Naturita, Colorado
19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1916 and the latest in 1994. It stands in the Nucla census division. It lies in ZIP code area 81422. It lies near Bramiers Draw. The Survey maps it on the Naturita quadrangle. 485 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 5,423 feet above sea level.
Population over time
3 figuresNaturita fell from 635 to 485 between 2000 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 635 | |
| 2010 | 546 | -89 (-14%) |
| 2020 | 485 | -61 (-11%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
11 surveys from 19 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.
- 1916 USGS Paradox Valley quadrangle1:125000
- 1922 USGS Paradox Valley quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Moab quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1959 USGS Moab quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Moab quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1962 USGS Moab quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS Moab quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS Naturita quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1965 USGS Moab quadrangle1:250000
- 1983 USGS Nucla quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1994 USGS Naturita quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
249 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 249 fires within 5 miles of Naturita between 1992 and 2020, burning about 140 acres in total. 236 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 | 236 |
| Debris and open burning | 4 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 3 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Smoking | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 1995 | Natural | under an acre | Southwest District, Montrose | NORTH NAT |
| 7 September 1995 | Natural | under an acre | Southwest District, Montrose | RAY |
| 7 September 1995 | Natural | under an acre | Southwest District, Montrose | SAWTOOTH |
| 6 September 1996 | Natural | under an acre | Southwest District, Montrose | NAT RIDGE |
| 6 September 1995 | Natural | under an acre | Southwest District, Montrose | PINTO |
| 4 September 2007 | Natural | under an acre | Southwest District, Montrose | KELLEY |
| 30 September 1998 | Natural | under an acre | Southwest District, Montrose | OVEN |
| 3 September 2009 | Natural | under an acre | Southwest District, Montrose | VANCORUM |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 63 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 63 workings within 5 miles of Naturita: 22 past producers, 21 occurrences, 15 unknowns, 5 producers. 5 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Gold, Uranium, Vanadium. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown | Radium, Vanadium, Uranium | Past Producer | ||
| S.M.R. #2 | Gold, Silver | Past Producer | ||
| Woods Placer Group | Gold, Silver | Past Producer | ||
| Bay State | Radium | Unknown | ||
| Black Eagle | Uranium, Vanadium | Past Producer | ||
| Cummings | Radium, Uranium | Past Producer | ||
| Farmer Boy | Radium, Uranium, Vanadium | Past Producer | ||
| Little Bob Et Al Claims | Uranium, Vanadium | Occurrence | Carnotite | |
| Standard | Radium, Uranium, Vanadium | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Uranium, Vanadium | Producer |
Storms near this place
12 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Naturita in 12 storm reports between 1996 and 2016: 5 flash flood, 2 thunderstorm wind, 1 wildfire, 1 flood. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 1996 | Flash Flood | Naturita | $200,000 | no account filed |
| May 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Naturita | $10,000 | no account filed |
| July 2015 | Flash Flood | Naturita | $5,000 | A strong thunderstorm produced heavy rainfall which resulted in flash flooding up to two feet deep which flowed down canyons and drainages into the southwest area of Naturita and down Highway 141, across Highway 97 and into the San Miguel River. Minor flood damage was reported to some residences and businesses. Jersey barriers already in place in a section of town prevented major flood damage for two businesses. The elementary school playground was covered a thick layer of mud, rocks and other debris. |
| August 2016 | Flash Flood | Naturita | $1,000 | Showers and storms produced heavy rainfall that flowed out of a gorge south of Naturita and produced flash flooding in Naturita. Water to a depth of at least 6 inches flowed over the confluence of Highway 97/Nucla Road and Highway 141/Main Street. Road crews cleared the debris off of the streets. Radar estimated 2 to 3 inches of rainfall at the top of the gorge south of Naturita and 1.8 to 2.0 inches just to the west. |
| August 2016 | Heavy Rain | Naturita | - | In Naturita a strong storm produced very heavy rain and frequent lightning with 0.62 of an inch of rain within 30 minutes. The heavy rainfall resulted in minor flooding at the Naturita Elementary School, with standing water inside the building. Mud, rocks, and water also flowed across a road within the town. |
| September 2013 | Flash Flood | Naturita | - | Flash flood waters ran across the intersection of Highways 90 and 141. |
| July 2013 | Debris Flow | Naturita | - | Mudslides from heavy rainfall closed Highway 90 from Naturita to the Utah border. |
| July 2011 | Flash Flood | Naturita | - | Flash flooding resulted in water and debris 6 to 12 inches deep flowing across Highway 141 in Naturita to just west of Naturita. Highway 141 was closed until the debris was removed from the road. |
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Naturita | - | no account filed |
| September 2002 | Flood | Naturita | - | no account filed |
| September 2002 | Funnel Cloud | Naturita | - | no account filed |
| June 1999 | Wildfire | Naturita | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Vancorum | 1.5 miles | 19 | |
| Vancorum | 1.7 miles | 19 | |
| West Vancorum | 1.8 miles | 19 | |
| Nucla | 3.7 miles | 21 | |
| Mountain View | 7.5 miles | 15 | |
| Redvale | 8.6 miles | 16 | |
| Piñon | 9.5 miles | 15 | |
| Coventry | 11.0 miles | 16 |
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 Naturita | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2304167 | 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 186027. 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.










