Rio Rico, Arizona
20 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1905 and the latest in 1996. It stands in the Nogales census division. It lies in ZIP code area 85648. It stands on Sonoita Creek. The Survey maps it on the Rio Rico quadrangle. 20,549 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 3,481 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresRio Rico grew from 18,962 to 20,549 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 | 18,962 | |
| 2020 | 20,549 | +1,587 (+8%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 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.
- 1905 USGS Nogales quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
- 1933 USGS Calabasas quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Nogales quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1958 USGS Nogales quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Nogales quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Nogales quadrangle1:250000
- 1981 USGS Rio Rico quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1994 USGS Nogales quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1996 USGS Rio Rico quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
111 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 111 fires within 5 miles of Rio Rico between 1993 and 2020, burning about 236 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 3 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 | 92 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 4 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 3 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 3 |
| Natural | 3 |
| Debris and open burning | 3 |
| Other causes | 1 |
| Smoking | 1 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 September 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Office | COCHISE |
| 20 September 2003 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Office | TIRE |
| 7 August 1995 | Natural | 1.0 acres | Coronado National Forest | RATTANY |
| 5 August 2019 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Rio Rico Fire District | NOT NAMED |
| 4 August 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Tubac Fire District | 181041 |
| 23 August 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Office | not named |
| 2 August 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Office | not named |
| 9 July 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Office | MAGIC 8 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
8 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Rio Rico: 5 past producers, 1 producer, 1 prospect, 1 occurrence. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Tungsten, Silver, Copper, Gold, Copper, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Central | Lead, Silver, Gold | Past Producer | ||
| Mountain View Mine | Copper, Gold, Lead, Silver | Past Producer | ||
| Calabasas Area | Tungsten | Producer | Scheelite, Wolframite | |
| Colorado | Tungsten | Prospect | ||
| Polario and Regal | Silver, Copper, Gold | Past Producer | ||
| Tubuana Mine | Copper, Silver, Gold | Past Producer | ||
| Tubutana Mine | Copper, Silver | Past Producer | 1901 | |
| Wise Prospect | Silver, Copper | Occurrence | 1870 |
Storms near this place
22 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Rio Rico in 22 storm reports between 1997 and 2016: 12 flash flood, 6 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rio Rico | $120,000 | no account filed |
| July 2006 | Flash Flood | Rio Rico | $20,000 | At 1600 MST a trained spotter in the Community of Tubac reported that the washes were running very high and that about 2 inches of rain had fallen in that area. Again around 1600 MST the Santa Cruz County Flood Control Official reported flooding in the Community of Tumacacori. The official reported that a box culvert had overtopped near the frontage road of Interstate 19. A private residence had one foot of water enter the home and the visitor center at the Tumacacori National Monument also had a foot of water flood their property. Additionally, at 1640 MST the Santa Cruz County Flood Control Official reported that 8 inches of water was flowing over Interstate 19 at the Chavez Siding Road exit. Two vehicles were reported to be stuck in the flood water at the underpass located near the same exit. |
| August 2004 | Flash Flood | Rio Rico | $20,000 | Significant rain fell in the town of Rio Rico causing significant street flooding as well as homes being flooded and property being ruined. High water flowed down the streets, causing them to be impassable. 7 homes were flooded, some with damage. The force of the water also knocked a block wall down along one backyard. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rio Rico | $5,000 | no account filed |
| August 2001 | Hail | Rio Rico | $5,000 | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Flash Flood | Rio Rico | $3,000 | A county official reported that the Vereda Nebline Road was washed out and was impassable. |
| August 2016 | Flash Flood | Rio Rico | $2,000 | Heavy rain caused Peck Canyon to overflow its banks and flood adjacent streets in Rio Rico. |
| July 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rio Rico | $2,000 | Severe thunderstorm winds impacted much of Santa Cruz County. Law enforcement reported a tree was downed by the winds near the intersection of State Highway 82 and Duquesne Road. A trained spotter measured a wind gust of 60 mph near Rio Rico, and another trained spotter measured a wind gust of 58 mph at Nogales. |
| August 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rio Rico | $500 | no account filed |
| September 2014 | Flash Flood | Rio Rico | - | Heavy rain caused flash flooding along Peck Canyon. Two males were rescued from Peck Canyon just outside of Rio Rico. Neither were injured. |
| September 2014 | Flash Flood | Rio Rico | - | Thunderstorms in the area of Rio Rico caused the overflowing of several washes which rendered parts of Pendleton Drive impassable. |
| May 2012 | Hail | Rio Rico | - | Hail up to the size of pennies covered the ground in Rio Rico. |
| September 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rio Rico | - | A trained spotter measured a thunderstorm wind gust of 62 mph. |
| July 2006 | Hail | Rio Rico | - | A trained spotter reported golf ball size hail (1.75 inches) near exit number 40 on Interstate 19. |
| August 2006 | Flash Flood | Rio Rico | - | Sonoita Wash flooded several roadways near the Town of Rio Rico, making those roads impassable. |
| July 2005 | Flash Flood | Rio Rico | - | Multiple reports of street flooding in the Town of Tubac and the Town of Rio Rico. Spotters reported rainfall amounts of 1.60 to 2.11 inches in a short period of time. |
| August 2004 | Flash Flood | Rio Rico | - | Several streets in the town of Rio Rico were closed due to high water making them impassable. |
| July 2000 | Flash Flood | Rio Rico | - | Streets impassable. Several people stranded in city park. |
| June 2015 | Hail | Rio Rico | - | no account filed |
| August 2003 | Flash Flood | Rio Rico | - | no account filed |
| August 1997 | Flash Flood | Rio Rico | - | no account filed |
| August 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rio Rico | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calabasas | 0.3 miles | 20 | |
| Otero | 4.6 miles | 20 | |
| Beyerville | 7.6 miles | 20 | |
| Tumacacori | 7.8 miles | 20 | |
| Carmen | 9.0 miles | 20 | |
| Nogales | 9.3 miles | 19 | |
| Tubac | 10.4 miles | 20 | |
| Alto | 10.6 miles | 23 |
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 Rio Rico | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1019215 | 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 36810. 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.








