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Walnut Creek, California

42 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1897 and the latest in 1995. It stands in the Central Contra Costa census division. It lies in ZIP code area 94596. It stands on San Ramon Creek. The Survey maps it on the Walnut Creek quadrangle. 70,127 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 131 feet above sea level.

Walnut Creek within Contra Costa County

Then and now

1897 to 1995

The same ground, surveyed 98 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Walnut Creek, surveyed 1995
Topographic sheet of Walnut Creek, surveyed 1897

On record in Walnut Creek

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 3 records

Population over time

2 figures

Walnut Creek grew from 64,173 to 70,127 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
201064,173
202070,127+5,954 (+9%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

21 surveys from 42 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

357 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 357 fires within 5 miles of Walnut Creek between 1992 and 2020, burning about 695 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 47 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/undetermined136
Smoking64
Equipment and vehicle use58
Arson/incendiarism47
Misuse of fire by a minor33
Debris and open burning11
Natural4
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
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
9 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
8 September 2012Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSanta Clara UnitSAINT MARYS RD MORAGA
8 September 2008Debris and open burningunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
7 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
5 September 2008Smokingunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
4 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
30 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSanta Clara Unitnot named
30 September 2010Arson/incendiarismunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Contra Costa County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 26 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 26 workings within 5 miles of Walnut Creek: 9 occurrences, 6 past producers, 5 prospects, 3 producers. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Stone, Calcium, Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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
Arroyo Del Cerro ProspectsAsbestosOccurrence
Clark & SonsClayProspect
CowellLimestone, DimensionUnknown
Cowell SilverSilverUnknown
Cowell Silver Sand Co., LawsSilicaProducerSand
Mitchell Canyon ProspectCopperProspect
Mt. Diablo Lime Marl Co.Limestone, GeneralOccurrenceSedimentary
N. M. Ball SonsSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Silver SandSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Henry Cowell Lime & Cement Co.CalciumPast Producer

Every working recorded in Contra Costa County

Storms near this place

9 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Walnut Creek in 9 storm reports between 1998 and 2025: 6 flood, 2 flash flood, 1 heavy rain. 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
April 2010Heavy RainWalnut Creek$10,000A rain-slicked road led to the crash of a car at the intersection of Mount Diablo Boulevard and Iron Horse Regional Trail in Walnut Creek. The vehicle crashed through a fence and landed upside down in the rain-swollen San Ramon Creek bypass. The driver and one other individual perished, while one occupant was rescued three miles downstream. A Contra Costa County official stated that at the time of the crash, the water would have been 2.34 feet deep and flowing at 6.4 feet per second.
February 2025FloodWalnut Creek-Around 8 inches of water were reported on the ramp that connects eastbound State Route 24 to southbound Interstate 680.
November 2019FloodWalnut Creek-Media reported flooded roads at the intersection of Broadway and Cypress St in Walnut Creek.
January 2018FloodWalnut Creek-Roadway flooding reported at I 680S and Ygnacio Valley Road on ramp. Six inches of standing water.
January 2018FloodWalnut Creek-I 680 southbound lanes flooded.
November 2018FloodWalnut Creek-Roadway flooding reported at I680 N and Olympic Blvd on ramp, 8-10 inches of water in number 2 lane.
February 1998Flash FloodWalnut Creek-people evacuated Walnut Creek due to flash Flood.
February 1998Flash FloodWalnut Creek-Streets and businesses flash flood in Walnut Creek.
December 2002FloodWalnut Creek-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Contra Costa 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
Waldon1.5 miles42
Contra Costa Centre1.5 miles42
Sparkle1.6 miles42
Saranap1.6 miles42
Las Juntas1.9 miles42
Bancroft2.1 miles42
Walnut Heights2.2 miles42
Hookston2.5 miles42

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 Walnut CreekAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q493261The 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 1660120. 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.