Paradox, Colorado
27 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 81429. The Survey maps it on the Paradox quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
14 surveys from 27 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
- 1948 USGS Paradox quadrangle1:24000
- 1949 USGS Paradox quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1956 USGS Moab quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1959 USGS Moab quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Moab quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1960 USGS Paradox quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
- 1960 USGS Paradox quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1962 USGS Moab quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS Moab quadrangle1:250000
- 1965 USGS Moab quadrangle1:250000
- 1983 USGS Nucla quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1994 USGS Paradox quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
63 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 63 fires within 5 miles of Paradox between 1992 and 2020, burning about 8,446 acres in total. 57 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 | 57 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 September 2007 | Natural | under an acre | Manti-Lasal National Forest | WEST PARADOX |
| 29 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Uncompahgre Field Office | SHARP CANYON |
| 28 September 2005 | Natural | under an acre | Southwest District, Montrose | MORNING |
| 15 September 1992 | Natural | under an acre | Manti-Lasal National Forest | not named |
| 13 September 2002 | Natural | under an acre | Southwest District, Montrose | PARADOX |
| 8 August 2008 | Natural | under an acre | Manti-Lasal National Forest | WEST PARADOX |
| 7 August 1994 | Natural | under an acre | Southwest District, Montrose | GLORY |
| 6 August 1994 | Natural | under an acre | Manti-Lasal National Forest | not named |
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 140 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 140 workings within 5 miles of Paradox: 61 past producers, 41 occurrences, 23 producers, 15 unknowns. 23 still produce. What was taken out: Uranium, Uranium, Vanadium, Vanadium, Copper. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cashin Mine | Silver, Copper, Lead, Gold, Uranium, Zinc, Arsenic, Antimony | Producer | 1896, 1898, 1972 | |
| Cliffdweller | Copper, Gold, Lead, Silver, Zinc | Past Producer | ||
| Cliffdweller Mine | Copper, Silver, Gold, Lead, Zinc, Antimony, Arsenic | Past Producer | 1975 | |
| Fairview | Copper, Silver, Zinc | Unknown | ||
| Jensen & Jenson Well | Salt | Past Producer | ||
| La Sal District | Copper, Silver, Gold, Lead, Zinc, Uranium, Antimony, Arsenic, Manganese | Producer | 1896, 1899, 1975 | |
| Long Park | Radium, Uranium, Vanadium | Past Producer | ||
| New Cashin | Copper, Gold, Silver | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Uranium, Copper | Occurrence | ||
| Cedar Group | Uranium, Copper, Silver, Vanadium | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
15 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Paradox in 15 storm reports between 1998 and 2023: 7 heavy rain, 3 funnel cloud, 2 debris flow, 2 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 2023 | Hail | Paradox | - | Hail estimated to be 0.75 to 1.00 inches in diameter was reported by a Cooperative Observer in Paradox. |
| August 2023 | Flood | Paradox | - | Standing water reported near the Paradox Valley Inn Bed and Breakfast. CoCoRaHS observer estimated at least 0.50 inches of rain fell in less than an hour. |
| August 2023 | Flood | Paradox | - | Flooding was reported by Montrose County Dispatch near mile marker 87 on Highway 141 as a result of heavy rain from thunderstorms. |
| August 2017 | Debris Flow | Paradox | - | The Colorado Department of Transportation was sent by law enforcement to remove debris over Colorado Highway 141 near mile marker 95 as a result of excessive rainfall. |
| August 2016 | Debris Flow | Paradox | - | A mudslide occurred along Highway 141 between mile markers 107 and 109. |
| October 2013 | Funnel Cloud | Paradox | - | A co-op observer watched and photographed a relatively long lasting funnel cloud that was seen to the south of Paradox. |
| July 2013 | Heavy Rain | Paradox | - | An observer reported 0.80 of an inch of rainfall within 45 minutes which caused significant ponding of water in many areas. |
| July 2013 | Heavy Rain | Paradox | - | A total of 2.02 inches fell at this location within one hour. |
| September 2007 | Heavy Rain | Paradox | - | Rainfall of .60 inches fell in 5 minutes. Runoff formed a stream of water through a yard. A rockslide was observed on a hill north of the spotters location. |
| July 2007 | Heavy Rain | Paradox | - | Thunderstorms producing heavy rain caused flooding of areas just north of Paradox. Normally dry arroyos were running four feet deep. A house located two miles north of Paradox had flood waters up into the lawn. A rockslide also occurred in the area. |
| September 2005 | Heavy Rain | Paradox | - | no account filed |
| August 2003 | Heavy Rain | Paradox | - | no account filed |
| July 2002 | Funnel Cloud | Paradox | - | no account filed |
| August 2001 | Funnel Cloud | Paradox | - | no account filed |
| July 1998 | Heavy Rain | Paradox | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bedrock | 5.3 miles | 27 | |
| Uravan | 12.0 miles | 26 | |
| West Vancorum | 21.5 miles | 19 | |
| Vancorum | 21.6 miles | 19 | |
| East Vancorum | 21.7 miles | 19 | |
| Nucla | 23.0 miles | 21 | |
| Naturita | 23.3 miles | 19 | |
| Mountain View | 25.7 miles | 15 |
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 Paradox | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q7134433 | 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 185829. 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.













