BlockCotton Center, Arizona
16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1951 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Gila Bend census division. It lies in ZIP code area 85326. The Survey maps it on the Cotton Center quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 16 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.
- 1951 USGS Cotton Center quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS Phoenix quadrangle1:250000, 5 printings
- 1957 USGS Phoenix quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Phoenix quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Phoenix quadrangle1:250000
- 1969 USGS Phoenix quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1971 USGS Phoenix quadrangle1:250000
- 1973 USGS Cotton Center quadrangle1:24000
- 1981 USGS Phoenix South quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
59 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 59 fires within 5 miles of Cotton Center between 1993 and 2020, burning about 351 acres in total. 1 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/undetermined | 44 |
| Debris and open burning | 5 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 5 |
| Smoking | 3 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
| Natural | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 September 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - Central District | PIERPOINT |
| 7 August 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Buckeye Fire Department | NOT NAMED |
| 31 August 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 140 acres | Phoenix District Office | GILA |
| 2 August 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Office | 154178 |
| 12 August 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Office | COTTON CENTER |
| 10 August 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Buckeye Fire Department | NOT NAMED |
| 6 July 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 27 acres | Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - Central District | FORNES |
| 6 July 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - Central District | POYNER |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Cotton Center: 1 occurrence. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Gold. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold Bug 1-3 | Gold | Occurrence |
Storms near this place
8 since 2007Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cotton Center in 8 storm reports between 2007 and 2025: 5 flash flood, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 heavy rain. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cotton Center | $50,000 | Between Buckeye and Gila Bend trees were uprooted...signs blown down and one roof blown off a shop. Two miles south of Cotton Center a power pole snapped because of the winds. |
| October 2025 | Flash Flood | Cotton Center | $20,000 | A Maricopa County Flood Control District Stream Gauge located along Rainbow Wash near Highway 85 showed water levels rising above the alarm stage level of 1.3 feet and exceeding the bankfull level of 4.1 feet, peaking at 4.57 feet (2842 cfs). This resulted in all downstream low-water crossings to become flooded with several inches of flowing water. This included the old U.S. 80 near Patterson Road, where a water rescue was performed. Timing based on the stream gauge located along the wash. No injuries reported. |
| September 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cotton Center | $2,000 | Downed power poles reported near West Patterson Road in Buckeye. No injuries reported. |
| October 2018 | Flash Flood | Cotton Center | $2,000 | Widespread moderate to heavy showers developed during the morning hours across the lower deserts southwest of Phoenix on October 13th. Some of the heavier showers affected the area between Gila Bend and the town of Buckeye. Peak rain rates exceeded one inch per hour and were sufficient to cause episodes of flash flooding. According to the Maricopa County Department of Transportation, at 1300MST flash flooding caused the closure of old US Highway 80; it was closed for northbound travel at Patterson Road. The flooding occurred about midway between Gila Bend and Buckeye, and on the west side of Highway 85. No accidents were reported due to the flooding. A Flash Flood Warning was issued for the area at about 1000MST and it remained in effect through 1400MST. |
| October 2018 | Flash Flood | Cotton Center | $2,000 | Copious amounts of tropical moisture spread north and into southwest Maricopa County during the morning hours on October 2nd; the moisture was associated with the remnants of former hurricane Rosa. The deep moisture resulted in widespread moderate to heavy showers along with episodes of flash flooding to the southwest of Phoenix. According to a report from the Maricopa County Department of Transportation, at roughly 0900MST flash flooding resulted in Old US 80 as well as Patterson Road becoming impassable. The report was received via Twitter. A Flash Flood Warning was issued for the area at 0809MST and it remained in effect through 1115MST. No reports of accidents were received as a result of the flooded roadways. |
| October 2022 | Flash Flood | Cotton Center | - | A Maricopa County Flood Control District Streamflow Gauge along Rainbow Wash reported flow rising to above alarm stage (1.4 feet) between 17:21 and 17:25 MST, exceeding the bankfull stage (4.1 feet) between 18:17 and 18:27 MST and peaking at 4.42 feet (2368 cfs) at around 18:55 MST. Any flooding impacts from the wash included Old US-80 and Patterson Road, located about 5.6 miles downstream. The wash went below bankfull stage at around 19:31 MST, before another rise above the bankfull stage occurred at around 23:02 MST. The flow did not go below action stage until around 00:47 MST on the 16th. |
| July 2020 | Flash Flood | Cotton Center | - | Thunderstorms with heavy rain developed to the southwest of Phoenix during the afternoon hours on July 23rd, resulting in an episode of flash flooding approximately 15 miles to the southwest of the town of Buckeye. Flash flooding resulted in the closure of old US 80 at Rainbow Wash at about 1515MST. The wash quickly rose over 3.5 feet. The timing of the flooding was based on stream gage data from the Maricopa County Flood Control network. Flash flooding was observed on video by a trained weather spotter; he could see the flood waters moving through the wash and approaching highway 80. There were no reports of accidents or injury due to the flash flooding. |
| July 2016 | Heavy Rain | Cotton Center | - | A line of strong thunderstorms passed east across southwest Maricopa county during the evening hours on July 1st and in addition to strong gusty wind, the storms produced locally heavy rainfall with intense rainfall rates. Very heavy rain was reported to have fallen to the north of Gila Bend. A trained weather spotter located 11 miles north of Gila Bend and just to the west of Highway 85 measured 1.44 inches of rainfall in a 30 minute period ending at 1930MST. The heavy rainfall led to the issuance of an Urban Flood Advisory which was first issued at 1852MST. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sil Murk (historical) | 7.9 miles | 15 | |
| Point of Rocks | 8.0 miles | 14 | |
| San Lucy Village | 8.9 miles | 15 | |
| Bosque | 9.1 miles | 14 | |
| Gila Bend | 10.0 miles | 15 | |
| Ocapos (historical) | 10.1 miles | 14 | |
| Shawmut | 10.7 miles | 14 | |
| Smurr | 13.7 miles | 14 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 24385. 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.