White Tanks, Arizona
19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1988. It stands in the Phoenix census division. It lies in ZIP code area 85363. The Survey maps it on the El Mirage quadrangle.
On record in White Tanks
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register within a mile 1 record
The National Register names another town for these. They stand within one mile of this settlement's coordinate.
Sun City DEVCO Model No.1listed 2015 · 0.5 miles away
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 19 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.
- 1954 USGS Phoenix quadrangle1:250000, 5 printings
- 1957 USGS El Mirage quadrangle1:24000, 5 printings
- 1957 USGS Phoenix quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Phoenix quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Phoenix quadrangle1:250000
- 1969 USGS Phoenix quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1971 USGS El Mirage quadrangle1:24000
- 1971 USGS Phoenix quadrangle1:250000
- 1988 USGS Phoenix North quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
613 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 613 fires within 5 miles of White Tanks between 1992 and 2020, burning about 316 acres in total. 6 started naturally. 20 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 | 566 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 20 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 10 |
| Natural | 6 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 5 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 2 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Other causes | 1 |
| Debris and open burning | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Office | AZ-110821 |
| 6 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | El Mirage Fire Department | NOT NAMED |
| 6 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Sun City Fire Department | NOT NAMED |
| 6 September 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Office | AZ-133152 |
| 4 September 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | El Mirage Fire Department | 3065 |
| 4 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Office | AZ-111961 |
| 30 September 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Sun City Fire Department | not named |
| 28 September 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Office | AZ-121942 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
9 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 9 workings within 5 miles of White Tanks: 5 producers, 3 past producers, 1 unknown. 5 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Halite, Mica, Salt. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agua Fria Pit Sun Valley Crushing | Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Alonzo Elder Muscovite #1 | Mica | Producer | ||
| Southwest Mine & Mill | Salt | Producer | ||
| Unidentified Halite Occurrence | Halite | Past Producer | Halite | |
| Arizona Sand & Rock, Agua Fria Plan | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Sand and Gravel Quarry | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sand and Gravel | |
| Union Rock & Materials, El Mirage | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| United Metro Pit & Plant #2 Glendal | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
4 since 2005Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names White Tanks in 4 storm reports between 2005 and 2017: 2 flood, 1 thunderstorm wind, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2010 | Flood | White Tanks | $100,000 | Sheriff reported a road closure due to flooding at Cotton road and Camelback. Numerous other streets in the West Valley had some flooding later in the day. |
| July 2017 | Heavy Rain | White Tanks | - | Thunderstorms with locally heavy rain developed over the far western portions of the greater Phoenix area during the afternoon hours on July 29th, and some of the stronger storms affected the area around Luke Air Force Base. At 1725MST a Maricopa County flood control gage measured 0.71 inches within 30 minutes. The gage was located west of the base at the intersection of West Camelback Road and North Citrus Road. Heavy rain of this magnitude led resulted in urban flooding to the west of the air force base: at 1710MST a report from the public was received indicating that streets were flooded curb to curb and local basins and canals were above capacity. The flooding was just west of the loop 303, near West Glendale Avenue. An Urban and Small Stream Flood Advisory was issued for the area at 1648MST due to the heavy rain and it remained in effect through 1845MST. |
| November 2013 | Flood | White Tanks | - | A Pacific low pressure system off the southern California coast spread copious amounts of moisture into Arizona during the day on Friday, November 22nd. Locally heavy rainfall actually began during the evening hours on the 21st and continued through much of the day Friday the 22nd. By Friday evening many locations across the greater Phoenix area had received between one and two inches of rain. This led to areas of urban and small stream flooding across western portions of the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. According to the Arizona Department of Highways, flooding occurred during the morning hours along the Loop 303 between Camelback Road and Peoria. This forced the closure of the Loop 303. |
| August 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | White Tanks | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Youngtown | 0.7 miles | 19 | |
| Agua Fria | 0.8 miles | 19 | |
| Sun City | 1.5 miles | 19 | |
| Dysart (historical) | 1.5 miles | 19 | |
| Goldbadge | 2.2 miles | 19 | |
| Sunset Village | 2.2 miles | 19 | |
| Villa Vista | 2.5 miles | 19 | |
| Surprise | 2.6 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.
| Wikidata item Q122562137 | 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 13685. 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.








