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Walsenburg, Colorado

18 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1988. It stands in the Walsenburg census division. It lies in ZIP code area 81089. It stands on Bear Creek. The Survey maps it on the Walsenburg South quadrangle. 3,049 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 6,171 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Walsenburg within Huerfano County

On record in Walsenburg

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 5 records

Population over time

3 figures

Walsenburg fell from 4,182 to 3,049 between 2000 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
20004,182
20103,068-1,114 (-27%)
20203,049-19 (-1%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 surveys from 18 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

90 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 90 fires within 5 miles of Walsenburg between 1992 and 2020, burning about 3,806 acres in total. 3 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/undetermined44
Arson/incendiarism31
Smoking10
Natural3
Debris and open burning1
Equipment and vehicle use1

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
8 September 1994Arson/incendiarismunder an acreHuerfano Countynot named
23 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined8.0 acresColorado State Forest Service-State HeadquartersWALSENBURG
20 September 1994Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreHuerfano Countynot named
19 September 1994Arson/incendiarismunder an acreHuerfano Countynot named
18 September 1994Arson/incendiarismunder an acreHuerfano Countynot named
29 August 2011Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreColorado State Forest Service-State HeadquartersWALSENBURG
11 August 2003Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreColorado State Forest Service-State Headquartersnot named
7 July 1994Debris and open burning1.0 acresHuerfano Countynot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Huerfano County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 13 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 13 workings within 5 miles of Walsenburg: 9 past producers, 2 occurrences, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Coal. 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
UnknownSand and Gravel, Construction, CoalOccurrenceSedimentary
Borrow PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Huerfano Granite QuarrySand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Kirkpatrick PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrenceSand and Gravel
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Huerfano County

Storms near this place

60 of 66 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Walsenburg in 66 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 56 hail, 4 flash flood, 2 funnel cloud, 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
June 2007HailWalsenburg$30,000Very large hail damaged vehicles, broke windows, and destroyed roofs on structures in a mostly rural area.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindWalsenburg-AWOS station K4V1 4 N Walsenburg. The station measured a 58 mph wind gust.
August 2022Heavy RainWalsenburg-Spotter reported 1.75 inches of rain.
August 2022Flash FloodWalsenburg-Roadway flooding.
August 2009Tornado (EF0)Walsenburg-A brief tornado occurred and caused no known damage east of Interstate 25 over open country.
July 2004Flash FloodWalsenburg-A thunderstorm with very heavy rain caused flash flooding in rural areas of the county. Severe erosion occurred on area gravel and dirt roads.
July 2002Flash FloodWalsenburg-Rainfall of 1 to 3 inches in a short time frame caused flooding of irrigation and other ditches as well as areas of deep water in parking lots in the vicinity of Walsenburg.
August 2000Flash FloodWalsenburg-Heavy rain caused some small stream flooding as well as road flooding.
September 2023Heavy RainWalsenburg-no account filed
May 2021HailWalsenburg-no account filed
May 2017HailWalsenburg-no account filed
May 2016HailWalsenburg-no account filed
April 2015HailWalsenburg-no account filed
June 2014HailWalsenburg-no account filed
June 2012HailWalsenburg-no account filed
August 2011HailWalsenburg-no account filed
April 2010HailWalsenburg-no account filed
April 2010HailWalsenburg-no account filed
June 2010HailWalsenburg-no account filed
June 2010HailWalsenburg-no account filed
June 2010HailWalsenburg-no account filed
June 2010HailWalsenburg-no account filed
June 2010HailWalsenburg-no account filed
August 2010HailWalsenburg-no account filed
August 2009Funnel CloudWalsenburg-no account filed
July 2009HailWalsenburg-no account filed
July 2009HailWalsenburg-no account filed
July 2009HailWalsenburg-no account filed
August 2009HailWalsenburg-no account filed
August 2009HailWalsenburg-no account filed
August 2008HailWalsenburg-no account filed
August 2008HailWalsenburg-no account filed
April 2007HailWalsenburg-no account filed
April 2007HailWalsenburg-no account filed
May 2007HailWalsenburg-no account filed
June 2007HailWalsenburg-no account filed
June 2007HailWalsenburg-no account filed
June 2007HailWalsenburg-no account filed
June 2006HailWalsenburg-no account filed
September 2006HailWalsenburg-no account filed
May 2005HailWalsenburg-no account filed
June 2004HailWalsenburg-no account filed
June 2004HailWalsenburg-no account filed
August 2004HailWalsenburg-no account filed
August 2004HailWalsenburg-no account filed
June 2004HailWalsenburg-no account filed
May 2003HailWalsenburg-no account filed
June 2002HailWalsenburg-no account filed
May 2001HailWalsenburg-no account filed
June 2001HailWalsenburg-no account filed
June 2001HailWalsenburg-no account filed
June 2001HailWalsenburg-no account filed
September 2001HailWalsenburg-no account filed
June 2000HailWalsenburg-no account filed
July 2000HailWalsenburg-no account filed
July 2000HailWalsenburg-no account filed
July 2000HailWalsenburg-no account filed
June 1999HailWalsenburg-no account filed
August 1997HailWalsenburg-no account filed
October 1997HailWalsenburg-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Huerfano 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
Pictou2.0 miles15
Maitland3.6 miles15
Cuchara Junction5.8 miles16
Delcarbon8.0 miles15
Monson8.5 miles17
Pryor8.7 miles17
Strong8.9 miles15
Tioga9.4 miles15

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 WalsenburgAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1778949The 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 204806. 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.