Abandoned Towns

Ghost town record · Shasta County, California

Cottonwood

Census-designated place in the United States.

Record

About Cottonwood

Cottonwood is a census-designated place (CDP) in Shasta County, California, United States. Its population is 6,268 as of the 2020 census, up from 3,316 from the 2010 census.

This is a site record: what public sources say about Cottonwood, gathered in one place. We haven't written a full guide yet, so history, current access and photos are still to come. Treat the status as unknown until a guide confirms it.

Map

Where Cottonwood is

USGS topographic map around Cottonwood
USGS topographic map, The National Map (public domain). The pin marks the coordinates in the record; old townsites are often a little off.

Historic maps

7 historic USGS maps cover Cottonwood

Topographic sheets from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain), oldest first. Older sheets often show the camp, mines and roads while the place was alive. The downloads are large map scans; USGS topoView shows them in the browser.

Directions

Getting there

Google Maps directionsApple MapsOpenStreetMap

Before you go

  • Many ghost town sites are on private land, active mining claims or tribal land. Check land status and ask permission.
  • Roads to old townsites are often unmaintained dirt. Map apps may route over closed or impassable tracks.
  • Removing artifacts from public land is illegal under federal and most state laws.

Nearby

Other sites near Cottonwood

Straight-line distance to other mapped sites in our California index.

Sources

Sources

  1. ghosttowns.com, "Cottonwood": county, roads, climate, best time to visit, remains.
  2. Wikipedia, "Cottonwood, California": coordinates and summary.
  3. Wikidata Q2195685.
  4. USGS GNIS 277493.
  5. USGS 3D Elevation Program, elevation at the coordinates.
  6. USGS The National Map and Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain).