Hesperus, Colorado
18 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1895 and the latest in 1982. It stands in the Durango census division. It lies in ZIP code area 81326. The Survey maps it on the Hesperus quadrangle. It stands 8,091 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
11 surveys from 18 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.
- 1895 USGS La Plata quadrangle1:62500
- 1897 USGS La Plata quadrangle1:62500
- 1899 USGS La Plata quadrangle1:62500
- 1908 USGS La Plata quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1956 USGS Cortez quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1958 USGS Cortez quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Cortez quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1962 USGS Cortez quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Hesperus quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1966 USGS Cortez quadrangle1:250000
- 1982 USGS Cortez quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
73 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 73 fires within 5 miles of Hesperus between 1993 and 2020, burning about 1,170 acres in total. 36 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 |
|---|---|
| Natural | 36 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 24 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 8 |
| Debris and open burning | 2 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
| Other causes | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 2019 | Natural | under an acre | San Juan National Forest | 858 |
| 5 September 2008 | Natural | under an acre | San Juan National Forest | LIGHTNER |
| 17 September 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | San Juan National Forest | CREEK |
| 15 September 2017 | Natural | under an acre | Fort Lewis-Mesa Fire Protection District | UNKNOWN |
| 1 September 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Durango Fire Rescue Authority | UNKNOWN |
| 9 August 1993 | Natural | under an acre | San Juan National Forest | TOWER |
| 8 August 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Durango Fire Rescue Authority | N/A |
| 6 August 1994 | Natural | under an acre | La Plata County | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 26 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 26 workings within 5 miles of Hesperus: 23 past producers, 2 occurrences, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Gold, Silver, Lead, Silver, 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Escalante | Lead, Copper | Past Producer | ||
| Good Hope Group | Uranium | Occurrence | Roscoelite | |
| May Day | Gold, Silver, Lead, Zinc | Producer | ||
| Oro Negro Group | Gold, Silver, Zinc | Past Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Occurrence | Gravel | |
| Blackhawk | Gold, Lead, Silver | Past Producer | ||
| Brawner Tunnel & Mill | Gold, Lead, Silver | Past Producer | ||
| Golden Girl | Gold, Lead, Silver | Past Producer | ||
| Pat Lode | Gold, Lead, Silver | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
7 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Hesperus in 7 storm reports between 1998 and 2003: 4 hail, 2 heavy rain, 1 wildfire. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2003 | Wildfire | Hesperus | - | no account filed |
| September 2003 | Heavy Rain | Hesperus | - | no account filed |
| August 2003 | Hail | Hesperus | - | no account filed |
| August 2003 | Hail | Hesperus | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | Hesperus | - | no account filed |
| October 2000 | Hail | Hesperus | - | no account filed |
| July 1998 | Heavy Rain | Hesperus | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mayday | 4.9 miles | 18 | |
| Breen | 6.8 miles | 15 | |
| La Plata | 7.8 miles | 19 | |
| Durango | 8.5 miles | 30 | |
| Carbon Junction | 9.8 miles | 20 | |
| Kline | 10.7 miles | 15 | |
| Grandview | 12.0 miles | 20 | |
| Piñon Acres | 12.4 miles | 20 |
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 Hesperus | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q5746072 | 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 179135. 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.










