Cripple Creek, Colorado
26 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1894 and the latest in 1989. It stands in the Cripple Creek census division. It lies in ZIP code area 80813. It lies near Poverty Gulch. The Survey maps it on the Cripple Creek South quadrangle. 1,155 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 9,495 feet above sea level.
On record in Cripple Creek
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 1 record
Cripple Creek Historic DistrictNational Historic Landmark · listed 1966
Population over time
2 figuresCripple Creek fell from 1,189 to 1,155 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 | 1,189 | |
| 2020 | 1,155 | -34 (-3%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
10 surveys from 26 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.
- 1894 USGS Pikes Peak quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1901 USGS Pikes Peak quadrangle1:125000, 6 printings
- 1951 USGS Cripple Creek South quadrangle1:24000, 9 printings
- 1954 USGS Pueblo quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Pueblo quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Pueblo quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Pueblo quadrangle1:250000
- 1966 USGS Pueblo quadrangle1:250000
- 1983 USGS Pikes Peak quadrangle1:100000
- 1989 USGS Pueblo quadrangle1:250000
What the histories say of this town
54,930 words1 chapter about Cripple Creek from the published histories of the county, public domain and reproduced complete.
| Chapter | From | Length |
|---|---|---|
| The Labor History of the Cripple Creek District : a Study in Industria | The Labor History of the Cripple Creek District : a Study in Industrial Evolution (1908) | 54,930 words in 4 parts |
Fires near this place
84 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 84 fires within 5 miles of Cripple Creek between 1992 and 2020, burning about 298 acres in total. 29 started naturally. 5 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 | 33 |
| Natural | 29 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 7 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 5 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 4 |
| Debris and open burning | 2 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
| Smoking | 1 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 September 2009 | Natural | under an acre | Royal Gorge Field Office | PISGAH |
| 23 September 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Cripple Creek Fire & Emergency Services | UNKNOWN |
| 23 September 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Cripple Creek Fire & Emergency Services | UNKNOWN |
| 6 August 2002 | Natural | under an acre | Royal Gorge Field Office | BARNARD |
| 4 August 2000 | Natural | under an acre | Royal Gorge Field Office | PONY GULCH |
| 24 August 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Cripple Creek Fire & Emergency Services | UNKNOWN |
| 17 August 2019 | Natural | under an acre | Front Range District Office | SPRING CANYON |
| 16 August 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Cripple Creek Fire & Emergency Services | UNKNOWN |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 512 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 512 workings within 5 miles of Cripple Creek: 487 past producers, 16 producers, 6 occurrences, 2 plants. 18 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Silver, Gold, Silver, Fluorine-Fluorite. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C.K. & N. Lode, El Paso, Moon Anchor | Gold, Silver, Tellurium | Producer | Vein | |
| Caledonia | Feldspar | Past Producer | Underground | |
| Cripple Creek District | Gold, Semiprecious Gemstone, Antimony, Silver, Mercury, Tellurium | Producer | Calaverite, Gold, Sylvanite, Turquoise, Krennerite | |
| Florence Lode Claim | Gemstone | Producer | Turquoise | |
| Gedney Titanium | Titanium | Past Producer | ||
| Hull City | Gold, Copper, Silver | Past Producer | ||
| Portland No 2 | Sand and Gravel, Construction, Gold | Occurrence | ||
| Ajax Mine | Fluorine-Fluorite | Past Producer | ||
| Flourine Mining Claim Ms#9800 | Gold, Fluorine-Fluorite | Producer | ||
| Molly Kathleen | Gold, Silver | Past Producer | Underground |
Storms near this place
28 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cripple Creek in 28 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 20 hail, 3 flash flood, 2 lightning, 2 tornado. The reports record 2 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2006 | Lightning | Cripple Creek | 2 hurt | Two teenage boys were hospitalized after a lightning strike occurred near them on Teller County Road 1 near Cripple Creek. Neither was seriously injured. |
| May 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cripple Creek | $4,000 | A severe storm produced damaging microbursts just north of Cripple Creek. Scores of pine and aspen trees were leveled, and there was minor damage to a house and surrounding outbuildings and outdoor furniture. The damage path was around 3/4 of a mile long and at a maximum 750 yards wide. |
| May 2025 | Hail | Cripple Creek | - | Hail up to 1 inch in diameter fell across Teller County from severe thunderstorms. |
| July 2024 | Hail | Cripple Creek | - | Hail size and time is estimated based on a picture from social media. |
| August 2024 | Tornado (EF1) | Cripple Creek | - | Damage assessment team confirmed an EF-1 tornado briefly touched down near four mile road. with winds estimated up to 100 mph. The tornado was on the ground for 0.92 miles with an estimated 400 yard wide path of damage. Approximately 300 trees were downed. |
| May 2023 | Hail | Cripple Creek | - | Hail reported in Mueller State Park, posted in a picture on Twitter. |
| June 2023 | Tornado (EF0) | Cripple Creek | - | A tornado warning led to Emergency Managers doing an areal survey with a droned owned by the county. There was a loss of roof covering material (<20%) and one single structure with soft and hard wood trees uprooted along the damage path. |
| August 2017 | Flash Flood | Cripple Creek | - | Flash flooding was noted on County Road 11, where flowing water was more than six inches deep and 100 feet wide for a time. |
| July 2017 | Flash Flood | Cripple Creek | - | Heavy rain caused flash flooding of County Road 11 and properties in the vicinity. The road sustained only minor damage and was quickly repaired. |
| July 2017 | Flash Flood | Cripple Creek | - | Another round of rain caused flash flooding northwest of Cripple Creek on County Road 11. No major road damage was reported. |
| July 2004 | Lightning | Cripple Creek | - | A lightning strike caused a 4-hour power outage to most of Cripple Creek. The outage shut down those casinos and other businesses and residences that did not have emergency generators. |
| July 2023 | Hail | Cripple Creek | - | no account filed |
| July 2023 | Hail | Cripple Creek | - | no account filed |
| July 2016 | Hail | Cripple Creek | - | no account filed |
| July 2010 | Hail | Cripple Creek | - | no account filed |
| July 2010 | Hail | Cripple Creek | - | no account filed |
| July 2010 | Hail | Cripple Creek | - | no account filed |
| July 2009 | Hail | Cripple Creek | - | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Hail | Cripple Creek | - | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Hail | Cripple Creek | - | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Hail | Cripple Creek | - | no account filed |
| August 2004 | Hail | Cripple Creek | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Hail | Cripple Creek | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | Cripple Creek | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Hail | Cripple Creek | - | no account filed |
| July 2000 | Hail | Cripple Creek | - | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Hail | Cripple Creek | - | no account filed |
| July 1996 | Hail | Cripple Creek | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fairview | 1.1 miles | 26 | |
| Anaconda (historical) | 1.3 miles | 26 | |
| Stratton | 1.5 miles | 26 | |
| Mound City (historical) | 1.5 miles | 26 | |
| Beacon Hill | 1.8 miles | 26 | |
| Midway | 1.9 miles | 26 | |
| Elkton | 2.2 miles | 26 | |
| Independence (historical) | 2.4 miles | 26 |
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 Cripple Creek | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q117605 | 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 204769. 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.









