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Sawpit, Colorado

14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1982. It stands in the Telluride census division. It lies in ZIP code area 81430. It stands on Fall Creek. The Survey maps it on the Little Cone quadrangle. 38 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 7,592 feet above sea level.

Sawpit within San Miguel County

Population over time

2 figures

Sawpit fell from 40 to 38 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
201040
202038-2 (-5%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 14 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

41 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 41 fires within 5 miles of Sawpit between 1993 and 2020, burning about 73 acres in total. 13 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined20
Natural13
Recreation and ceremony4
Equipment and vehicle use1
Arson/incendiarism1
Debris and open burning1
Misuse of fire by a minor1

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
7 September 2017Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresTelluride Fire Protection DistrictUNKNOWN
29 September 1993Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresGrand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forestsnot named
8 August 1993Naturalunder an acreSouthwest District, MontrosePLACERVILE
5 August 2002Naturalunder an acreGrand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National ForestsWHIPPLE MOUNTAIN
30 August 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreTelluride Fire Protection DistrictUNKNOWN
22 August 2000Naturalunder an acreGrand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National ForestsWHIPPLE
18 August 2020Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreGrand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National ForestsWHIPPLE
1 August 2003Naturalunder an acreGrand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National ForestsGRAYHEAD

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in San Miguel County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 86 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 86 workings within 5 miles of Sawpit: 60 past producers, 12 occurrences, 11 unknowns, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Uranium, Vanadium, 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
Bachelor Corp. MillLead, Uranium, ZincPast Producer
Bear Creek MineVanadium, Uranium, Lead, SeleniumPast Producer1903, 1910, 1957
Belle Champion MineSilver, Gold, Lead, ZincPast ProducerLimonite, Sphalerite
Belle Champion MineGold, Lead, Zinc, Copper, SilverUnknown
Binkley-Sawpit ProjectGold, Lead, Copper, Silver, ZincOccurrence1892
Black King MineCopper, Silver, Gold, Uranium, Vanadium, Lead, Zinc, Molybdenum, Cobalt, Chromium, Titanium, MetalPast Producer1885, 1952
Blue Bird MineSilver, Gold, Lead, CopperPast Producer1977
Carpenter TunnelUranium, Gold, VanadiumUnknown
Crescent CityGold, Lead, Silver, ZincPast Producer
Deep Creek PlacerLimestone, GeneralPast Producer1968, 1975

Every working recorded in San Miguel County

Storms near this place

14 since 1999

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Sawpit in 14 storm reports between 1999 and 2023: 8 debris flow, 4 flash flood, 2 heavy rain. 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
July 2021Debris FlowSawpit$10,000A large mudslide occurred across Colorado Highway 145 near Sawpit as a result of heavy rains. The highway was closed for a couple of hours due to cleanup operations. The most severe slide occurred at mile marker 79 with 1 to 2 feet of debris and boulders across the road.
July 2022Debris FlowSawpit$5,000San Miguel County Sheriff's Office reported a mudslide between mile markers 77 and 80 along Colorado Highway 145 near Sawpit and Fall Creek Road. Additionally, there were rocks the size of cars that were caught up in the debris flow and water was 2 to 3 feet deep in some spots across the road.
July 2016Flash FloodSawpit$5,000Flash floods and mud slides closed roads, including Highway 145, in and around Sawpit and Placerville. Minor damage occurred to some personal property.
May 2023Debris FlowSawpit$500Increased flood waters due to rapid snowmelt led to water and debris across Fall Creek Road from County Road 56L to the Little Cone Ranch Subdivision. The road was closed for several hours.
August 2022Debris FlowSawpit$500A mudslide occurred as a result of heavy rain from thunderstorms near Sawpit along Colorado Highway 145.
August 2016Debris FlowSawpit$500Highway 145 between Sawpit and Placerville was closed due to a flow of water, mud, and debris that washed over the road at several points, especially at mile markers 78 and 82.
July 2021Debris FlowSawpit-San Miguel Sheriff's Office reported a tree and mud over Colorado Highway 145 as a result of heavy rains.
July 2019Debris FlowSawpit-A mudslide occurred a half a mile up Fall Creek Road near Colorado Highway 145.
July 2014Flash FloodSawpit-Numerous mudslides were reported along Highway 145 between Placerville and Sawpit and disrupted traffic.
August 2013Debris FlowSawpit-A debris flow induced by heavy rainfall impeded travel on Highway 145 for over an hour.
July 2010Heavy RainSawpit-Runoff from heavy rain caused numerous rocks and mud to wash over Highway 145 in Sawpit, as well as areas along the highway between mile markers 77-79 and 72-74.
July 2004Heavy RainSawpit-no account filed
August 1999Flash FloodSawpit-no account filed
August 1999Flash FloodSawpit-no account filed

Every storm recorded in San Miguel 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
Vanadium2.5 miles27
Placerville3.1 miles18
Lime4.7 miles27
Leonard (historical)4.9 miles18
Vance Junction6.8 miles27
Ilium7.1 miles27
Keystone7.3 miles27
Noel8.6 miles18

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 SawpitAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2025318The 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 202389. 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.