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Aroya, Colorado

12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Kit Carson census division. It lies in ZIP code area 80862. It lies in Aroya Gulch. The Survey maps it on the Aroya quadrangle. It stands 4,580 feet above sea level.

Aroya within Cheyenne County

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 12 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

4 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Aroya between 1995 and 2018, burning about 25 acres in total. None 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/undetermined2
Arson/incendiarism1
Equipment and vehicle use1

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
8 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreColorado State Forest Service-State Headquartersnot named
23 August 1995Arson/incendiarismunder an acreCheyenne Countynot named
24 May 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined25 acresWest Cheyenne Fire Protection District (Kit Carson Volunteer Fire Department)UNKNOWN
2 May 2017Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreWest Cheyenne Fire Protection District (Kit Carson Volunteer Fire Department)UNKNOWN

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Cheyenne County

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Aroya: 1 occurrence, 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: 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
UnkSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrence

Every working recorded in Cheyenne County

Storms near this place

36 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Aroya in 36 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 22 hail, 12 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, 1 flash flood. 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
August 2023HailAroya$10,000Baseball size hail broke numerous double paned windows in a home in extreme northwest Cheyenne County. A few miles away, quarter to golf ball size hail accumulated to a depth of six inches.
August 2025Flash FloodAroya$1,000Basement of residence was flooded. Storm total was 3.5 inches.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindAroya-Mesonet site UP695 reported a 58 mph wind gust.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindAroya-The mesonet site UPR site UP695 in Aroya measured the wind gust.
June 2024HailAroya-Public report of 2.75 inch hail.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindAroya-The mesonet station UP695 near Aroya measured a 66 MPH gust 17:59 CT and another 59 MPH gust at 18:09 CT.
July 2022HailAroya-Hail sizes ranged from half inch to penny in size.
April 2021Tornado (EFU)Aroya-First of several tornadoes that occurred in quick succession. This was the larger initial one that was captured by storm chaser footage and reported by law enforcement.
September 2021Thunderstorm WindAroya-As a line of thunderstorms moved over Highway 94 near the town of Aroya, a 2 inch tree branch was snapped off a nearby tree and found laying on the highway.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindAroya-A Davis weather station on the property recorded a 71 mph wind gust associated with the outflow of an approaching thunderstorm.
August 2021HailAroya-Report received of half dollar sized hail at location.
August 2021HailAroya-Report received via mPing of half dollar sized hail at location. Time is radar-estimated.
May 2020Thunderstorm WindAroya-An estimated 75 mph wind gust was reported at the location with up to half inch hail covering more than half of the ground.
July 2019Thunderstorm WindAroya-The temperature was rising while the dewpoint was falling at the time of the report.
May 2016Thunderstorm WindAroya-The wind blew like a hurricane taking some leaves off the trees. The winds briefly reached 60 MPH then declined to an estimated 45 MPH.
August 2016Thunderstorm WindAroya-The report was relayed from local media.
September 2014Thunderstorm WindAroya-Wind gust was measured by a Davis weather station.
June 2010HailAroya-Most hail stones were nickel size but the largest were the size of a quarter.
June 2004HailAroya-Broke windshield.
July 2016HailAroya-no account filed
June 2014HailAroya-no account filed
June 2014Thunderstorm WindAroya-no account filed
June 2013HailAroya-no account filed
June 2011HailAroya-no account filed
June 2011HailAroya-no account filed
July 2008Thunderstorm WindAroya-no account filed
July 2005HailAroya-no account filed
June 2002HailAroya-no account filed
June 2002HailAroya-no account filed
April 2000HailAroya-no account filed
June 1999HailAroya-no account filed
July 1996HailAroya-no account filed
May 1996HailAroya-no account filed
May 1996HailAroya-no account filed
July 1996HailAroya-no account filed
July 1996HailAroya-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Cheyenne 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
Wild Horse6.3 miles12
Fort Big Spring16.6 miles13
Kit Carson18.9 miles13
Mount Pearl19.3 miles13
Firstview31.2 miles13
Cheyenne Wells41.0 miles14
Old Wells42.5 miles14
Arapahoe50.0 miles14

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 AroyaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q4795670The 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 195190. 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.