BlockBefore

Silver Bell, Arizona

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1934 and the latest in 1996. It stands in the Marana census division. It lies in ZIP code area 85653. It lies near Portland Ridge (historical). The Survey maps it on the Silver Bell West quadrangle.

Silver Bell within Pima County

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 15 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

18 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 18 fires within 5 miles of Silver Bell between 1992 and 2019, burning about 1,960 acres in total. 4 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/undetermined8
Natural4
Railroad operations and maintenance2
Debris and open burning2
Recreation and ceremony1
Smoking1

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
24 August 1993Debris and open burningunder an acreArizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Officenot named
16 July 2011Naturalunder an acreGila District OfficeWATERMAN
9 June 1993Railroad operations and maintenance200 acresArizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Officenot named
25 June 2008Natural2.0 acresPapago AgencyWATERMAN
18 June 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNorthwest Fire Rescue DistrictNOT NAMED
11 June 1993Missing data/not specified/undetermined640 acresArizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Officenot named
11 June 1993Missing data/not specified/undetermined15 acresArizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Officenot named
26 May 2005Natural1.0 acresPapago AgencySILVER

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Pima County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 71 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 71 workings within 5 miles of Silver Bell: 40 occurrences, 16 past producers, 9 producers, 5 unknowns. 9 still produce. What was taken out: Copper, Barium-Barite, Molybdenum, 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Atlas Alice GroupCopper, Gold, Silver, ZincUnknown
Atlas Elizibeth GroupGold, Silver, Zinc, CopperUnknown
Atlas MineZinc, Copper, Silver, Gold, Lead, WollastonitePast Producer1915, 1964
Atlas MineZinc, Gold, Lead, Silver, CopperPast Producer
Carlo & Eclipse MinesSilica, Copper, SilverPast Producer1955, 1963
Carlo and Eclipse MinesCopper, Silica, SilverPast Producer
Clarence Amended GroupLead, Silver, Zinc, CopperUnknown
Crepin GroupSilver, Copper, GoldPast Producer
El Tiro Open Pit MineCopper, Gold, Lead, Silver, MolybdenumPast Producer1954
EloiseSilver, GoldPast Producer

Every working recorded in Pima County

Storms near this place

9 since 2007

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Silver Bell in 9 storm reports between 2007 and 2024: 4 flash flood, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, 1 tornado. 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
June 2015HailSilver Bell$50,000Hail up to the size of golf balls damaged several ultralight aircraft an airport near Picture Rocks.
July 2021Flash FloodSilver Bell$5,000Two inches of rain in 2 hours north of Three Points caused flooding of roadways west of Picture Rocks. A vehicle was stranded in floodwaters on Tucker Road at the Blanco Wash.
July 2012Flash FloodSilver Bell$5,000Heavy rain in the northwest part of the Tucson metropolitan area caused extensive urban flash flooding. Portions of Shannon, Magee, La Cholla and Sandario Roads were closed. A person was rescued from their vehicle stranded in flood waters on Sandario Road in Marana.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindSilver Bell$500A heavy wooden tree house was damaged by thunderstorm winds near Avra Valley Rd.
July 2024Thunderstorm WindSilver Bell-A personal weather station reported a wind gust of 58 MPH.
August 2023Tornado (EF0)Silver Bell-Trained spotters submitted a video of a landspout tornado. Location estimated to be in an open area near Orange Grove Road and Blanco Wash Trail.
August 2019Flash FloodSilver Bell-A pocket of 1 to 2 inches of rain fell in less than an hour in Ironwood Forest National Monument. This caused 2 to 3 feet of water to flow across West Silverbell Road.
September 2018Flash FloodSilver Bell-Tucker Rd at Blanca Wash was impassable with 3 feet of water running over the road.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindSilver Bell-A trained spotter recorded a measured wind gust to 63 mph.

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
Silverbell3.8 miles15
Skoksonak6.4 miles15
Quinlin10.4 miles15
Avra Valley10.5 miles16
Queens Well10.6 miles15
Nelson12.6 miles16
Dobson12.7 miles16
Picture Rocks13.7 miles19

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 11314. 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.