Maps and Weather Resources

Maps and Weather Resources


The Mattole Restoration Council provides links and downloads for a variety of resources to help people stay informed about the landscape. These include data on weather, water flow, and earthquakes, maps of historical survey plats, as well as maps related to indigenous peoples and culture in California and the Pacific Northwest.



Local Mattole Weather, Flow, and Earthquake Data

Petrolia WeatherNOAA National Weather Service 7-day forecast for Petrolia.
Cooskie Mountain Weather StationThis station’s website is currently down. We apologize for the inconvenience. Get the real-time, hourly weather from the top of Cooskie Mountain.
Cooskie Mountain Live Feed VideoA live-streaming camera on Cooskie Mountain operated by ALERTCalifornia, a UC San Diego based organization dedicated to providing state-of-the-art technology to aid in wildfire and other natural disaster response.
Shenanigan Ridge WeatherNOAA National Weather Service 7-day forecast for Shenanigan Ridge.
Weather WestLocal and regional weather and climate discussion for the western United States.
Pacific SatelliteInteractive weather map with radar, satellite, snow cover, and storms.
West Coast Satellite Image,VisibleWatch the current weather conditions unfold. Updated hourly. From University of Wisconsin.
West Coast Infrared Satellite ImageUse this image after dark.
Quantitative Precipitation ForecastWant to see how much it will rain in your area? This will show you a topo-like map of the North Coast, and its approaching rain.
Eureka Weather from National Weather ServiceA five day forecast for the Eureka and North Coast area. Includes flood warnings, coastal warnings, hi/lo temperature forecasts, and chance of precipitation.
Weather DiscussionRead NOAA’s discussion of current weather patterns.
4-Day Precipitation Forecast  Daily regional forecasts of accumulated precipitation and temperature extremes for the western United States.
10-Day Precipitation
Forecast
Precipitation forecast for the continental US, plus a map of the percentage of normal precipitation.
Mattole River Flows at PetroliaGet real-time information from the Petrolia gauging station (on the bridge near the Hideaway). Site displays river depth and flow in Cubic Feet per Second (CFS). From the US Geological Survey data.
Mattole River Stage at EttersburgGet real-time river stage information from the Ettersburg gauging station (on the Ettersburg Bridge right near Dutyville Road). From the US Geological Survey data.
Recent EarthquakesThis site shows earthquakes that have occurred in the last hour, day, or week in California and Nevada. Click on a region to zoom in.
Historical Precipitation DataThis document shows a historic precipitation graph for the Mattole Watershed between 1953-1990 and the Upper Mattole Station between 1888-1996.

Mattole Historical Survey Plats

The following maps are survey plats, drawn between the 1850s to1870s. After California became a state, the General Land Office hired surveyors to survey the public lands in the state, with the task broken down by 36 square mile areas called townships. As part of the job of surveying a township, the surveyor drew a plat, which was intended to facilitate relocation of witness posts and survey stakes. Besides the section lines and features along the section lines, the plats sometimes show other features of the landscape, including vegetation, streams, houses, fences and fields, and some topographic information.

Because the initial surveys were done shortly after European settlement in the Mattole Valley, these plats are of interest for natural as well as cultural features. For example, the notations on vegetation show that chaparral was common in the area, presumably because burning by indigenous people promoted that type of vegetation. However, this evidence should be interpreted with caution, since describing the vegetation was incidental to the purpose of the surveys. Notes of trees or other features on the section lines are specific, but notations such as “Rough Mountain Land Covered with Chaparral” are generalizations that probably describe the dominant vegetation, and most likely there was forest on the north slopes and in the draws in these areas, as well as areas of grassland or oak woodland.

Townships are divided into sections of one square mile. Sometimes, quarter sections were surveyed as well. Property descriptions in rural areas typically refer to the sections lines or section quarters. Townships are referenced to east-west and north-south lines called base lines and meridians, in units of six miles called ranges and townships. In Humboldt County, these lines run through a point on Mt. Pierce. For example, Petrolia is in Township 2 South, Range 2 East, Humboldt meridian and base line. For most of the state, including parts of the Mattole basin in Mendocino County, the mapping is referenced to the Diablo Meridian.

To allow faster downloading, we have reduced the files from 10MB to 2MB, and added geographical notations. Those wanting higher resolution maps can download them from https://glorecords.blm.gov/default.aspx.