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Gadwall

Ghost town · Merced County, California

Los Banos quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1921, 1:31,680)
Los Banos quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1921, 1:31,680) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Gadwall is a ghost town in Merced County, California. It is one of 13 former communities in Merced County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 23rd among the 58 California counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Gadwall as a historical populated place on the Los Banos topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 37.0216° N, 120.7649° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleLos Banos
Elevation100 ft
Nearest living townLos Banos, CA
Distance to it5.1 miles
GNIS feature ID1661982
Coordinates37.02161, -120.76491

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What's there now

Gadwall is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Los Banos, CA (population 46,776), about 5.1 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 100 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Gadwall?

Gadwall is in Merced County, California, at 37.0216, -120.7649.

How many ghost towns are in Merced County?

Merced County, California has 13 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.