BlockBefore

West Carson, California

39 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1896 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Compton census division. It lies in ZIP code area 90502. The Survey maps it on the Torrance quadrangle. 22,870 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 43 feet above sea level.

West Carson 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 West Carson, surveyed 1981
Topographic sheet of West Carson, surveyed 1896

Compare 1896 against another survey:

Population over time

2 figures

West Carson grew from 21,699 to 22,870 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
201021,699
202022,870+1,171 (+5%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

14 surveys from 39 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

200 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 200 fires within 5 miles of West Carson between 2005 and 2020, burning about 114 acres in total. None started naturally. 12 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/undetermined111
Smoking33
Equipment and vehicle use21
Misuse of fire by a minor12
Arson/incendiarism12
Debris and open burning8
Recreation and ceremony3

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 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
7 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot 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
3 September 2006Misuse of fire by a minor5.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
26 September 2005Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot 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 21 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 21 workings within 5 miles of West Carson: 18 past producers, 2 occurrences, 1 plant. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Clay, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Silica, Diatomite. 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
Hilltop QuarryLimestone, General, DolomitePast Producer
Torrance B Plant TiTitanium, MetalPlant
Unnamed QuarryLead, Silver, ZincPast Producer
Diatomaceous Earth DepositDiatomiteOccurrence
DicaliteDiatomiteOccurrence
Caswell & Co.SilicaPast Producer
Lawrence I. Liston Co.-Madrona AveSilicaPast Producer
Miller Bros. Truck Co.- Vollmer PitSilicaPast Producer
Miller Bros. Truck Co.-HawthorneSilicaPast Producer
Chandlers Palos Verdes S&G Co.Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Los Angeles County

Storms near this place

1 since 2014

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names West Carson in 1 storm report in 2014: 1 flash flood. 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
December 2014Flash FloodWest Carson-A strong thunderstorm over the city of Torrance produced intense rainfall and flash flooding. Streets were flooded and numerous cars were stranded.

Every storm 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
Keystone0.7 miles39
Carson0.9 miles39
Ironsides1.0 miles41
Avalon Village1.6 miles39
Dolanco Junction1.7 miles41
Southwest Village2.0 miles41
Harbor City2.2 miles40
Lomita2.4 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 West CarsonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q655926The 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 1867069. 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.