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Continental, Arizona

20 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1904 and the latest in 2004. It stands in the Tucson census division. It lies in ZIP code area 85614. The Survey maps it on the Green Valley quadrangle. It stands 2,864 feet above sea level.

Continental within Pima County

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 20 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

98 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 98 fires within 5 miles of Continental between 1992 and 2020, burning about 283 acres in total. 5 started naturally. None was 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/undetermined80
Smoking6
Natural5
Equipment and vehicle use3
Railroad operations and maintenance1
Debris and open burning1
Recreation and ceremony1
Misuse of fire by a minor1

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
27 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreArizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Officenot named
19 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreGreen Valley Fire Districtnot named
16 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreGreen Valley Fire Districtnot named
10 September 1999Natural1.0 acresArizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State OfficeDUVAL
8 August 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreArizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Officenot named
29 August 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreArizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Officenot named
29 August 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreGreen Valley Fire District7628
26 August 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreGreen Valley Fire DistrictNOT NAMED

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Pima County

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Continental: 1 occurrence, 1 unknown. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Copper, 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
Fico PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
LuceroCopperOccurrence

Every working recorded in Pima County

Storms near this place

29 since 2007

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Continental in 29 storm reports between 2007 and 2024: 10 thunderstorm wind, 8 hail, 5 flash flood, 3 lightning. 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 2021Thunderstorm WindContinental$100,000Thunderstorms winds downed 30 power poles and dozens of trees in Green Valley and Sahuarita. One of the downed trees broke a water main and other blocked streets. Around 10,000 customers were without power into the overnight hours. A CoCoRaHS observer on the southeast side of Green Valley measured a wind gust of 66 mph at 1855MST.
July 2022HailContinental$50,000Ping pong size hail buffeted Green Valley for several minutes. Numerous sky lights were damaged and several houses suffered broken windows.
July 2022Thunderstorm WindContinental$50,000Thunderstorm winds blew down a road sign near the Continental exit of Interstate 19 and 100 trees were downed in Green Valley.
July 2013Thunderstorm WindContinental$30,000Thunderstorm winds downed several trees including three 45-year old eucalyptus trees. Some trees fell onto houses causing minor roof damage and one ruptured a roof-mounted gas line. Another downed tree shattered a patio wall. Several 16 foot garage doors on newer homes were damaged or destroyed because the side of garage was constructed with an opening to a gated patio between the house and attached garage. The fire station at Esperanza Blvd. and La Canada Drive also sustained minor roof damage.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindContinental$25,000Strong thunderstorm downburst winds downed or snapped off 18 power poles in Green Valley. One of the power poles landed on a house.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindContinental$17,000Thunderstorm winds blew over and severely damaged a metal hay barn at a horse rescue which was full of bales. Some of the hay bales suffered water damage.
July 2018Heavy RainContinental$15,000Brief heavy rain from a thunderstorm resulted a single vehicle crash on Interstate 19 in Green Valley. After the driver lost control of the vehicle, it crashed into a tree in the median. All three occupants were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
September 2012Heavy RainContinental$15,000The second heavy rain of the morning overwhelmed a roof drain system on Continental School in Green Valley. Ceiling tiles collapsed from the weight of the rain and carpets were damaged. In addition, a motorist lost control of a vehicle in heavy rain along Interstate 19 near Green Valley. The vehicle left the roadway and crashed into a small tree, injuring the driver.
July 2012Flash FloodContinental$5,000Flash flooding closed Desert Ridge Drive in Green Valley as well as Mission Road near Twin Buttes Cemetery. Farther north, a car became stuck in flood waters near Ajo Highway and Sandario Road. In Avra Valley and Picture Rocks, Manville Road was closed between Sanders and Trico Roads due to flooding as well as Twin Peaks Road between Sandario and Sanders Roads.
July 2010LightningContinental$3,000Lightning struck palm tree in the front yard of a home on Abrego Road, which spread to other nearby trees.
May 2013Dust DevilContinental$2,000A powerful dust devil removed several dozen roof tiles from two homes in Green Valley. Wind speeds were estimated at 65 mph. A stove vent was also blown off one roof.
August 2012Thunderstorm WindContinental$2,000Thunderstorm winds downed a large tree and damaged a pool canopy at the Green Valley Recreation Club.
August 2024Flash FloodContinental$1,000Reports of flash flooding with running water over roadway at the intersection of Sopori Wash and W Arivaca Rd.
August 2015Thunderstorm WindContinental$1,000A pepper tree was uprooted by thunderstorm winds in Green Valley.
July 2014LightningContinental$1,000Lightning struck and burned a pair of palm trees in Green Valley.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindContinental$500Thunderstorm wind gusts to 60 mph downed tree limbs in Green Valley.
July 2013Thunderstorm WindContinental$500Thunderstorms winds downed a tree at Esperanza Estates in Green Valley.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindContinental$500Thunderstorm winds uprooted a tree in Amado.
September 2012Flash FloodContinental$500During the morning hours, brief but heavy rain fell on saturated ground, causing washes to quickly fill and flow across roads. Portions of Camino Del Sol and Mission Roads were closed due to flooding in and near Green Valley.
July 2017LightningContinental$200Lightning struck a tree in Green Valley and caught it on fire.
September 2022Flash FloodContinental-Heavy rain of 3-4 in three hours caused flash flooding and road closures in Green Valley, including Camino Del Sol and Abrego Drive.
August 2021Flash FloodContinental-Heavy rain of 2 to 3.5 in 90 minutes caused flash flooding of washes and the closure of many roadways in Green Valley.
August 2019HailContinental-One inch diameter hail was reported in southern Green Valley.
September 2014HailContinental-One inch diameter hail was reported south of Green Valley.
September 2011HailContinental-A severe thunderstorm produced a swath of large hail from Green Valley northeastward several miles out of town.
July 2007HailContinental-A trained spotter estimated one inch hail near Arivaca Junction.
September 2022HailContinental-no account filed
September 2022HailContinental-no account filed
August 2020HailContinental-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Pima 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
Green Valley1.0 miles20
Green Valley Pueblo Estates3.1 miles20
Duval5.6 miles20
Twin Buttes5.7 miles21
East Sahuarita6.7 miles20
Sahuarita Heights7.2 miles20
Sahuarita7.3 miles20
Arivaca Junction9.8 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 ContinentalAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q16890635The 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 27862. 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.