%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

15 surveys from 41 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

204 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 204 fires within 5 miles of Torrance between 2005 and 2020, burning about 178 acres in total. None started naturally. 14 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/undetermined117
Smoking32
Equipment and vehicle use15
Arson/incendiarism14
Misuse of fire by a minor12
Debris and open burning9
Power generation/transmission/distribution3
Recreation and ceremony2

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
8 September 2008Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
8 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
6 September 2020Power generation/transmission/distribution1.0 acresLos Angeles County Fire Departmentnot named
5 September 2011Smokingunder an acreLos Angeles County Fire Departmentnot named
4 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
24 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
22 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
20 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreLos Angeles County Fire Departmentnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Los Angeles County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 24 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 24 workings within 5 miles of Torrance: 18 past producers, 3 producers, 2 occurrences, 1 plant. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Silica, Titanium, Metal. 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
Burdick Minerals Corp.Titanium, LeadPast Producer
Unnamed QuarryLead, Silver, ZincPast Producer
Diatomaceous Earth DepositDiatomiteOccurrence
DicaliteDiatomiteOccurrence
CliftonTitanium, MetalProducer
Clifton-Redondo PlacerTitanium, MetalProducerIlmenite
Torrance B Plant TiTitanium, MetalPlant
Caswell & Co.SilicaPast Producer
Lawrence I. Liston Co.-Madrona AveSilicaPast Producer
Miller Bros. Truck Co.- Vollmer PitSilicaPast Producer

Every working 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
Dudmore1.5 miles41
Southwest Village1.8 miles41
Perry2.1 miles41
Clifton2.2 miles43
Walteria2.2 miles41
Dolanco Junction2.2 miles41
Ironsides2.5 miles41
La Fresa2.6 miles41

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 TorranceAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q489197The 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 1652802. 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.