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Cottondale, Alabama

19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1899 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Tuscaloosa census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35453. It stands on Cottondale Creek. The Survey maps it on the Cottondale quadrangle. 3,130 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 344 feet above sea level.

Cottondale within Tuscaloosa County

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 19 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

89 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 89 fires within 5 miles of Cottondale between 1994 and 2019, burning about 429 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 26 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Arson/incendiarism26
Debris and open burning21
Missing data/not specified/undetermined14
Railroad operations and maintenance11
Recreation and ceremony7
Misuse of fire by a minor4
Smoking3
Natural2
Equipment and vehicle use1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
30 September 1995Recreation and ceremony1.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
24 September 1999Arson/incendiarismunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
18 September 2007Arson/incendiarism5.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
16 September 2010Smoking2.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
16 September 1998Debris and open burning2.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
10 September 1995Debris and open burning1.5 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
9 August 2007Railroad operations and maintenance4.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
29 August 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20170829-1

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Tuscaloosa County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Cottondale: 2 producers, 1 past producer. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
American MineSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Unnamed QuarrySand and Gravel, ConstructionProducerQuartz
Unnamed QuarrySand and Gravel, ConstructionProducerQuartz

Every working recorded in Tuscaloosa County

Storms near this place

21 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cottondale in 21 storm reports between 1998 and 2024: 12 thunderstorm wind, 8 hail, 1 lightning. The reports record 2 deaths. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2021Thunderstorm WindCottondale2 killedA large tree fell on a mobile home located off Hargrove Road East and resulted in two fatalities.
June 2007LightningCottondale$25,000A house in Cottondale was significantly damaged by a fire caused by a lightning strike.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindCottondale$10,000A portion of a large billboard was blown down on I-20, exit 77, which struck a vehicle.
June 2004Thunderstorm WindCottondale$10,000Numerous trees and power lines were blown down in Cottondale and near Druid Hills.
May 1998HailCottondale$4,000Half dollar size hail was reported in Cottondale.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindCottondale$2,000Several trees were blown down on US-82, near Duncanville.
June 2009Thunderstorm WindCottondale$2,000Several trees were blown down on Cold Springs Road, in Cottondale.
August 2002Thunderstorm WindCottondale$2,000A few trees were knocked down just off Interstate 20/59 near the Travel America Truck Stop.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindCottondale$1,000A few trees were blown down, and billboards along I-20/59 near Buttermilk Road were damaged.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindCottondale$1,000Trees and power lines were blown down on US-11 and Buttermilk Road, in Cottondale.
March 2000HailCottondale$1,000Pea to quarter size hail fell in Cottondale.
April 2009Thunderstorm WindCottondale$500A tree was blown down on Clements Road, near the Eastern Hills subdivision.
May 2024HailCottondale-Nickel-size hail was reported in the Cottondale area.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindCottondale-Several trees uprooted east of Tuscaloosa.
June 2021HailCottondale-Nickel size hail east of Cottondale.
January 2020Thunderstorm WindCottondale-Numerous trees uprooted between the towns of Cottondale and Coaling.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindCottondale-Trees were blown down across many locations in Tuscaloosa county, including in and around Cottondale.
April 2001HailCottondale-Dime size hail was observed near Cottondale.
April 2001HailCottondale-Quarter size hail was observed in Cottondale.
March 2000HailCottondale-Pea to quarter size hail fell in the Cottondale area.
May 2010HailCottondale-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Tuscaloosa County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Norris Estates0.2 miles19
Cottonwood Park0.3 miles19
Clearview Hills0.4 miles19
Norris Circle0.5 miles19
Glenwood Park0.6 miles19
Hurricane Hills0.8 miles19
Old Mill Trace1.0 miles19
Banks Villa East1.1 miles19

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on CottondaleAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q5175765The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 116690. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.