Cave City, Arkansas
19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1890 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Cave Township. It lies in ZIP code area 72521. The Survey maps it on the Cave City quadrangle. 1,922 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 676 feet above sea level.
On record in Cave City
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 1 record
Crystal River Tourist Camplisted 1991
Population over time
2 figuresCave City grew from 1,904 to 1,922 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1,904 | |
| 2020 | 1,922 | +18 (+1%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 19 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.
- 1890 USGS Batesville quadrangle1:125000
- 1891 USGS Batesville quadrangle1:125000, 6 printings
- 1943 USGS Cave City quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1943 USGS Cave City quadrangle1:31680, 2 printings
- 1953 USGS Memphis quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1956 USGS Memphis quadrangle1:250000
- 1986 USGS Batesville quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1989 USGS Cave City quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
123 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 123 fires within 5 miles of Cave City between 1998 and 2020, burning about 2,022 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 38 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 38 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 38 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 36 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 4 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 2 |
| Natural | 2 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 2 |
| Smoking | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 September 1998 | Smoking | 1.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 26 September 2004 | Recreation and ceremony | 5.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 21 September 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 1.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 19 September 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 4.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 18 September 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 17 September 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 12 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 17 September 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
| 17 September 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2.0 acres | Arkansas Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 11 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 11 workings within 5 miles of Cave City: 5 past producers, 3 occurrences, 3 unknowns. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Manganese, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Phosphorus-Phosphates. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hickory Valley | Phosphorus-Phosphates | Unknown | ||
| Unk | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unk | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Ball Mine | Manganese | Past Producer | 1918 | |
| E.W.Roach Prospect | Manganese | Past Producer | ||
| Jackson Prospect | Manganese | Occurrence | ||
| K D Aldridge Prospect | Manganese | Past Producer | 1917 | |
| Matlock Mine | Manganese | Past Producer | 1918 | |
| Maxfield Prospect | Manganese | Occurrence | ||
| Story Mine | Manganese | Past Producer | 1918 |
Storms near this place
41 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cave City in 41 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 17 hail, 14 thunderstorm wind, 5 flash flood, 3 tornado. The reports record 1 injury. 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 1999 | Tornado (F2) | Cave City | 1 hurt | no account filed |
| September 1993 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | $500,000 | Thunderstorm winds blew the roof off two buildings and knocked down some trees and power lines. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | $75,000 | Trees and power lines were blown down, with one of the trees falling on a pickup truck. Shingles were blown off roofs. Signs at businesses were destroyed. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | $15,000 | A house was damaged and power lines were blown down. |
| March 1997 | Tornado (F1) | Cave City | $3,000 | no account filed |
| September 2010 | Flash Flood | Cave City | $2,000 | Water covered U.S. Highway 167 and some city streets in Cave City. |
| August 2009 | Lightning | Cave City | $1,500 | Lightning killed one cow and two steers on a farm. |
| April 2025 | Flash Flood | Cave City | - | Blackstone Drive in Cave City had water rushing over it. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | - | Multiple power poles were blown down in Cave City. |
| April 2022 | Flash Flood | Cave City | - | Flooding was reported in the high school, along with portions of U.S. Hwy. 167. |
| June 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | - | Several trees were blown down in Cave City. |
| May 2020 | Hail | Cave City | - | A COOP observer reported quarter size hail in Cave City. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | - | Several trees were downed. |
| February 2019 | Flash Flood | Cave City | - | Water was running over numerous city and county roads. |
| June 2013 | Heavy Rain | Cave City | - | One-half inch of rain fell in 10 minutes. |
| August 2007 | Hail | Cave City | - | Hail up to the size of quarters fell. |
| April 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | - | Thunderstorm winds blew down some large tree limbs. |
| April 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | - | Thunderstorm winds knocked the tops out of trees. |
| July 2000 | Tornado (F0) | Cave City | - | A weak tornado was spawned in southern Sharp County , or from 3 to miles 4 miles east of Cave City close to Highway 230. One house sustained significant roof damage, with minor roof damage to three other houses. Two small farm sheds were destroyed, and a chicken house suffered some foundation damage and lost some of its tin roof. Several trees were also blown down. |
| June 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | - | Thunderstorm winds downed some trees. |
| July 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | - | Thunderstorm winds downed a few trees. |
| April 2018 | Hail | Cave City | - | no account filed |
| May 2017 | Hail | Cave City | - | no account filed |
| September 2011 | Hail | Cave City | - | no account filed |
| May 2011 | Hail | Cave City | - | no account filed |
| May 2011 | Hail | Cave City | - | no account filed |
| May 2011 | Hail | Cave City | - | no account filed |
| April 2009 | Hail | Cave City | - | no account filed |
| May 2008 | Hail | Cave City | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | Cave City | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Hail | Cave City | - | no account filed |
| April 2002 | Hail | Cave City | - | no account filed |
| October 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | - | no account filed |
| January 2000 | Flash Flood | Cave City | - | no account filed |
| May 1999 | Hail | Cave City | - | no account filed |
| May 1999 | Hail | Cave City | - | no account filed |
| July 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | - | no account filed |
| July 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | - | no account filed |
| July 1996 | Hail | Cave City | - | no account filed |
| April 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cave City | - | no account filed |
| June 1994 | Hail | Cave City | - | no account filed |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maxville | 3.7 miles | 19 | |
| Amateur (historical) | 5.2 miles | 8 | |
| Aetna | 5.8 miles | 11 | |
| Mobley (historical) | 6.0 miles | 11 | |
| Balboa (historical) | 6.8 miles | 8 | |
| Sidney | 7.3 miles | 8 | |
| Shelbyville | 8.0 miles | 11 | |
| Simco (historical) | 8.8 miles | 11 |
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 Cave City | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q79330 | 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 76551. 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.







