Cottonwood, Arizona
29 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1887 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Mingus Mountain census division. It lies in ZIP code area 86326. It stands on Blowout Creek. The Survey maps it on the Cottonwood quadrangle. 12,029 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 3,314 feet above sea level.
On record in Cottonwood
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 11 records
Building at 826 North Main Streetlisted 1986
Clemenceau Public Schoollisted 1986
Cottonwood Commercial Historic Districtlisted 2021
Edens Houselisted 1986
Master Mechanic's Houselisted 1986
Smelter Machine Shoplisted 1986
Superintendent's Residencelisted 1986
UVX Smelter Operations Complexlisted 1986
Willard Houselisted 1986- Strahan House
- Thompson Ranch
Population over time
2 figuresCottonwood grew from 11,265 to 12,029 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 | 11,265 | |
| 2020 | 12,029 | +764 (+7%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
14 surveys from 29 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.
- 1887 USGS Prescott quadrangle1:250000
- 1892 USGS Prescott quadrangle1:250000, 5 printings
- 1905 USGS Jerome quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1944 USGS Mingus Mountain quadrangle1:62500
- 1944 USGS Mingus Mtn quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1947 USGS Mingus Mtn quadrangle1:62500
- 1950 USGS Prescott quadrangle1:250000
- 1954 USGS Prescott quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1958 USGS Prescott quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Prescott quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1960 USGS Prescott quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1965 USGS Prescott quadrangle1:250000
- 1973 USGS Cottonwood quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1981 USGS Prescott quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
302 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 302 fires within 5 miles of Cottonwood between 1992 and 2020, burning about 214 acres in total. 14 started naturally. 2 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 | 254 |
| Natural | 14 |
| Debris and open burning | 9 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 8 |
| Smoking | 5 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 4 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 3 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2020 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Prescott National Forest | OXBOW |
| 6 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Office | not named |
| 30 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Office | not named |
| 29 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Verde Valley Fire District | NOT NAMED |
| 26 September 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Office | 12-0002075 |
| 23 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Verde Valley Fire District | NOT NAMED |
| 23 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Verde Valley Fire District | NOT NAMED |
| 19 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Office | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 27 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 27 workings within 5 miles of Cottonwood: 8 prospects, 8 past producers, 6 producers, 3 unknowns. 6 still produce. What was taken out: Copper, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Uranium, Gold, Silver. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green Monster Group | Copper, Silver, Gold | Past Producer | ||
| Green Monster Mine | Gold, Copper, Silver | Producer | Chalcocite, Chalcopyrite, Gold | |
| Jerome Slag Dump | Copper, Iron | Unknown | ||
| Mccarthy Clay | Clay | Occurrence | ||
| Sullivan-Burke Property | Iron | Prospect | ||
| Clarkdale Cement Plant | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Clarkdale Mill | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Cliff Mine | Copper, Silver | Producer | Chalcopyrite, Copper | |
| Amazon and Missouri Claims | Copper, Gold, Silver | Past Producer | ||
| Farview Group | Copper, Uranium | Prospect |
Storms near this place
23 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cottonwood in 23 storm reports between 1995 and 2022: 5 thunderstorm wind, 5 hail, 5 heavy rain, 3 flash flood. 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 1999 | Lightning | Cottonwood | $40,000 | A stationary trough of low pressure centered over Nevada introduced strong westerly vertical shear to northern Arizona. This shear combined with the ever present monsoon moisture to produce numerous reports of severe weather across Yavapai county. The tornado 8 miles east of Chino Valley was observed to land in an open field and did no damage. Lightning started a house fire in Cottonwood. |
| August 2018 | Lightning | Cottonwood | $10,000 | A lightning strike started a house fire. No injuries were reported. |
| July 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | $500 | no account filed |
| August 2022 | Hail | Cottonwood | - | Hail up to one inch in diameter fell in Cottonwood. |
| July 2021 | Flash Flood | Cottonwood | - | Street flooding was reported in Cottonwood with water flowing over the road. |
| August 2017 | Flash Flood | Cottonwood | - | Cottonwood Police Department reported flooding in homes in several areas in Cottonwood. |
| July 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | - | Strong thunderstorm winds snapped a tree trunk greater than 12 inches in diameter in front of the Clemenceau Heritage Museum. The thunderstorm also produced penny sized hail and over an inch of rain in 30 minutes. |
| June 2015 | Heavy Rain | Cottonwood | - | Heavy rain for 30 minutes (1.50 inches)--enough to float a small boat on the roads. |
| September 2015 | Heavy Rain | Cottonwood | - | Several heavy thunderstorms produced 2.44 inches of rain at the Jerome State Historical Park. This lead to flash flooding over the Old Jerome Highway. |
| August 2014 | Heavy Rain | Cottonwood | - | Heavy rain caused street flooding in Cottonwood and one street (Aspen) was closed due to the flooding. |
| September 2009 | Heavy Rain | Cottonwood | - | Heavy rain and flowing washes were reported by a spotter 3 miles southwest of Cottonwood. |
| May 2009 | Heavy Rain | Cottonwood | - | Heavy rain from a thunderstorm fell over the Cottonwood area. Rainfall rates exceeded 2.00 inches an hour in some reports. Street flooding was reported all over town by the Cottonwood Police Department. |
| May 2009 | Hail | Cottonwood | - | Dime sized (3/4 inch diameter) hail was reported in south Cottonwood with very heavy rain. |
| July 2007 | Flood | Cottonwood | - | Flash flooding closed the intersection of 6th and Date Streets. |
| July 2006 | Flash Flood | Cottonwood | - | Three to five inches of rain fell in the Cottonwood area. Roads washed out and concrete slabs were displaced. Several homes had six to twelve inches of water in them. |
| September 1999 | Hail | Cottonwood | - | A Cottonwood weather spotter reported one inch diameter hail. |
| October 1997 | Flood | Cottonwood | - | Highway 260 in Cottonwood flooded by heavy thunderstorm rains. |
| August 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | - | Several trees were blown down from thunderstorm winds. |
| July 2001 | Hail | Cottonwood | - | no account filed |
| July 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | - | no account filed |
| August 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | - | no account filed |
| August 2000 | Funnel Cloud | Cottonwood | - | no account filed |
| September 1996 | Hail | Cottonwood | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smelter City | 0.7 miles | 21 | |
| Clemenceau | 1.0 miles | 29 | |
| Bridgeport | 1.4 miles | 21 | |
| Verde | 1.8 miles | 21 | |
| Verde Village | 2.0 miles | 29 | |
| Centerville | 2.9 miles | 30 | |
| Clarkdale | 3.4 miles | 30 | |
| Tapco | 4.3 miles | 30 |
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 Cottonwood | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q79463 | 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 27993. 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.













