Colorado City, Arizona
21 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1988. It stands in the North Mohave census division. It lies in ZIP code area 86021. The Survey maps it on the Colorado City quadrangle. 2,478 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 4,977 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresColorado City fell from 4,821 to 2,478 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 | 4,821 | |
| 2020 | 2,478 | -2,343 (-49%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
10 surveys from 21 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.
- 1886 USGS Kaibab quadrangle1:250000, 9 printings
- 1953 USGS Grand Canyon quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1954 USGS Colorado City quadrangle1:62500
- 1954 USGS Short Creek quadrangle1:62500
- 1954 USGS Short Creek NW quadrangle1:24000
- 1957 USGS Grand Canyon quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Grand Canyon quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Grand Canyon quadrangle1:250000
- 1984 USGS Fredonia quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1988 USGS Colorado City quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
78 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 78 fires within 5 miles of Colorado City between 1996 and 2020, burning about 267 acres in total. 29 started naturally. 5 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 |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 29 |
| Natural | 29 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 5 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 5 |
| Debris and open burning | 3 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 3 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 3 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Cedar City Field Office | SQUIRREL CANYON |
| 18 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12 acres | Arizona Strip Field Office | BED |
| 18 September 2019 | Natural | under an acre | Colorado City Fire Department | NOT NAMED |
| 16 September 2011 | Natural | under an acre | Cedar City Field Office | MAXWELL |
| 10 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Colorado City Fire Department | NOT NAMED |
| 1 September 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Colorado City Fire Department | 180670 |
| 6 August 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Colorado City Fire Department | NOT NAMED |
| 5 August 2019 | Natural | 8.0 acres | Arizona Strip Field Office | REDWOOD |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
39 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Colorado City in 39 storm reports between 1998 and 2024: 28 flash flood, 3 flood, 3 hail, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colorado City | $300,000 | Thunderstorm winds snapped about 20 power poles along Oak Street and Mohave Avenue. |
| September 2023 | Flash Flood | Colorado City | $250,000 | Flash flooding of Short Creek closed all of the Colorado City roads which cross the creek. The Hildale Street crossing was heavily damaged and will likely be closed for some time. |
| August 2018 | Flash Flood | Colorado City | $100,000 | All major roads in Colorado City were flooded. A nearby rain gauge measured 3.70 inches between 1130 PM on the 21st and 617 AM on the 22nd. |
| July 2013 | Flash Flood | Colorado City | $100,000 | Several homes were flooded and several roads were closed by flooding in Colorado City. |
| July 2012 | Flash Flood | Colorado City | $100,000 | Several homes in Colorado City had basement flooding, and one road was closed. |
| July 2013 | Flash Flood | Colorado City | $50,000 | Several basements flooded in Colorado City. |
| July 2011 | Flash Flood | Colorado City | $50,000 | Water flowed out of the mountains northeast of Colorado City, closing several roads and also getting into the basements of several homes. |
| August 2022 | Flash Flood | Colorado City | $25,000 | Heavy roadway flooding and minor basement flooding occurred in Colorado City. |
| July 2021 | Flash Flood | Colorado City | $10,000 | Short Creek flooded and closed several bridges and low water crossings in Colorado City. One vehicle was rescued. |
| September 2014 | Flash Flood | Colorado City | $10,000 | Numerous roads were flooded in Colorado City, including every Short Creek crossing in town. |
| July 2013 | Flash Flood | Colorado City | $10,000 | Flood water entered two homes in Colorado City. |
| July 2012 | Flash Flood | Colorado City | $10,000 | Flash flooding closed a road in Colorado City, stranding one vehicle. |
| June 2021 | Flash Flood | Colorado City | $5,000 | Short Creek flooded and closed roads in Colorado City. |
| September 2016 | Flash Flood | Colorado City | $5,000 | Several roads in Colorado City were closed due to flooding and debris. |
| October 2015 | Flash Flood | Colorado City | $5,000 | Several roads which cross Short Creek were flooded. |
| July 2015 | Flash Flood | Colorado City | $5,000 | Three main roads in Colorado City were closed due to flooding. |
| July 2011 | Heavy Rain | Colorado City | $5,000 | Heavy rain flooded one basement in Colorado City. |
| August 2022 | Flash Flood | Colorado City | $3,000 | Short Creek flooded all the road crossings in Colorado City. |
| July 2022 | Flash Flood | Colorado City | $3,000 | All the low water crossings over Short Creek were flooded and closed. |
| September 2023 | Flash Flood | Colorado City | $2,000 | Flash flooding of Short Creek closed Hildale St. |
| September 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Colorado City | $2,000 | Damaging thunderstorm winds downed power lines as they blew through Colorado City. |
| July 2024 | Hail | Colorado City | $1,000 | Hail took down numerous small tree branches. |
| March 2023 | Flood | Colorado City | $1,000 | Hildale Street, Central Street, and Academy Avenue were closed due to rises on Short Creek. |
| August 2023 | Flash Flood | Colorado City | $1,000 | Rapid onset flooding of Short Creek closed Hildale St. |
| July 2022 | Flash Flood | Colorado City | $1,000 | Flooding of Short Creek closed several streets in Colorado City. |
| August 2022 | Flash Flood | Colorado City | $1,000 | Short Creek flooded Hildale Street. |
| August 2021 | Flash Flood | Colorado City | $1,000 | Richard Street was closed for five to ten minutes due to flooding of Short Creek. |
| September 2018 | Flash Flood | Colorado City | $1,000 | Airport Avenue was closed from Highway 389 to Central Street. |
| August 2016 | Flash Flood | Colorado City | $1,000 | Ten to 12 inches of water flowed over the Central Street crossing of Short Creek. |
| July 2013 | Flash Flood | Colorado City | $1,000 | Central Street in Colorado City was closed due to flooding. |
| July 2013 | Flash Flood | Colorado City | $1,000 | Four to six inches of water and small rocks washed across streets in Colorado City. |
| July 2013 | Flash Flood | Colorado City | $1,000 | A foot of water flowed over Johnson Ave. in Colorado City. |
| August 2013 | Flash Flood | Colorado City | $1,000 | A foot of water flowed down Johnson Ave. |
| July 2011 | Lightning | Colorado City | $1,000 | Lightning struck and split a tree. |
| July 2024 | Flood | Colorado City | - | There was minor street flooding in Colorado City. |
| September 2014 | Hail | Colorado City | - | Colorado City Fire Department reports quarter sized hail in town. |
| July 2006 | Hail | Colorado City | - | A few stones up to ping-pong ball size. |
| September 2004 | Funnel Cloud | Colorado City | - | There were 15 different reports of funnel clouds southwest of Colorado City. |
| September 1998 | Flood | Colorado City | - | Minor flooding of roadways and yards was reported with three-quarters (0.75) of an inch of rainfall occurring overnight. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cane Beds | 5.3 miles | 21 | |
| Moccasin | 12.8 miles | 21 | |
| Indian Moccasin | 13.9 miles | 22 | |
| Kaibab | 14.0 miles | 22 | |
| Sixmile Village | 21.1 miles | 22 | |
| Nagles Crossing | 22.7 miles | 21 | |
| Booze Crossing | 23.2 miles | 21 | |
| Rock Crossing | 26.6 miles | 16 |
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 Colorado City | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q998951 | 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 3123. 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.
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.









