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Niwot, Colorado

26 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1904 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Longmont census division. It lies in ZIP code area 80503. The Survey maps it on the Niwot quadrangle. 4,306 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 5,095 feet above sea level.

Niwot within Boulder County

Population over time

2 figures

Niwot grew from 4,006 to 4,306 between 2010 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
20104,006
20204,306+300 (+7%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 surveys from 26 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

314 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 314 fires within 5 miles of Niwot between 1992 and 2020, burning about 3,172 acres in total. 11 started naturally. 31 were 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined218
Arson/incendiarism31
Debris and open burning15
Equipment and vehicle use12
Natural11
Recreation and ceremony9
Smoking8
Railroad operations and maintenance3
Fireworks3
Misuse of fire by a minor2
Other causes1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

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
9 September 2019Debris and open burningunder an acreColorado State Forest Service-State Headquartersnot named
9 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMountain View Fire Protection DistrictUNKNOWN
4 September 2016Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMountain View Fire Protection DistrictUNKNOWN
4 September 2013Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreBoulder Rural Fire Protection DistrictUNKNOWN
28 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreColorado State Forest Service-State Headquartersnot named
27 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreColorado State Forest Service-State Headquartersnot named
27 September 1992Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreColorado State Forest Service-Boulder Districtnot named
26 September 2020Debris and open burning1.0 acresRocky Mountain Fire Protection DistrictN/A

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Boulder County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 16 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 16 workings within 5 miles of Niwot: 11 occurrences, 4 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Gold, Silver, Beryllium. 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
Boulder MillGold, SilverPast Producer
Gold Hill Beryl Claims (unverifiable)BerylliumPast Producer
New GirlFluorine-FluoritePast Producer
BeaverGoldPast Producer
Fourmile Creek PlacersGoldOccurrencePlacer
Lefthand Creek PlacerGoldOccurrencePlacer
MarnetteSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrenceSand and Gravel
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrenceSand and Gravel
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrenceSand and Gravel

Every working recorded in Boulder County

Storms near this place

22 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Niwot in 22 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 15 hail, 4 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning, 1 flash flood. The reports record 1 death. 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 2013Flash FloodNiwot1 killedIn Boulder, many vehicles were abandoned near Lookout Road and Spine due to floodwaters. Significant flooding was reported at the Justice Center; the Juvenile Detention Center had to be evacuated to the second floor. Floodwaters to a depth of 2 feet inundated Hawthorne Street in north Boulder. Moderate flooding was observed along Boulder Creek. Boulder Canyon was closed due to flash flooding. Numerous rock and mudslides made Lefthand Canyon impassable. Major structures were lost in Jamestown. In Lyons, rock and mud slides were also reported and the Waste Water Treatment Plant was breached. An 80-yr old man was killed when his truck was swept into the St. Vrain River. He had returned to his home to look for his wife. His vehicle was found 200 yards from their residence. In town, 82 properties were destroyed. Mandatory evacuations were ordered in Longmont, along the Lefthand and St. Vrain Creeks. In Longmont, 53 properties were destroyed.
August 2025HailNiwot-The report was from mPING.
August 2025HailNiwot-The report was from mPING.
May 2024HailNiwot-Size was estimated.
May 2024HailNiwot-The report was from mping.
August 2017Thunderstorm WindNiwot-Intense thunderstorm winds snapped tree branches which knocked down power lines. |Power outages were reported along CO 52 near County Line Road. Outages were also reported in the vicinity CO 52 and CO 287.
September 2013FloodNiwot-In Erie, Kenosha Rd. between 119th and Lombardi was 15 ft. deep and impassable. CO52 was closed east of the county line road, as it was washed out at Weld County Road 10-1/2. Boulder Creek completely flooded the Boulder/Weld County Line and CO52 intersection. The most extensive flooding occurred where Coal Creek and Boulder Creek merged.
August 2025HailNiwot-no account filed
July 2025HailNiwot-no account filed
July 2024Thunderstorm WindNiwot-no account filed
May 2023HailNiwot-no account filed
July 2022HailNiwot-no account filed
June 2018HailNiwot-no account filed
June 2018HailNiwot-no account filed
June 2018HailNiwot-no account filed
June 2018HailNiwot-no account filed
July 2009HailNiwot-no account filed
April 2007HailNiwot-no account filed
June 2005Thunderstorm WindNiwot-no account filed
June 1996Thunderstorm WindNiwot-no account filed
June 1996LightningNiwot-no account filed
October 1994HailNiwot-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Boulder 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
Gunbarrel2.8 miles26
Dominion3.6 miles24
Liggett4.5 miles26
Marnett4.9 miles24
Gooding5.1 miles22
Leyner5.2 miles22
Valmont5.5 miles26
Longmont5.7 miles23

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 NiwotAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q960555The 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 204679. 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.