Gadsden, Arizona
20 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1903 and the latest in 1993. It stands in the Somerton census division. It lies in ZIP code area 85336. The Survey maps it on the Gadsden quadrangle. 571 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 98 feet above sea level.
Population over time
3 figuresGadsden fell from 953 to 571 between 2000 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 953 | |
| 2010 | 678 | -275 (-29%) |
| 2020 | 571 | -107 (-16%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
10 surveys from 20 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.
- 1903 USGS Yuma quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1905 USGS Yuma quadrangle1:125000, 5 printings
- 1942 USGS Yuma quadrangle1:250000
- 1954 USGS El Centro quadrangle1:250000
- 1955 USGS El Centro quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS El Centro quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1961 USGS El Centro quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS El Centro quadrangle1:250000
- 1965 USGS Gadsden quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1993 USGS Yuma quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
86 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 86 fires within 5 miles of Gadsden between 1992 and 2020, burning about 530 acres in total. None started naturally. 9 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 | 61 |
| Debris and open burning | 10 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 9 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 3 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 September 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 2.0 acres | Fort Yuma Agency | COUNTY ROAD |
| 5 September 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 20 acres | Colorado River District | LEVEE |
| 5 September 1992 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Fort Yuma Agency | HUNTER#2 |
| 26 September 2005 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 3.0 acres | Fort Yuma Agency | FAR |
| 23 September 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Fort Yuma Agency | BLIND |
| 21 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Office | not named |
| 19 September 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Fort Yuma Agency | MUD |
| 13 September 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Fort Yuma Agency | CO 17TH |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 16 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 16 workings within 5 miles of Gadsden: 16 unknowns. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Geothermal. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
Storms near this place
3 since 2008Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Gadsden in 3 storm reports between 2008 and 2021: 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 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 2015 | Flash Flood | Gadsden | $100,000 | Scattered thunderstorms affected community of Yuma as well as surrounding communities such as Somerton during the late afternoon and evening hours on September 8th. Due to elevated moisture values, partially a result of tropical moisture from Hurricane Linda starting to move into southern Arizona, the stronger storms produced very heavy rainfall with peak rain rates in excess of 2 inches per hour. A trained spotter 3 miles northeast of Somerton measured 4.6 inches of rain within 2 hours ending at 1900MST. The heavy rain led to flash flooding in the Yuma area and resulted in the issuance of a Flash Flood Warning at 1802MST. At 2000MST, local broadcast media reported that people were leaving flooded houses south of highway 95 between Joshua Street and Bingham Avenue. The flash flooding took place about 1 mile southeast of the town of Somerton. Fortunately there were no injuries reported due to the flooding. |
| July 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gadsden | $4,000 | A trained weather spotter reported that an unknown number of power poles were down due to severe thunderstorms. Location and timing was estimated from radar and the APS power outage map. Radar estimated winds between 50-60 mph in the area. No injuries were reported. |
| August 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gadsden | - | Strong and gusty winds, along with heavy rain rolled through parts of Yuma and San Luis. Arizona Public Service reported 26 power poles were knocked down in San Luis with seven main lines impacted. Trees were uprooted and caused property damage. At the Yuma airport, winds were clocked at 44 mph. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Luis | 4.7 miles | 13 | |
| Somerton | 4.9 miles | 24 | |
| Yuma Indian Homesteads | 6.6 miles | 28 | |
| Steam | 12.8 miles | 28 | |
| Yuma | 14.5 miles | 27 | |
| Araby | 16.2 miles | 27 | |
| San Dionysio (historical) | 17.8 miles | 28 | |
| Fortuna | 19.9 miles | 20 |
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 Gadsden | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1490945 | 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 43131. 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.









