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San Carlos

Ghost town · Inyo County, California

Independence quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1951, 1:62,500)
Independence quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1951, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

San Carlos is a ghost town in Inyo County, California, recorded as human settlement in California, United States of America. It is one of 29 former communities in Inyo County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 6th among the 58 California counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists San Carlos as a historical populated place: 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 36.8040° N, 118.1260° W.

Key facts

Elevation3,743 ft
Nearest living townIndependence, CA
Distance to it4.9 miles
Coordinates36.80400, -118.12600

Open the location on a map

What's there now

San Carlos is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Independence, CA (population 875), about 4.9 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 3,743 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is San Carlos?

San Carlos is in Inyo County, California, at 36.8040, -118.1260.

How many ghost towns are in Inyo County?

Inyo County, California has 29 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.