Magalia

Magalia is a census-designated place in Butte County, California, United States. The population was 11,310 at the 2010 census.HistoryOriginally established after the 1849 California Gold Rush as a mining camp, the town was first called Mountain View. A dog breeding operation started in 1850 which led to the name Dogtown. A post office opened in 1857, which was shared with the adjacent settlement of Mill City; the two eventually united. In 1861 the name was changed to Magalia after the Latin word for cottages.On April 12, 1859, at the Willard Claim, a hydraulic mine in the Feather River Canyon northeast of the town, a 54-pound (20 kg) gold nugget was discovered, the largest in the world at the time. Dubbed the "Dogtown nugget", it made the town famous.Geography and natural historyAccording to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 14.1sqmi, all of it land. There are numerous flora and fauna species found in the vicinity including mammals such as Black tailed deer, raccoon and grey squirrel. A considerable number of amphibians are also found such as the Rough-skinned Newt, whose southern range in California interior occurs near Magalia. The soil, deep reddish-brown loam for the most part, supports forest dominated by tall incense cedar and bull pine.