Key, Alabama
18 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Spring Garden census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35960. It stands on Strickland Branch. The Survey maps it on the Ellisville quadrangle. It stands 640 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 18 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1893 USGS Fort Payne quadrangle1:125000
- 1898 USGS Fort Payne quadrangle1:125000
- 1900 USGS Fort Payne quadrangle1:125000, 6 printings
- 1955 USGS Rome quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Rome quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1961 USGS Rome quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Rome quadrangle1:250000
- 1967 USGS Ellisville quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1981 USGS Rome quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
272 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 272 fires within 5 miles of Key between 1992 and 2020, burning about 6,139 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 185 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/incendiarism | 185 |
| Debris and open burning | 40 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 28 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 8 |
| Natural | 4 |
| Smoking | 4 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 1 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 6.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20160908-11 |
| 7 September 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 37 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 6 September 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 134 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20160906-13 |
| 6 September 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 15 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 6 September 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 6 September 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3.0 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
| 5 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 acres | Alabama Forestry Commission | 20190905-13 |
| 5 September 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Alabama Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
8 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Key: 4 unknowns, 2 prospects, 2 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Iron, Aluminum, Clay. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Che 9 Clay Prospect | Clay | Prospect | ||
| Stubbs Hill Mine | Aluminum | Past Producer | ||
| Woodward Hollow Prospects 1 | Aluminum | Prospect | ||
| Emmett Sharpe Iron Property | Iron | Past Producer | ||
| Unnamed | Iron | Unknown | ||
| Unnamed | Iron | Unknown | ||
| Unnamed | Iron | Unknown | ||
| Unnamed | Iron | Unknown |
Storms near this place
2 since 2011Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Key in 2 storm reports between 2011 and 2012: 2 thunderstorm wind. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Key | $15,000 | Strong winds resulted in significant structural damage to the New Bethel Church. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Key | - | The tin on two barns was blown away near County Road 113 and County Road 34. |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noah | 2.4 miles | 19 | |
| Whorton | 2.4 miles | 19 | |
| Bomar | 2.5 miles | 18 | |
| Sandy Springs | 2.8 miles | 18 | |
| Tucker Crossroads | 3.0 miles | 19 | |
| Adams Crossroads | 3.0 miles | 18 | |
| Exie | 3.8 miles | 18 | |
| Ferguson | 3.9 miles | 19 |
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 Key | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q19986691 | The 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 121167. 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.








