BlockSomerton, Arizona
24 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 85350. The Survey maps it on the Somerton quadrangle. 14,197 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 105 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresSomerton fell from 14,287 to 14,197 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 | 14,287 | |
| 2020 | 14,197 | -90 (-1%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
12 surveys from 24 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
- 1940 USGS Yuma quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1942 USGS Yuma quadrangle1:250000
- 1945 USGS Yuma quadrangle1:62500
- 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 Somerton quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1993 USGS Yuma quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
74 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 74 fires within 5 miles of Somerton between 1992 and 2020, burning about 302 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 8 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 | 45 |
| Debris and open burning | 13 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 8 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 3 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
| Natural | 1 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 20 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Yuma Fire Department | NOT NAMED |
| 13 September 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 2.0 acres | Fort Yuma Agency | EAST MAIN |
| 11 September 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 1.2 acres | Fort Yuma Agency | COTTONWOOD |
| 4 August 1998 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Fort Yuma Agency | HOMESTEAD |
| 31 August 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Colorado River District | BOARDER |
| 30 August 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 2.0 acres | Colorado River District | PACIFIC |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 39 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 39 workings within 5 miles of Somerton: 39 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
9 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Somerton in 9 storm reports between 1994 and 2021: 7 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood, 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 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Somerton | $150,000 | Somerton police reported power lines down due to very strong winds from thunderstorms. At the peak of the storm, between 2,500 and 3,000 APS customers were without power. A large tree in the 3300 block of 15th Avenue in The Dunes subdivision was knocked down. Power outages were also reported on the Cocopah Reservation at County 18th Street and Avenue D and in the north end of the city of Yuma. |
| September 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Somerton | $15,000 | Scattered thunderstorms developed across the Yuma area during the late afternoon and evening hours on September 8th, and due to elevated amounts of moisture and instability, the stronger storms produced gusty and damaging microburst winds in excess of 60 mph. According to a trained spotter located about 4 miles to the southeast of Somerton, microburst winds estimated at 65 mph downed a number of palm trees. Additionally, the strong winds uprooted a fruit tree and knocked a number of branches off of trees in the area. The branches had diameters between 4 and 6 inches. |
| September 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Somerton | $10,000 | A cluster of slow moving and very intense thunderstorms developed in the Yuma and Somerton area during the afternoon hours on September 9th. The storms generated strong, gusty and damaging microburst winds. According to a trained weather spotter 4 miles southeast of Somerton, wind gusts estimated to be at least 60 mph picked up and blew a metal shed a distance of approximately 30 yards. Another homeowner in Somerton had a 8 by 10 foot shed shifted several degrees off of its foundation by high winds. Also, the winds broke off a number of tree limbs estimated to be 4 inches or greater in diameter. Finally, as seen in a video posted on ABC15.com, strong thunderstorm wind gusts blew down about 40 feet of block wall in the back yard of an area homeowner. The falling wall nearly fell on top of man who was in the back yard, attempting to see if the 60 mph winds would support him if he fell face-first into the wind. |
| July 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Somerton | $4,000 | A trained weather spotter reported that an unknown number of power poles were down due to severe thunderstorms. Timing was estimated from radar and the APS outage map. Radar estimated winds between 50-60 mph in the area. No injuries were reported. |
| August 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Somerton | $1,000 | Thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours across portions of far southwestern Arizona on August 22nd, and they affected the communities of Yuma and Somerton. The storms produced a wide variety of weather, including gusty and damaging winds estimated to be in excess of 50 mph. A trained weather spotter 4 miles southeast of Somerton reported that gusty outflow winds caused a number of branches to be blown off of trees. The branches were at least 3 inches in diameter. A Severe Thunderstorm Warning had been issued for the area around Somerton, beginning at 1802MST and continuing until 1900MST. |
| September 2012 | Heavy Rain | Somerton | - | A cluster of slow moving and intense thunderstorms developed in the Yuma and Somerton areas during the late afternoon hours on September 9th. In addition to damaging microburst winds, the storms produced locally heavy rainfall with peak rain rates well in excess of one inch per hour. At 613 pm, a trained weather spotter 4 miles southeast of Somerton reported very heavy rain. The spotter measured three quarters of an inch of rain in a forty minute period. The heavy rain prompted the issuance of a Small Stream Flood Advisory at 510 pm, and led to flooding of area roads and washes, such as the Fortuna Wash. |
| September 1997 | Flash Flood | Somerton | - | Tropical Storm Nora produced upwards of 3 inches of rainfall in Somerton. Water got to about 3 feet deep, forcing the evacuation of about 750 residents from two mobile home parks. |
| September 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Somerton | - | A series of thunderstorms moved through the Yuma area during the early morning hours. Rainfall amounts up to 2.5 inches led to the flooding of four homes about eight miles south of Yuma. Several roads in Somerton and U.S. 95 about eight miles northeast of Yuma were closed due to flooding. Two cars were pushed off U.S. 95 at Fortuna Wash, but the motorists were rescued unharmed. Also, localized strong winds knocked over at least five power poles on County Road 14 in Somerton. The Yuma County Extension Agent estimated crop damages from the flood approaching $1 million, mainly cotton. |
| August 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Somerton | - | no account filed |
Newspapers printed here
399 digitised pages1 paper published in this town, digitised by the Library of Congress and free to read: 46 issues, 399 pages. Every page is searchable, so a name or a street can be looked for directly in what the town printed about itself at the time.
| Newspaper | Published |
|---|---|
| Migrant's Mike | 1941 to 194? |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yuma Indian Homesteads | 2.5 miles | 28 | |
| Gadsden | 4.9 miles | 20 | |
| San Luis | 8.5 miles | 13 | |
| Steam | 9.1 miles | 28 | |
| Yuma | 10.0 miles | 27 | |
| Araby | 11.3 miles | 27 | |
| San Dionysio (historical) | 13.1 miles | 28 | |
| Fortuna | 15.1 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 Somerton | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q79475 | 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 11548. 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.