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Altha, Florida

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1952 and the latest in 1994. It stands in the Altha census division. It lies in ZIP code area 32421. The Survey maps it on the Altha West quadrangle. 496 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 210 feet above sea level.

Altha within Calhoun County

Then and now

1952 to 1994

The same ground, surveyed 42 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet of Altha, surveyed 1994
Topographic sheet of Altha, surveyed 1952

Compare 1952 against another survey:

Population over time

2 figures

Altha fell from 536 to 496 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
2010536
2020496-40 (-7%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 13 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

87 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 87 fires within 5 miles of Altha between 1992 and 2020, burning about 658 acres in total. 10 started naturally. 6 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
Debris and open burning34
Railroad operations and maintenance12
Natural10
Missing data/not specified/undetermined8
Arson/incendiarism6
Power generation/transmission/distribution5
Equipment and vehicle use4
Misuse of fire by a minor3
Smoking3
Recreation and ceremony2

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
3 September 1999Railroad operations and maintenance2.0 acresFlorida Forest Servicenot named
2 September 2018Arson/incendiarismunder an acreFlorida Forest ServiceHWY 73 B (07)
17 September 1999Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.5 acresFlorida Forest Servicenot named
15 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFlorida Forest Service32/HASTY POND RD-0529
30 August 2019Debris and open burningunder an acreFlorida Forest ServiceNW WATSON (07)
30 August 2008Debris and open burningunder an acreFlorida Forest Service32/HASTY POND RD-0582
29 August 2011Debris and open burning2.0 acresFlorida Forest ServiceJP PEACOCK RD (7)
8 July 2007Natural1.5 acresFlorida Forest Service32/HASTY POND-0808

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Calhoun County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Altha: 1 prospect, 1 producer, 1 unknown. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Limestone, General, Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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
Unnamed Ls ProspectStone, Crushed/BrokenProspect
Green Valley Lime Company, Inc. - Sink Creek MineLimestone, GeneralUnknownLimestone
Sink Creek MineLimestone, GeneralProducer

Every working recorded in Calhoun County

Storms near this place

22 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Altha in 22 storm reports between 1996 and 2024: 14 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 2 flood, 2 flash 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
February 2013FloodAltha$1,100,000Significant areal flooding occurred across Calhoun county due to prolonged periods of moderate to heavy rainfall. Four day rainfall totals of around a foot were estimated across the county between Feb 22-26. The emergency manager estimated over $1 million in damages across the county, mainly due to road repair.
March 2009FloodAltha$500,000Moderate to major flooding along the Chipola River impacted at least 150 homes from Altha south to the Gulf County line.
January 2000Thunderstorm WindAltha$35,000The Calhoun County S.O. reported a large oak tree blown onto a home. Other downed trees and power lines with scattered outages reported countywide.
July 2000Thunderstorm WindAltha$20,000A home suffered minor roof damaged, two sheds were damaged and tree tops were blown off. Reported by the Calhoun County Record.
April 2014Thunderstorm WindAltha$10,000A barn was blown down near Altha. This was reported by the public on the WDHN news Facebook page. Monetary damage was estimated.
April 2004Thunderstorm WindAltha$10,000Tree tops snapped off and a roof blown off a house near Highway 73. Reported by a SKYWARN storm spotter.
January 1997Thunderstorm WindAltha$10,000no account filed
May 2012Thunderstorm WindAltha$7,000Several large oak trees were snapped near the Oglesby Nursery on Bodiford Road, Oglesby Road, and Buddy Johnson Road. There was also roof damage to two of the nursery buildings and damage to a shed. Monetary damage was estimated.
April 2011Thunderstorm WindAltha$3,000Three trees were blown down between Altha and the Jackson county line. The monetary damage figure provided is a rough estimate.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindAltha$2,000Several trees and power lines were down near J.P. Peacock Road and State Road 274. Widespread power outages were reported.
September 1999Thunderstorm WindAltha$1,000Calhoun County S.O. reported large trees down at the intersection of Highways 275 and 71.
July 2014Thunderstorm WindAltha$500A tree was blown down on Highway 275 South.
April 2024Thunderstorm WindAltha-Multiple trees were blown down along Highway 71.
June 2023HailAltha-Quarter size hail fell in the Altha area.
July 2022Flash FloodAltha-Flooding was reported along Highway 71.
March 2020Thunderstorm WindAltha-A power line was blown down on NW JW Rackley Street.
March 2019Thunderstorm WindAltha-Trees were blown down in the Altha area via a photo.
April 2014Flash FloodAltha-Numerous roads were flooded across Calhoun county with barricades in place due to heavy rain in a short period of time.
March 2013HailAltha-Half dollar size hail was reported via WJHG's facebook page.
April 2002HailAltha-Golfball size hail reported by the Calhoun County Sheriff.
March 2015HailAltha-no account filed
March 1996Thunderstorm WindAltha-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Calhoun 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
Cox2.2 miles13
Henderson Mill3.1 miles13
Willis3.4 miles13
Chason4.2 miles13
Chipola4.5 miles13
Selman5.7 miles13
Ocheesee5.9 miles13
Leonards (historical)6.3 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 AlthaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q440374The 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 277823. 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.