Rockwood, Colorado
29 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1898 and the latest in 1983. It stands in the Durango census division. It lies in ZIP code area 81301. It stands on Goulding Creek. The Survey maps it on the Hermosa quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
13 surveys from 29 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.
- 1898 USGS Durango quadrangle1:62500
- 1907 USGS Durango quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1908 USGS Durango quadrangle1:62500, 3 printings
- 1908 USGS Ignacio quadrangle1:125000, 3 printings
- 1924 USGS Ignacio quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
- 1945 USGS Durango quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1953 USGS Durango quadrangle1:250000
- 1954 USGS Durango quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1961 USGS Durango quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Durango quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Hermosa quadrangle1:24000, 5 printings
- 1966 USGS Durango quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1983 USGS Durango quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
182 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 182 fires within 5 miles of Rockwood between 1992 and 2020, burning about 127,714 acres in total. 88 started naturally. 1 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 | 88 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 25 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 13 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 9 |
| Debris and open burning | 5 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 1 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Durango Fire Rescue Authority | UNKNOWN |
| 6 September 2017 | Natural | 1.2 acres | San Juan National Forest | 990 |
| 3 September 2018 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Durango Fire Rescue Authority | UNKNOWN |
| 26 September 2020 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | San Juan National Forest | CF 1162 |
| 26 September 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Durango Fire Rescue Authority | UNKNOWN |
| 22 September 2016 | Natural | under an acre | San Juan National Forest | FUME WALL |
| 16 September 2020 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | San Juan National Forest | CF 1128 |
| 15 September 2012 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | San Juan National Forest | FALL |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
6 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Rockwood: 4 past producers, 1 occurrence, 1 unknown. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Gold, Mercury, Platinum, Geothermal, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Animas River Placers | Silver, Gold | Past Producer | ||
| Mark Thomas | Gold, Mercury, Platinum | Occurrence | Stream Placer | |
| Pinkerton Hot Springs | Geothermal | Unknown | ||
| Quarry | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Bakers Ridge Placer | Gold | Past Producer | 1933, 1938 | |
| Painter Placer Claims | Gold | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
7 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Rockwood in 7 storm reports between 1997 and 2018: 3 flash flood, 1 heavy rain, 1 lightning, 1 thunderstorm wind. 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 2018 | Flash Flood | Rockwood | $2,000,000 | Major flooding, mud and rockslides occurred in the Animas Valley along the Colorado Highway 550 corridor between mile markers 33 and 37. Fast moving flood waters and debris flowed in excess of 6 feet deep in places. About 6 feet of debris blocked Highway 550. The highway was closed for approximately 4.5 hours for debris cleanup. The flood waters and debris also flowed across the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad tracks which lead the train to stop and, as a result of the closure of the highway, about 800 passengers were stranded north of Durango. A section of the railroad track was heavily damaged. Significant damage occurred in the Whispering Pines and Pine Acres subdivisions where flash flood waters flowed. The flash flood waters and debris also traveled across a section of County Road 250 and caused widespread damage at the Durango North/Riverside KOA campground. Radar estimated half an inch to an inch of rain fell within a short period of time in the general area of the flash flooding. |
| July 2018 | Flash Flood | Rockwood | $200,000 | Heavy rainfall resulted in flash flooding and mudslides over the eastern portion of the 416 fire burn scar. Radar indicated rainfall rates of up to an inch within 15 minutes from the storms. The intense rainfall only lasted 10 to 20 minutes before flash flooding and debris flows started on the east side of the fire. Rain gauges in the area measured 0.30 to 0.75 of an inch of rain. Mud, rocks and other debris flowed over five sections of Colorado Highway 550 and over one section of County Road 250, which resulted in temporary road closures. Three houses in a nearby subdivision were hit and damaged by a debris flow. The KOA campground along the Animas River was completely inundated. 140 to 200 people were evacuated. Numerous structures at the campground, including trailers, cabins, the clubhouse, laundry house and pool facilities incurred damage from the debris flow. The train tracks for the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad were covered by debris in about five places and the train had to stop above the first debris flow area on it's return trip to Durango. As a result, 450 people had to be evacuated by bus back to Durango. After this occurred, the bus slid off the road because of the mud and the people on the bus had to be evacuated for a second time. |
| July 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rockwood | $10,000 | Vehicles and trailers were damaged from strong thunderstorm microburst at a residence in the community of Rockwood. One trailer was lifted about 10 feet off the ground by the strong winds. A house and other buildings about 100 yards away from the impacted vehicles were not damaged. |
| August 1997 | Lightning | Rockwood | $10,000 | no account filed |
| August 2018 | Debris Flow | Rockwood | - | Water with extensive debris about a foot deep flowed through the Mitchell Lakes drainage on the eastern portion of the 416 Wildfire burn scar due to heavy rainfall. Radar estimated half an inch to an inch of rain fell from a thunderstorm. |
| July 2014 | Flash Flood | Rockwood | - | A 200 foot section of Highway 550 was closed due to flash flooding which deposited a significant amount of debris onto the road near the turnoff to Tamarron Drive. |
| September 1997 | Heavy Rain | Rockwood | - | 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.
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 183949. 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.












