Drake, Colorado
23 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1905 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Loveland census division. It lies in ZIP code area 80515. It stands on North Fork Big Thompson River. The Survey maps it on the Drake quadrangle. It stands 6,161 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
11 surveys from 23 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.
- 1905 USGS Mount Olympus quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1907 USGS Mount Olympus quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1907 USGS Mt. Olympus quadrangle1:62500
- 1954 USGS Greeley quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Greeley quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Greeley quadrangle1:250000
- 1961 USGS Greeley quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Drake quadrangle1:24000, 6 printings
- 1964 USGS Greeley quadrangle1:250000
- 1965 USGS Greeley quadrangle1:250000
- 1984 USGS Estes Park quadrangle1:100000, 3 printings
Fires near this place
106 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 106 fires within 5 miles of Drake between 1992 and 2020, burning about 10,868 acres in total. 52 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 |
|---|---|
| Natural | 52 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 32 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 19 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 1 |
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
| Fireworks | 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 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland | SOULSHINE |
| 9 September 1998 | Natural | 80 acres | Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland | STONE MOUNTAIN #2 |
| 7 September 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Big Thompson Canyon Volunteer Fire Department | UNKNOWN |
| 6 September 2000 | Natural | under an acre | Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland | WALTONIA |
| 30 September 2008 | Natural | 10 acres | Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland | QUILLAN GULCH |
| 3 September 2013 | Natural | under an acre | Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland | CEDAR CREEK |
| 3 September 2013 | Natural | under an acre | Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland | SULZER GULCH |
| 23 September 2008 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland | SHEEP |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 14 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 14 workings within 5 miles of Drake: 6 producers, 4 past producers, 3 occurrences, 1 prospect. 6 still produce. What was taken out: Beryllium, Mica, Beryllium, Beryllium, Lithium, 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giant Crystal Mine | Beryllium, Mica | Past Producer | 1960 | |
| Hide Above Lode | Beryllium, Lithium, Uranium | Past Producer | 1958 | |
| Hyatt Ranch Mine | Feldspar, Beryllium, Mica, Uranium, Lithium, Bismuth, Phosphorus-Phosphates | Producer | 1936, 1948 | |
| Lewis Beryl Mine | Feldspar | Past Producer | ||
| Lewis Beryl Prospect | Mica, Beryllium | Occurrence | 1943 | |
| New Hope Claims | Niobium (Columbium), Tantalum, Titanium, Uranium | Prospect | ||
| Hide Away and Hide Above | Beryllium | Occurrence | ||
| Hide-A-Way Claim | Beryllium | Producer | ||
| Hide-A-Way Claim | Beryllium | Producer | ||
| Hideabove | Beryllium | Producer |
Storms near this place
15 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Drake in 15 storm reports between 1998 and 2025: 8 hail, 6 flash flood, 1 wildfire. The reports record 2 deaths. 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 2022 | Flash Flood | Drake | 2 killed, $250,000 | Two people were killed when very heavy rainfall produced flash flooding in the Cameron Peak burn area. |
| June 2000 | Wildfire | Drake | $3,000,000 | no account filed |
| July 2022 | Flash Flood | Drake | $10,000 | A flash flood was observed along Cedar Creek. |
| August 2021 | Flash Flood | Drake | $10,000 | A thunderstorm produced localized flash flood damage along Big Bear Road. |
| August 2024 | Flash Flood | Drake | - | Several rocks laying across Hwy 34, right off the Alexander Mountain burn scar. This was a delayed report and the time was estimated. |
| September 2013 | Flash Flood | Drake | - | Continuous heavy rainfall produced flash flooding. Numerous road closures were reported including Highway 36 from Estes Park to Lyons. |
| September 2013 | Flash Flood | Drake | - | Heavy rain continued to produce widespread flash flooding. Non-stop rain caused road closures, washouts and damage throughout the High Park burn area. |
| June 2025 | Hail | Drake | - | no account filed |
| July 2019 | Hail | Drake | - | no account filed |
| August 2018 | Hail | Drake | - | no account filed |
| July 2011 | Hail | Drake | - | no account filed |
| May 2008 | Hail | Drake | - | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Hail | Drake | - | no account filed |
| August 2004 | Hail | Drake | - | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Hail | Drake | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midway | 0.9 miles | 23 | |
| Waltonia | 1.7 miles | 23 | |
| Cedar Cove | 4.1 miles | 23 | |
| Glen Comfort | 5.9 miles | 23 | |
| Glen Haven | 6.0 miles | 23 | |
| Little Dam | 6.3 miles | 30 | |
| Loveland Heights | 7.2 miles | 23 | |
| Masonville | 7.9 miles | 30 |
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 Drake | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q5305577 | 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 177661. 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.










