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.
Then and now
1952 to 1994The 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.


Compare 1952 against another survey:
Population over time
2 figuresAltha 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 536 | |
| 2020 | 496 | -40 (-7%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 13 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.
- 1952 USGS Altha West quadrangle1:24000
- 1954 USGS Tallahassee quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1959 USGS Tallahassee quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Tallahassee quadrangle1:250000
- 1979 USGS Marianna quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1982 USGS Altha West quadrangle1:24000
- 1988 USGS Tallahassee quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1994 USGS Altha West quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
87 since 1992Regional 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 burning | 34 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 12 |
| Natural | 10 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 6 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 5 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 4 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 3 |
| Smoking | 3 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 September 1999 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 2.0 acres | Florida Forest Service | not named |
| 2 September 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Florida Forest Service | HWY 73 B (07) |
| 17 September 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.5 acres | Florida Forest Service | not named |
| 15 September 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Florida Forest Service | 32/HASTY POND RD-0529 |
| 30 August 2019 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Florida Forest Service | NW WATSON (07) |
| 30 August 2008 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Florida Forest Service | 32/HASTY POND RD-0582 |
| 29 August 2011 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Florida Forest Service | JP PEACOCK RD (7) |
| 8 July 2007 | Natural | 1.5 acres | Florida Forest Service | 32/HASTY POND-0808 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
3 within 5 milesRegional 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed Ls Prospect | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Prospect | ||
| Green Valley Lime Company, Inc. - Sink Creek Mine | Limestone, General | Unknown | Limestone | |
| Sink Creek Mine | Limestone, General | Producer |
Storms near this place
22 since 1996Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2013 | Flood | Altha | $1,100,000 | Significant 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 2009 | Flood | Altha | $500,000 | Moderate to major flooding along the Chipola River impacted at least 150 homes from Altha south to the Gulf County line. |
| January 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Altha | $35,000 | The 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 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Altha | $20,000 | A home suffered minor roof damaged, two sheds were damaged and tree tops were blown off. Reported by the Calhoun County Record. |
| April 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Altha | $10,000 | A barn was blown down near Altha. This was reported by the public on the WDHN news Facebook page. Monetary damage was estimated. |
| April 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Altha | $10,000 | Tree tops snapped off and a roof blown off a house near Highway 73. Reported by a SKYWARN storm spotter. |
| January 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Altha | $10,000 | no account filed |
| May 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Altha | $7,000 | Several 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 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Altha | $3,000 | Three trees were blown down between Altha and the Jackson county line. The monetary damage figure provided is a rough estimate. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Altha | $2,000 | Several trees and power lines were down near J.P. Peacock Road and State Road 274. Widespread power outages were reported. |
| September 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Altha | $1,000 | Calhoun County S.O. reported large trees down at the intersection of Highways 275 and 71. |
| July 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Altha | $500 | A tree was blown down on Highway 275 South. |
| April 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Altha | - | Multiple trees were blown down along Highway 71. |
| June 2023 | Hail | Altha | - | Quarter size hail fell in the Altha area. |
| July 2022 | Flash Flood | Altha | - | Flooding was reported along Highway 71. |
| March 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Altha | - | A power line was blown down on NW JW Rackley Street. |
| March 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Altha | - | Trees were blown down in the Altha area via a photo. |
| April 2014 | Flash Flood | Altha | - | Numerous roads were flooded across Calhoun county with barricades in place due to heavy rain in a short period of time. |
| March 2013 | Hail | Altha | - | Half dollar size hail was reported via WJHG's facebook page. |
| April 2002 | Hail | Altha | - | Golfball size hail reported by the Calhoun County Sheriff. |
| March 2015 | Hail | Altha | - | no account filed |
| March 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Altha | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cox | 2.2 miles | 13 | |
| Henderson Mill | 3.1 miles | 13 | |
| Willis | 3.4 miles | 13 | |
| Chason | 4.2 miles | 13 | |
| Chipola | 4.5 miles | 13 | |
| Selman | 5.7 miles | 13 | |
| Ocheesee | 5.9 miles | 13 | |
| Leonards (historical) | 6.3 miles | 15 |
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 Altha | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q440374 | 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 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.







