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Whetstone, Arizona

25 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1915 and the latest in 1996. It stands in the Sierra Vista census division. It lies in ZIP code area 85616. The Survey maps it on the Huachuca City quadrangle.

Whetstone within Cochise County

Topographic sheets covering this place

13 surveys from 25 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

49 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 49 fires within 5 miles of Whetstone between 1993 and 2019, burning about 3,446 acres in total. 9 started naturally. 1 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/undetermined29
Natural9
Equipment and vehicle use6
Recreation and ceremony2
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Arson/incendiarism1
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
13 September 1995Natural2.5 acresArizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Officenot named
3 August 2001Natural3.0 acresGila District OfficeSANDS
27 August 2001Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreCoronado National ForestMINE
16 August 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreArizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State OfficeHWY 90 MM 305
5 July 2003Smoking5.0 acresArizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State OfficeSPRINGS
3 July 2014Naturalunder an acreArizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State OfficeSTRIKE
29 July 1996Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreArizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Officenot named
24 July 1994Naturalunder an acreArizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Officenot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Cochise County

Mines and quarries near this place

5 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Whetstone: 3 occurrences, 1 past producer, 1 unknown. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Gypsum-Anhydrite, Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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
Townsend PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Twin Butte PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Southern Whetstone MountainsGypsum-AnhydriteOccurrenceGypsum, Selenite
Southern Whetstone Mtns GypsumGypsum-AnhydriteOccurrence
Unnamed Mineral LocationGypsum-AnhydriteOccurrence

Every working recorded in Cochise County

Storms near this place

6 since 2007

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Whetstone in 6 storm reports between 2007 and 2024: 3 flash flood, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
September 2020Flash FloodWhetstone$35,000Over two inches of rain fell in one hour and nearly three inches in about two hours southwest of Saint David prior to midnight, but flash flooding continued into September 9th. Flash flooding occurred over a small stretch of Highway 90 north of Kartchner Caverns and eastward to the western reaches of Saint David where both Sabin and Patton Roads were closed due to flooding. Significant sedimentation caused one small stream to widen beyond its normal reaches, flooding several yards and two homes. Route 80 northwest of Saint David was also flooded as the culvert became overwhelmed by sediment and flood waters.
July 2012Thunderstorm WindWhetstone$3,000Thunderstorm winds blew apart a carport in Whetstone.
August 2007Flash FloodWhetstone$2,000Flash flooding occurred in Whetstone at an RV dealership mainly impacting the maintenance bays.
September 2024Thunderstorm WindWhetstone$1,000Uprooted tree at the Loves Truck Stop at the intersection of Interstate 10 and Highway 90 found on social media.
September 2019Flash FloodWhetstone-Heavy rain of around 2 inches in less than 6 hours caused several roads to become flooded in Saint David, Huachuca City and Sierra Vista.
December 2008HailWhetstone-Small hail resulted in numerous accidents on Highway 90 south of Benson. One of these accidents resulted in the fatality as a truck slid off the road into a concrete culvert.

Every storm recorded in Cochise 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
Campstone4.5 miles25
Huachuca City5.6 miles25
Boquillas7.8 miles21
Benson Junction8.3 miles21
Fairbank (historical)8.6 miles21
Contention8.9 miles21
Miles Manor10.4 miles26
Apache Flats10.4 miles26

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 2652386. 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.