BlockBefore

Cuchara, Colorado

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1994. It stands in the La Veta census division. It lies in ZIP code area 81055. It stands on Dodgeton Creek. The Survey maps it on the Cuchara quadrangle. It stands 8,468 feet above sea level.

Cuchara within Huerfano County

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 15 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

12 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 12 fires within 5 miles of Cuchara between 1993 and 2020, burning about 13 acres in total. 6 started naturally. None 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
Natural6
Missing data/not specified/undetermined4
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Debris and open burning1

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
5 August 2002Naturalunder an acrePike and San Isabel National ForestHOPE GULCH
12 August 2018Naturalunder an acrePike and San Isabel National ForestBIG BRANCH
4 July 1993Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreHuerfano Countynot named
20 July 2016Naturalunder an acrePike and San Isabel National ForestWHITE PEAK
14 July 2006Naturalunder an acrePike and San Isabel National ForestBLACK HILLS TRAIL
8 June 2001Naturalunder an acrePike and San Isabel National ForestYELLOW PINE
3 June 2018Naturalunder an acrePike and San Isabel National ForestHIGHWAY 12
17 June 2011Power generation/transmission/distributionunder an acrePike and San Isabel National ForestPOWER LINE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Huerfano County

Mines and quarries near this place

4 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Cuchara: 2 prospects, 2 occurrences. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Uranium, Copper, Copper, Uranium, Uranium, Vanadium, Copper, Uranium. 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
Dallas Dottie ProspectUranium, Vanadium, CopperOccurrenceCarnotite
Independent ClaimCopper, UraniumProspect
Spanish Peaks Uranium OccurrenceUraniumOccurrence
Washout ClaimUranium, CopperProspectCopper, Cuprite

Every working recorded in Huerfano County

Storms near this place

14 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cuchara in 14 storm reports between 1998 and 2025: 7 flash flood, 4 hail, 2 lightning, 1 debris flow. The reports record 5 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
July 1999LightningCuchara3 hurtThree people were injured by a lightning flash approximately 100 yards west of the summit of West Spanish Peak. A 44-year old male experienced a direct hit, while his 41-year old male companion felt the side flash and was thrown against some rocks, suffering a skull fracture. A 7-year old boy also experienced the side flash and was thrown down and suffered facial cuts.
July 2006LightningCuchara2 hurtno account filed
July 2025Debris FlowCuchara-EM reported flow over CO-12 in addition to debris flow. Debris caused some overflow in roadside ditches. County Rd 420 and Indian Creek also experienced similar conditions at this time, but no sperate reports.
July 2022Flash FloodCuchara-County Highway 12 closed at mile marker 13 for water over the road.
July 2021Flash FloodCuchara-Highway 12 was closed at Big Branch Creek for water and debris over the road.
July 2021Flash FloodCuchara-Flash flooding occurred over Highway 12, with the road closed.
August 2021Flash FloodCuchara-Emergency management reported that Highway 12 was overtopped with water.
August 2020Flash FloodCuchara-Highway 12 was over topped and a car became stranded in flood waters.
August 2020Flash FloodCuchara-Highway 12 was temporarily closed for a flash flood and minor debris flow off of the Spring burn scar.
July 2020Flash FloodCuchara-Flash flooding over toppled Hwy 12 at mile marker 14.5. Hwy 12 saw approx. 3 inches of mud with 3 inches of water on the road over a distance of approximately 90 feet.
August 2007HailCuchara-no account filed
June 2004HailCuchara-no account filed
July 2000HailCuchara-no account filed
July 1998HailCuchara-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Huerfano 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
Codo8.8 miles21
Occidental9.4 miles18
La Veta10.0 miles18
Muleshoe15.2 miles21
Alamo20.5 miles15
Rouse22.0 miles22
Pryor22.3 miles17
Monson23.0 miles17

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 CucharaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q5192321The 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 203635. 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.