West Baker, California
23 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1915 and the latest in 1976. It stands in the East Kern census division. The Survey maps it on the Boron quadrangle. It stands 2,447 feet above sea level. The federal gazetteer marks this settlement historical: it is no longer a populated place, though the surveys that recorded it still are.
Then and now
1915 to 1976The same ground, surveyed 61 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Topographic sheets covering this place
10 surveys from 23 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.
- 1915 USGS Searles Lake quadrangle1:250000, 6 printings
- 1947 USGS Johannesburg SW quadrangle1:24000
- 1947 USGS Trona quadrangle1:250000
- 1948 USGS Trona quadrangle1:250000
- 1953 USGS Trona quadrangle1:250000
- 1954 USGS Boron quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Trona quadrangle1:250000, 5 printings
- 1960 USGS Trona quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1973 USGS Boron quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1976 USGS Cuddeback Lake quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
14 since 2005Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 14 fires within 5 miles of West Baker (historical) between 2005 and 2007, burning about 4 acres in total. None started naturally. 2 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 | 9 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 2 |
| Smoking | 1 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 September 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 5 August 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 23 August 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 7 July 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 5 July 2006 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 1.0 acres | California Desert District | UNNAMED FIRE 1136 |
| 30 July 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
| 13 July 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Desert District | UNNAMED FIRE 1117 |
| 26 June 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 23 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 23 workings within 5 miles of West Baker (historical): 11 past producers, 8 prospects, 2 producers, 1 unknown. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Boron-Borates, Uranium, Platinum, Feldspar. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boron Mine | Platinum | Past Producer | ||
| Kramer Borate Deposit | Boron-Borates, Antimony, Bentonite, Arsenic | Producer | 1913, 1927 | |
| Unnamed Feldspar Occurrence | Feldspar | Unknown | ||
| Unnamed Quarry | Pumice | Past Producer | ||
| Boron | Uranium | Occurrence | ||
| Vanuray Prospect | Uranium | Past Producer | ||
| Baker Mine and Mill | Boron-Borates | Past Producer | ||
| Balling Ii | Boron-Borates | Prospect | ||
| Four Corners 2 | Boron-Borates | Prospect | ||
| Jenifer Mine | Boron-Borates | Past Producer |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baker | 1.4 miles | 23 | |
| Desert Lake | 2.9 miles | 23 | |
| Boron | 3.8 miles | 19 | |
| Silt | 4.2 miles | 19 | |
| Rich | 5.0 miles | 19 | |
| Aerial Acres | 6.0 miles | 28 | |
| North Muroc (historical) | 7.2 miles | 28 | |
| North Edwards | 7.6 miles | 28 |
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 West Baker (historical) | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q7984373 | 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 1693364. 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.









