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Cortez, Colorado

11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1956 and the latest in 1982. It stands in the Cortez census division. It lies in ZIP code area 81321. It lies near Hartman Draw. The Survey maps it on the Cortez quadrangle. 8,766 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 6,191 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Cortez within Montezuma County

On record in Cortez

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 7 records

Population over time

2 figures

Cortez grew from 8,482 to 8,766 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.

YearPeople Change
20108,482
20208,766+284 (+3%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 11 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

266 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 266 fires within 5 miles of Cortez between 1992 and 2020, burning about 209 acres in total. 109 started naturally. 3 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/undetermined111
Natural109
Recreation and ceremony20
Debris and open burning9
Equipment and vehicle use4
Misuse of fire by a minor4
Fireworks3
Smoking3
Arson/incendiarism3

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
30 September 1994Naturalunder an acreMontezuma Countynot named
20 September 1995Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMontezuma Countynot named
17 September 2018Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreLewis-Arriola Fire Protection DistrictUNKNOWN
14 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCortez Fire Protection DistrictUNKNOWN
11 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresCortez Fire Protection DistrictUNKNOWN
11 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCortez Fire Protection DistrictUNKNOWN
10 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCortez Fire Protection DistrictUNKNOWN
10 September 2007Naturalunder an acreTres Rios Field OfficePOWERLINE 2

Every fire recorded in Montezuma County

Mines and quarries near this place

6 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Cortez: 3 occurrences, 2 producers, 1 prospect. 2 still produce. 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, ConstructionProducer
UnkSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
UnkSand and Gravel, ConstructionProspect
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrenceGravel
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrenceGravel
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrenceGravel

Every working recorded in Montezuma County

Storms near this place

59 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cortez in 59 storm reports between 1996 and 2023: 10 thunderstorm wind, 9 lightning, 9 wildfire, 8 heavy rain. The reports record 3 injuries. 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 2001LightningCortez3 hurtno account filed
August 2003HailCortez$1,000,000no account filed
August 2002WildfireCortez$300,000no account filed
July 1997LightningCortez$150,000no account filed
June 1996Heavy RainCortez$100,000no account filed
July 1997LightningCortez$60,000no account filed
July 2018Heavy RainCortez$50,000Thunderstorms moved over the area and produced 1.55 inches of rain within an hour and a half. Street flooding occurred as the storm drains were not able to handle the volume of rainfall. Water backed up into an area next to the flooded roads and flowed into the ground level floors of an apartment building. Water also pooled up to about a foot deep in a large vacant field.
June 2006Flash FloodCortez$30,000no account filed
July 2002WildfireCortez$30,000no account filed
October 2006Thunderstorm WindCortez$20,000Large trees were blown down in Cortez. One tree landed on a truck on Market Street. A 50 foot spruce tree about 2.5 feet in diameter was snapped off about 15 feet above the ground. Also, a 75 foot section of the roof on the Ace Hardware store on North Broadway was peeled back.|
September 2005LightningCortez$20,000no account filed
September 2003Flash FloodCortez$20,000no account filed
February 2003Thunderstorm WindCortez$20,000no account filed
August 2023FloodCortez$10,000The emergency manager reported that heavy rain from thunderstorms led to minor flooding across portions of Cortez, including some basements in homes along Highway 491 and Veterans Park.
May 2017LightningCortez$10,000Morning thunderstorms produced frequent lightning which ignited numerous tree fires and blasted a tree which fell across electrical lines. Lightning also sparked a structure fire on South Madison Street in Cortez.
August 2006Flash FloodCortez$10,000no account filed
September 2003Flash FloodCortez$10,000no account filed
June 1999Thunderstorm WindCortez$8,000no account filed
September 2002Thunderstorm WindCortez$7,000no account filed
July 2005LightningCortez$4,000no account filed
May 2004Dust DevilCortez$3,000no account filed
August 2013LightningCortez$2,000A power pole was struck by lightning and started on fire.
July 1998LightningCortez$2,000no account filed
October 1998LightningCortez$500no account filed
August 2022FloodCortez$100Localized flooding occurred at the intersection of 1st Street and South Maple Street as a result of heavy rain from thunderstorms.
August 2023FloodCortez-The emergency manager reported several inches of rain running through the streets of Cortez as a result of heavy rain from thunderstorms. The Cooperative Observer measured 0.55 inches of rain in 35 minutes.
August 2023FloodCortez-The emergency manager reported flooding at the intersection of 25 and L Roads northeast of downtown Cortez as a result of heavy rain from thunderstorms.
July 2018FloodCortez-Thunderstorms moving over the area produced 1.55 inches of rain in an hour and a half. Minor street and building flooding occurred with the first floor of a low lying apartment receiving some water.
August 2016Heavy RainCortez-About 3 miles east of Cortez a storm total of 1.31 inches of rain was measured.
August 2016Heavy RainCortez-In Cortez 0.72 of an inch of rain was measured within a 4 hour period.
September 2013Flash FloodCortez-A car was washed 15 feet off Highway 160 into a ditch by flash flood waters. Mud and debris was also reported at mile marker 29 at the intersection with County Road 21.
July 2007Heavy RainCortez-Thunderstorms produced rainfall of 1.20 inches in Cortez between 1325 and 1410 MST. The heavy rain caused street flooding in Cortez. The water was up to three feet deep on 5th Street.
June 2006Thunderstorm WindCortez-no account filed
June 2006HailCortez-no account filed
September 2006Thunderstorm WindCortez-no account filed
August 2006HailCortez-no account filed
October 2006HailCortez-no account filed
September 2005Funnel CloudCortez-no account filed
August 2005Heavy RainCortez-no account filed
July 2004Heavy RainCortez-no account filed
July 2003WildfireCortez-no account filed
September 2003Flash FloodCortez-no account filed
June 2003Thunderstorm WindCortez-no account filed
August 2003WildfireCortez-no account filed
August 2003HailCortez-no account filed
August 2003HailCortez-no account filed
November 2002FloodCortez-no account filed
September 2002FloodCortez-no account filed
July 2002WildfireCortez-no account filed
July 2000WildfireCortez-no account filed
July 2000WildfireCortez-no account filed
June 2000WildfireCortez-no account filed
August 2000FloodCortez-no account filed
September 1998Funnel CloudCortez-no account filed
July 1998WildfireCortez-no account filed
August 1998Thunderstorm WindCortez-no account filed
July 1998Thunderstorm WindCortez-no account filed
July 1998Thunderstorm WindCortez-no account filed
September 1997Heavy RainCortez-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Montezuma 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
Arriola7.2 miles12
Lebanon7.5 miles10
Dolores9.6 miles10
Lewis11.3 miles12
Badger House Community (historical)11.4 miles12
Towaoc12.5 miles9
Echo House (historical)13.3 miles12
Stapleton14.1 miles10

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 CortezAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1012688The 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 179044. 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.