Alta, California facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alta, California
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 Alta, California
Location in the United States
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| Country |  United States |
| State |  California |
| County |  Placer |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.39 sq mi (6.19 km2) |
| • Land | 2.38 sq mi (6.17 km2) |
| • Water | 0.01 sq mi (0.02 km2) 0.28% |
| Elevation | 3,730 ft (1,140 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 615 |
| • Density | 257.97/sq mi (99.62/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP Code |
95701
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| Area code | 530 |
| FIPS code | 06-01276 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2628704 |
Alta is a small community in Placer County, California, United States. The name "Alta" means "Upper" in Spanish. It is located about 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Auburn.
This village is found just off Interstate 80. It is also along the path of the historic First transcontinental railroad. Alta has a ZIP code of 95701 and an Area code 530.
One of the main buildings in Alta, besides homes, is the Alta-Dutch Flat Grammar School. This school serves students from kindergarten through eighth grade. Older students attend Colfax High School, which is about 11 miles (18 km) southwest in the town of Colfax. In 2020, the population of Alta was 615 people.
There was once another historical place named Alta in California. This older location was in San Diego County. It was near where La Mesa and El Cajon are today. This historical Alta was along the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway. Today, that railway path is part of the San Diego Trolley Orange Line.
Geography of Alta
Alta is a "census-designated place" (CDP). This means it's a community that the U.S. Census Bureau identifies for statistics. It is not an officially incorporated city or town.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Alta covers an area of about 2.4 square miles (6.2 square kilometers). Most of this area, about 99.72%, is land. A very small part, 0.28%, is water.
Climate in Alta
The climate in Alta is known as a warm-summer Mediterranean climate. This type of climate has warm summers with cool nights. Winters are usually quite cold and get a lot of snow. Even though it snows a lot, the average low temperature in any month does not drop below freezing.
| Climate data for Blue Canyon, California (Blue Canyon–Nyack Airport), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1943–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 76 (24) |
73 (23) |
72 (22) |
82 (28) |
88 (31) |
92 (33) |
95 (35) |
97 (36) |
96 (36) |
88 (31) |
78 (26) |
75 (24) |
97 (36) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 63.1 (17.3) |
60.7 (15.9) |
63.1 (17.3) |
71.4 (21.9) |
76.3 (24.6) |
85.2 (29.6) |
87.3 (30.7) |
86.6 (30.3) |
85.3 (29.6) |
76.5 (24.7) |
69.5 (20.8) |
61.1 (16.2) |
89.5 (31.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 46.5 (8.1) |
45.0 (7.2) |
48.2 (9.0) |
52.0 (11.1) |
60.6 (15.9) |
69.8 (21.0) |
77.8 (25.4) |
77.4 (25.2) |
72.9 (22.7) |
62.9 (17.2) |
51.2 (10.7) |
44.8 (7.1) |
59.1 (15.1) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 40.4 (4.7) |
39.0 (3.9) |
41.5 (5.3) |
44.8 (7.1) |
53.1 (11.7) |
62.1 (16.7) |
70.2 (21.2) |
69.8 (21.0) |
65.1 (18.4) |
55.5 (13.1) |
45.1 (7.3) |
39.2 (4.0) |
52.2 (11.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 34.4 (1.3) |
33.1 (0.6) |
34.7 (1.5) |
37.5 (3.1) |
45.6 (7.6) |
54.4 (12.4) |
62.7 (17.1) |
62.1 (16.7) |
57.2 (14.0) |
48.1 (8.9) |
39.0 (3.9) |
33.6 (0.9) |
45.2 (7.3) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 21.6 (−5.8) |
19.9 (−6.7) |
23.0 (−5.0) |
24.9 (−3.9) |
31.6 (−0.2) |
38.5 (3.6) |
53.9 (12.2) |
52.9 (11.6) |
41.2 (5.1) |
33.0 (0.6) |
25.8 (−3.4) |
20.3 (−6.5) |
16.5 (−8.6) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 5 (−15) |
6 (−14) |
9 (−13) |
17 (−8) |
21 (−6) |
28 (−2) |
36 (2) |
35 (2) |
27 (−3) |
17 (−8) |
13 (−11) |
3 (−16) |
3 (−16) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 9.87 (251) |
10.56 (268) |
9.40 (239) |
4.76 (121) |
3.71 (94) |
1.20 (30) |
0.09 (2.3) |
0.28 (7.1) |
1.03 (26) |
3.87 (98) |
8.39 (213) |
11.46 (291) |
64.62 (1,640.4) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 48.1 (122) |
43.5 (110) |
49.8 (126) |
25.0 (64) |
7.5 (19) |
0.6 (1.5) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.4 (1.0) |
2.7 (6.9) |
24.0 (61) |
38.8 (99) |
240.3 (610) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 11.5 | 11.8 | 11.6 | 10.5 | 6.0 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 2.8 | 6.1 | 10.5 | 14.4 | 89.5 |
| Source 1: NOAA (mean maxima and minima 2006–2020) | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: WRCC (snowfall 1940–2012) | |||||||||||||
People of Alta
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 2020 | 615 | — | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
In 2010, the population of Alta was 610 people. The population density was about 255 people per square mile (98 people per square kilometer). Most of the people living in Alta were White (97.0%). A small number of people were from other racial backgrounds. About 3.8% of the population identified as Hispanic or Latino.
Most of the people (97.4%) lived in regular homes. There were 242 households in Alta. About 29% of these households had children under 18 living there. The average household had 2.45 people. The average family size was 2.89 people.
The population included people of all ages. About 20.8% were under 18 years old. About 14.3% were 65 years or older. The average age in Alta was 46.9 years. For every 100 females, there were about 112.5 males.
Most homes in Alta (79.8%) were owned by the people living in them. The remaining 20.2% were rented.
See also
In Spanish: Alta (California) para niños
