Benton

History

Benton, named after Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton, an advocate of western expansion, is one of the oldest existing towns in Mono County. Benton was founded by the western Indians who came to make use of its hot springs. As the nearby towns of Bodie and Aurora grew in size and population, Benton soon became a checkpoint for southbound travelers in 1852. Gold was discovered in the hills of Benton in 1862, and its population quickly grew. After the initial gold strike, little more was found. Benton's profits were soon primarily from silver. Unlike other mining towns, Benton was able to provide enough for the town to thrive and flourish for approximately 50 years. Although most mining activity occurred between 1862 and 1890, the town never completely collapsed.

Geography

Benton lies along U.S. Route 6 outside of Bishop, en route to remote areas of Nevada. The terrain is described as high desert at an elevation of above sea level. California State Route 120 has its eastern terminus at US 6 in Benton. It leads southwest to the Benton Hot Springs part of the CDP, then continues west to U.S. Route 395 near Lee Vining. The Nevada state line is about northeast of Benton. US Route 6 crosses this border, then climbs over Montgomery Pass at the northern end of the White Mountains. Benton has excellent views to the east of Boundary Peak, Nevada's highest, and Montgomery Peak just next to it in California. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of , 99.93% of it land, and 0.07% of it water. It is primarily in the Benton Valley, drained to the south by Spring Canyon Creek, leading to the Hammil Valley and eventually to the Owens Valley. Benton Hot Springs, in the southwest part of the CDP, is in Blind Spring Valley, which drains northeast to Benton proper. A weather station was run in the town from 1964 to 2013. However, temperatures were recorded for only three of those years, and the record is thus very sparse. Benton has a cold-semi arid climate that has notably extremely high temperature variations within any given day of the year. Temperatures in a winter day can have a temperature dirunial of about 30F ranging from the mild low 50s in the day to bitterly cold 10s and 20s at night. Summers, on the other hand, have even greater temperature variations within a day has highs are in the low to mid 90s with lows being cool at the low 50s and high 40s. Being in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada, Benton experiences very minimal precipitation that's spread relatively even throughout the year with winters…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  264
• Spotted Towhee

  Pipilo maculatus Swainson, 1827 · Aves
  179
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  173
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  171
• Mountain Chickadee

  Poecile gambeli (Ridgway, 1886) · Aves
  170
• American Coot

  Fulica americana Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  165
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  162
• Yellow-rumped Warbler

  Setophaga coronata (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  161

Largest nearby schools

• Edna Beaman Elementary
  Elementary · Benton · 19 students · 19:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.68 — 2026-08-28
  22 km SE of Yosemite Valley, CA
• M 2.55 — 2026-08-25
  13 km W of Round Valley, CA
• M 2.85 — 2026-08-24
  19 km SW of Toms Place, CA
• M 2.78 — 2026-08-24
  19 km SW of Toms Place, CA
• M 2.54 — 2026-08-18
  11 km SW of Round Valley, CA
• M 3.29 — 2026-08-14
  19 km SW of Toms Place, CA