Soda Springs (formerly, Summit Valley, Soda Springs Station, Hopkins, Hopkins Springs, and Tinkers Station)[4] is an unincorporated community and census-designated place[5] (CDP) in Nevada County, California, United States.[2] Soda Springs is located 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Donner Pass.[4] The population was 81 at the 2010 census.
Soda Springs | |
|---|---|
 The Amtrak San Francisco Zephyr at Soda Springs | |
  Soda Springs Location of Soda Springs in California | |
| Coordinates: 39°19′24″N 120°22′48″W / 39.32333°N 120.38000°W | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  California |
| County | Nevada |
| Area | |
• Total | 0.339 sq mi (0.879 km2) |
| • Land | 0.339 sq mi (0.879 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) 0% |
| Elevation | 6,768 ft (2,063 m) |
| Population | |
• Total | 94 |
| • Density | 280/sq mi (110/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP code | 95728, 95724 |
| Area code | 530 |
| GNIS feature IDs | 234848; 2628790 |
| U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Soda Springs, Nevada County, California; U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Soda Springs, Nevada County, California | |
The Soda Springs Mountain Resort is located just off Highway 80 near the Donner Summit.
History
editMark Hopkins and Leland Stanford established a resort at the location in the 1880s.[4]
The Summit Valley post office opened in 1870, changed its name to Soda Springs in 1875, and closed in 1881. It was reopened in 1929.[4] The Hopkins post office operated from 1885 to 1886.[4] Alternately it was reportedly known as Hopkins Springs until the Soda Springs post office was established on March 8, 1875.[6]
The Central Pacific Railroad station was named Tinkers Station from 1867 to 1873, commemorating J.A. Tinker.[4] Tinker was a "rough, hard-driving, hard-drinking teamster" who hauled freight between the mines on Forest Hill Divide and Soda Springs.[7]
Geography
editAccording to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of 0.3 square miles (0.9 km2), all of it land
Climate
editSoda Springs has a dry-summer continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dsb) that is characterized by warm, dry summers, and cold, extremely snowy winters. Snow depth peaks at 93 inches (236.2 cm) during March. Soda Springs is listed as the snowiest place in the state of California and one of the snowiest census-designated places in the world.
| Climate data for Soda Springs, California, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1913–1959 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 61 (16) |
65 (18) |
64 (18) |
72 (22) |
79 (26) |
88 (31) |
91 (33) |
88 (31) |
92 (33) |
78 (26) |
72 (22) |
67 (19) |
92 (33) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 52.9 (11.6) |
54.0 (12.2) |
57.7 (14.3) |
63.7 (17.6) |
71.2 (21.8) |
79.3 (26.3) |
84.5 (29.2) |
83.0 (28.3) |
80.3 (26.8) |
73.0 (22.8) |
64.5 (18.1) |
58.0 (14.4) |
85.9 (29.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 36.9 (2.7) |
39.2 (4.0) |
42.9 (6.1) |
49.5 (9.7) |
55.9 (13.3) |
64.4 (18.0) |
73.8 (23.2) |
73.4 (23.0) |
68.3 (20.2) |
57.9 (14.4) |
47.5 (8.6) |
40.7 (4.8) |
54.2 (12.3) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 24.9 (−3.9) |
26.5 (−3.1) |
30.0 (−1.1) |
36.7 (2.6) |
43.1 (6.2) |
51.1 (10.6) |
59.0 (15.0) |
57.7 (14.3) |
53.4 (11.9) |
44.8 (7.1) |
35.0 (1.7) |
28.1 (−2.2) |
40.9 (4.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 12.6 (−10.8) |
13.6 (−10.2) |
17.1 (−8.3) |
23.9 (−4.5) |
30.3 (−0.9) |
37.8 (3.2) |
44.2 (6.8) |
42.0 (5.6) |
37.9 (3.3) |
31.0 (−0.6) |
22.0 (−5.6) |
15.3 (−9.3) |
27.3 (−2.6) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −7.7 (−22.1) |
−8.3 (−22.4) |
−2.7 (−19.3) |
8.3 (−13.2) |
18.4 (−7.6) |
27.4 (−2.6) |
35.8 (2.1) |
33.9 (1.1) |
27.8 (−2.3) |
19.7 (−6.8) |
6.1 (−14.4) |
−4.3 (−20.2) |
