WayfarrowLa Branza
Ghost town · Merced County, California
La Branza 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 La Branza as a historical populated place on the Plainsburg 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 37.1747° N, 120.3177° W.
Key facts
| USGS quadrangle | Plainsburg |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 219 ft |
| Nearest living town | Le Grand, CA |
| Distance to it | 5.1 miles |
| GNIS feature ID | 1661988 |
| Coordinates | 37.17467, -120.31768 |
What's there now
La Branza is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Le Grand, CA (population 1,773), about 5.1 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 219 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.
Nearby places
- Burchellghost town · Merced County · 6.3 mi
- Dickensonghost town · Merced County · 6.3 mi
- Ashghost town · Madera County · 7.4 mi
- Margueriteghost town · Merced County · 7.7 mi
- Tylerghost town · Madera County · 8.2 mi
- Ovejoghost town · Madera County · 8.3 mi
- Califaghost town · Madera County · 8.7 mi
- Tillmanghost town · Madera County · 9.2 mi
- Medanoghost town · Madera County · 9.6 mi
- Plainsghost town · Madera County · 10.6 mi
- Lincolnghost town · Madera County · 10.9 mi
- Bellevueghost town · Merced County · 16 mi
Questions
Where is La Branza?
La Branza is in Merced County, California, at 37.1747, -120.3177.
How many ghost towns are in Merced County?
Merced County, California has 13 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.
- USGS Geographic Names Information System (Domestic Names) — GNIS Domestic Names, feature record (public-domain)
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line and ACS — Census Gazetteer + ACS 5-year population (public-domain)
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.