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Paola

Ghost town · Modoc County, California

Alturas quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1961, 1:62,500)
Alturas quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1961, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Paola is a ghost town in Modoc County, California. It is one of 5 former communities in Modoc County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 50th among the 58 California counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Paola as a historical populated place on the Alturas 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 41.4552° N, 120.5286° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleAlturas
Elevation4,362 ft
Nearest living townAlturas, CA
Distance to it2.6 miles
GNIS feature ID1659341
Coordinates41.45517, -120.52857

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Paola is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Alturas, CA (population 2,703), about 2.6 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 4,362 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Paola?

Paola is in Modoc County, California, at 41.4552, -120.5286.

How many ghost towns are in Modoc County?

Modoc County, California has 5 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.