Rosita, Colorado
24 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1994. It stands in the Westcliffe census division. It lies in ZIP code area 81252. It lies near Wakefield Hill. The Survey maps it on the Rosita quadrangle. It stands 8,809 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
12 surveys from 24 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.
- 1889 USGS Canon City quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1892 USGS Canon City quadrangle1:125000, 6 printings
- 1892 USGS Canyon City quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS Pueblo quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1954 USGS Rosita quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1957 USGS Pueblo quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Pueblo quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Pueblo quadrangle1:250000
- 1966 USGS Pueblo quadrangle1:250000
- 1982 USGS Canon City quadrangle1:100000
- 1989 USGS Pueblo quadrangle1:250000
- 1994 USGS Rosita quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
23 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 23 fires within 5 miles of Rosita between 1992 and 2020, burning about 553 acres in total. 6 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 |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 9 |
| Natural | 6 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 3 |
| Debris and open burning | 3 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 August 2011 | Natural | under an acre | Royal Gorge Field Office | ROSITA HILLS |
| 25 August 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wet Mountain Fire Protection District | UNKNOWN |
| 8 July 2020 | Natural | 1.0 acres | Custer County | BASSICK |
| 6 July 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wet Mountain Fire Protection District | UNKNOWN |
| 4 July 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wet Mountain Fire Protection District | UNKNOWN |
| 22 July 2016 | Natural | 3.0 acres | Wet Mountain Fire Protection District | UNKNOWN |
| 13 July 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wet Mountain Fire Protection District | UNKNOWN |
| 27 June 2013 | Natural | 1.0 acres | Wet Mountain Fire Protection District | UNKNOWN |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 112 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 112 workings within 5 miles of Rosita: 62 past producers, 36 prospects, 7 producers, 7 occurrences. 7 still produce. What was taken out: Silver, Thorium, Iron, Perlite. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barite Lode | Thorium, Silver, Lead, Copper | Prospect | 1951 | |
| Barite Lode 2 | Thorium, Lead, Copper, Silver, Uranium | Prospect | 1951 | |
| Bassick Mine | Silver, Gold, Lead, Zinc, Copper, Tellurium | Past Producer | 1877, 1878, 1958 | |
| Big Stake Nickel Deposit | Gold, Nickel, Silver, Cobalt | Prospect | 1932 | |
| Democrat Hill deposit | Potassium, Silver, Aluminum, Gold, Lead, Zinc | Past Producer | 1890 | |
| Elizabeth Prospect | Silver, Gold, Copper, Iron | Prospect | 1882, 1900 | |
| G.W. and Antrim Claims | Thorium, Lead, Niobium (Columbium), Gold, Silver, Uranium | Past Producer | 1954 | |
| Invincible Shaft | Silver, Copper, Lead, Iron | Past Producer | 1895 | |
| Iron Mountain Mine | Silver, Iron, REE, Molybdenum, Copper | Past Producer | 1879, 1880, 1889 | |
| Maverick Mine | Zinc, Lead, Silver, Copper, Iron | Past Producer | 1870, 1874 |
Storms near this place
41 since 1999Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Rosita in 41 storm reports between 1999 and 2025: 31 hail, 7 heavy rain, 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2008 | Lightning | Rosita | 1 killed | no account filed |
| October 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rosita | - | Mesonet station AW342 Highlands Ranch observed a 61 mph wind gust with a decaying thunderstorm. |
| July 2025 | Hail | Rosita | - | Hail measured to 1.25 inches occurred in Custer County. |
| August 2022 | Heavy Rain | Rosita | - | Observer reported 0.95 inches of rain in an hour. |
| July 2022 | Heavy Rain | Rosita | - | Heavy rainfall of 1.00 inches. |
| July 2022 | Heavy Rain | Rosita | - | Heavy rainfall of 1.00 inches, fell in one hour. |
| August 2021 | Heavy Rain | Rosita | - | Heavy rainfall of 1.19 inches. |
| August 2021 | Heavy Rain | Rosita | - | Heavy rainfall of 3.58 inches. |
| July 2021 | Heavy Rain | Rosita | - | Heavy rainfall of 1.06 inches. |
| July 2017 | Flash Flood | Rosita | - | A significant flash flood occurred on the Junkins burn scar when a small, but intense storm moved down the South Hardscrabble watershed. Rainfall estimates of 1.5 to 2 inches caused major erosion in the canyon and piled tree and rock debris on County Road 386. The wave of water and debris moved into Greenwood and Wetmore. Remarkably, only a few outbuildings and barns were affected by water and mud as the dangerous flood waters moved through that area. County Roads remained mainly intact. |
| June 2021 | Heavy Rain | Rosita | - | no account filed |
| August 2018 | Hail | Rosita | - | no account filed |
| August 2018 | Hail | Rosita | - | no account filed |
| June 2016 | Hail | Rosita | - | no account filed |
| August 2016 | Hail | Rosita | - | no account filed |
| June 2015 | Hail | Rosita | - | no account filed |
| July 2014 | Hail | Rosita | - | no account filed |
| May 2012 | Hail | Rosita | - | no account filed |
| May 2012 | Hail | Rosita | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Rosita | - | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Hail | Rosita | - | no account filed |
| August 2008 | Hail | Rosita | - | no account filed |
| August 2008 | Hail | Rosita | - | no account filed |
| August 2008 | Hail | Rosita | - | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Hail | Rosita | - | no account filed |
| August 2007 | Hail | Rosita | - | no account filed |
| August 2007 | Hail | Rosita | - | no account filed |
| August 2007 | Hail | Rosita | - | no account filed |
| July 2007 | Hail | Rosita | - | no account filed |
| July 2007 | Hail | Rosita | - | no account filed |
| July 2007 | Hail | Rosita | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Hail | Rosita | - | no account filed |
| July 2006 | Hail | Rosita | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Hail | Rosita | - | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Hail | Rosita | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Hail | Rosita | - | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Hail | Rosita | - | no account filed |
| October 2004 | Hail | Rosita | - | no account filed |
| October 2004 | Hail | Rosita | - | no account filed |
| July 2002 | Hail | Rosita | - | no account filed |
| June 1999 | Hail | Rosita | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Querida | 2.0 miles | 26 | |
| Cold Spring | 6.1 miles | 24 | |
| Silver Cliff | 6.4 miles | 23 | |
| Westcliffe | 7.3 miles | 23 | |
| McKenzie Junction | 9.0 miles | 24 | |
| Ula (historical) | 9.5 miles | 23 | |
| Tanglewood Acres | 12.0 miles | 20 | |
| Fairview | 12.7 miles | 23 |
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 Rosita | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q7368974 | 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 192319. 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.











