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Plains

Ghost town · Madera County, California

Chowchilla quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1918, 1:31,680)
Chowchilla quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1918, 1:31,680) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Plains is a ghost town in Madera County, California. It is one of 18 former communities in Madera County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 15th among the 58 California counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Plains as a historical populated place on the Chowchilla 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 37.0236° N, 120.3491° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleChowchilla
Elevation165 ft
Nearest living townChowchilla, CA
Distance to it8.7 miles
GNIS feature ID1812773
Coordinates37.02356, -120.34906

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What's there now

Plains is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Chowchilla, CA (population 18,876), about 8.7 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 165 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Plains?

Plains is in Madera County, California, at 37.0236, -120.3491.

How many ghost towns are in Madera County?

Madera County, California has 18 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.