−13.9 (−25.5) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −24 (−31) |
−28 (−33) |
−20 (−29) |
−10 (−23) |
2 (−17) |
21 (−6) |
28 (−2) |
24 (−4) |
20 (−7) |
6 (−14) |
−6 (−21) |
−17 (−27) |
−28 (−33) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 13.16 (334) |
12.26 (311) |
12.14 (308) |
6.99 (178) |
4.74 (120) |
1.57 (40) |
0.43 (11) |
0.45 (11) |
0.99 (25) |
3.89 (99) |
7.57 (192) |
14.35 (364) |
78.54 (1,993) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 73.0 (185) |
84.2 (214) |
105.7 (268) |
41.2 (105) |
15.6 (40) |
1.8 (4.6) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
1.5 (3.8) |
9.9 (25) |
42.8 (109) |
69.3 (176) |
445.0 (1,130) |
| Average extreme snow depth inches (cm) | 74 (190) |
90 (230) |
108 (270) |
90 (230) |
46 (120) |
15 (38) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
1 (2.5) |
6 (15) |
17 (43) |
49 (120) |
118 (300) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 12.2 | 11.6 | 15.9 | 11.2 | 10.8 | 5.5 | 1.8 | 2.8 | 3.8 | 5.9 | 9.3 | 14.1 | 104.9 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 10.0 | 10.6 | 13.5 | 7.7 | 3.6 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 6.7 | 11.5 | 66.7 |
| Source: NOAA[8] | |||||||||||||
Demographics
editThe 2020 United States census reported that Soda Springs had a population of 94. The population density was 278.9 inhabitants per square mile (107.7/km2). The racial makeup of Soda Springs was 73 (78%) White, 1 (1%) Native American, 2 (2%) Asian, and 18 (19%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12 persons (13%).[9]
There were 43 households, and the average household size was 2.19.[9] There were 23 families (53% of all households). The median age was 43.0 years.[10]
There were 131 housing units at an average density of 388.7 units per square mile (150.1 units/km2), of which 43 (33%) were occupied and 84 (64%) were used seasonally. Of the occupied units, 37 (86%) were owner-occupied, and 6 (14%) were occupied by renters.[9]
Politics
editIn the state legislature, Soda Springs is in the 1st senatorial district, represented by Republican Megan Dahle,[11] and the 1st Assembly district, represented by Republican Heather Hadwick.[12]
Federally, Soda Springs is in California's 1st congressional district, represented by Republican Doug LaMalfa.[13]
References
edit- ^ U.S. Census Archived July 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Soda Springs, Nevada County, California
- ^ "US Census Bureau". www.census.gov. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, California: Word Dancer Press. p. 558. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Soda Springs, Nevada County, California
- ^ Gudde, Erwin G. (1998). California place names : the origin and etymology of current geographical names (4th ed., rev. and enl. ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 368. ISBN 978-0-520-21316-6.
- ^ Gudde, Erwin G. (1998). California place names : the origin and etymology of current geographical names (4th ed., rev. and enl. ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 394. ISBN 978-0-520-21316-6.
- ^ "U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access - Station: Soda Springs 1.5 SSW, CA". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
- ^ a b c "Soda Springs CDP, California; DP1: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics - 2020 Census of Population and Housing". US Census Bureau. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
- ^ "Soda Springs CDP, California; P16: Household Type - 2020 Census of Population and Housing". US Census Bureau. Retrieved June 4, 2025.
- ^ "Senators". State of California. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
- ^ "Members Assembly". State of California. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
- ^ "California's 1st Congressional District - Representatives & District Map". Civic Impulse, LLC. Retrieved March 2, 2013.