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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.

Naturita within Montrose County

Population over time

3 figures

Naturita 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.

YearPeople Change
2000635
2010546-89 (-14%)
2020485-61 (-11%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 surveys from 19 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

249 since 1992

Regional 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
Natural236
Debris and open burning4
Missing data/not specified/undetermined3
Recreation and ceremony3
Equipment and vehicle use2
Smoking1

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
8 September 1995Naturalunder an acreSouthwest District, MontroseNORTH NAT
7 September 1995Naturalunder an acreSouthwest District, MontroseRAY
7 September 1995Naturalunder an acreSouthwest District, MontroseSAWTOOTH
6 September 1996Naturalunder an acreSouthwest District, MontroseNAT RIDGE
6 September 1995Naturalunder an acreSouthwest District, MontrosePINTO
4 September 2007Naturalunder an acreSouthwest District, MontroseKELLEY
30 September 1998Naturalunder an acreSouthwest District, MontroseOVEN
3 September 2009Naturalunder an acreSouthwest District, MontroseVANCORUM

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Montrose County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 63 shown

Regional 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
UnknownRadium, Vanadium, UraniumPast Producer
S.M.R. #2Gold, SilverPast Producer
Woods Placer GroupGold, SilverPast Producer
Bay StateRadiumUnknown
Black EagleUranium, VanadiumPast Producer
CummingsRadium, UraniumPast Producer
Farmer BoyRadium, Uranium, VanadiumPast Producer
Little Bob Et Al ClaimsUranium, VanadiumOccurrenceCarnotite
StandardRadium, Uranium, VanadiumPast Producer
UnknownUranium, VanadiumProducer

Every working recorded in Montrose County

Storms near this place

12 since 1996

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
September 1996Flash FloodNaturita$200,000no account filed
May 1997Thunderstorm WindNaturita$10,000no account filed
July 2015Flash FloodNaturita$5,000A 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 2016Flash FloodNaturita$1,000Showers 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 2016Heavy RainNaturita-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 2013Flash FloodNaturita-Flash flood waters ran across the intersection of Highways 90 and 141.
July 2013Debris FlowNaturita-Mudslides from heavy rainfall closed Highway 90 from Naturita to the Utah border.
July 2011Flash FloodNaturita-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 2006Thunderstorm WindNaturita-no account filed
September 2002FloodNaturita-no account filed
September 2002Funnel CloudNaturita-no account filed
June 1999WildfireNaturita-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Montrose 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
East Vancorum1.5 miles19
Vancorum1.7 miles19
West Vancorum1.8 miles19
Nucla3.7 miles21
Mountain View7.5 miles15
Redvale8.6 miles16
Piñon9.5 miles15
Coventry11.0 miles16

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 NaturitaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2304167The 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.