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Middle Waters

Ghost town · Sierra County, California

Sierra City quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1955, 1:62,500)
Sierra City quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1955, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Middle Waters is a ghost town in Sierra County, California. It is one of 17 former communities in Sierra County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 17th among the 58 California counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Middle Waters as a historical populated place on the Sierra City 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 39.5260° N, 120.6830° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleSierra City
Elevation6,224 ft
Nearest living townSierra City, CA
Distance to it4.4 miles
GNIS feature ID1733171
Coordinates39.52601, -120.68300

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Middle Waters is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Sierra City, CA (population 213), about 4.4 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 6,224 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Middle Waters?

Middle Waters is in Sierra County, California, at 39.5260, -120.6830.

How many ghost towns are in Sierra County?

Sierra County, California has 17 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.