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Alta, Iowa

10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Nokomis Township. It lies in ZIP code area 51002. The Survey maps it on the Alta quadrangle. 2,087 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,490 feet above sea level.

Alta within Buena Vista County

On record in Alta

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 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Alta grew from 1,883 to 2,087 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
20101,883
20202,087+204 (+11%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 10 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

6 since 2009

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 6 fires within 5 miles of Alta between 2009 and 2018, burning about 60 acres in total. None 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/undetermined4
Debris and open burning2

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
29 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resources200-580TH ST., IA
3 May 2015Debris and open burning1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
7 April 2018Debris and open burning4.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
28 March 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined45 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
21 March 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
21 March 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Buena Vista County

Mines and quarries near this place

5 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Alta: 4 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Wetherell-Borklund PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Buena Vista County

Storms near this place

30 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Alta in 30 storm reports between 1994 and 2026: 14 hail, 11 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 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
December 2021Tornado (EF1)Alta$100,000The tornado which spun up 7 miles south-southwest of Aurelia continued into Buena Vista County at 1707CST near the intersection of 510th Street and 10th Avenue. The tornado continued northeast and lifted one mile south of the Buena Vista County Conservation Park at 1712CST. Along the track, the tornado caused siding and roof damage to outbuildings near 20th Ave and 490th Street, and removed walls of a machine shed along 480th Street west of 30th Avenue. Numerous wooden power poles were snapped along 470th and 460th Streets. The tornado was rated EF1 in both Cherokee and Buena Vista Counties. The average path width was 75 yards in Buena Vista County and the maximum estimated wind speed was 110 mph. Property damage costs are a rough estimate.
July 2010Flash FloodAlta$50,000Heavy rain caused flash flooding of streets, local small creeks, and basements. A few homes and businesses were flooded. Some exhibits at the county fairgrounds were damaged when a building there was flooded.
June 1994Thunderstorm WindAlta$50,000no account filed
June 1994HailAlta$50,000no account filed
June 2000Thunderstorm WindAlta$40,000Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree damage, specifically in the towns of Alta, Rembrandt, Sioux Rapids, and Marathon. The winds also heavily damaged a hog barn just east of Sioux Rapids.
September 2004Thunderstorm WindAlta$10,000Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage at a cemetery, and moved a 20 inch tombstone 36 feet.
April 2025Thunderstorm WindAlta-Winds were measured by a personal weather station.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindAlta-Several large tree limbs were downed by thunderstorm winds.
May 2024Thunderstorm WindAlta-Thunderstorm winds downed a wooden power pole, which caused failure of several adjacent poles.
July 2023HailAlta-Row crops were badly damaged by hail up to golf ball size. Crop damage is an estimate from insured losses. Information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
June 2021HailAlta-Hail was accompanied by wind gusts to around 50 mph.
June 2021HailAlta-Considerable dime- to nickel-sized hail fell during a five-minute period accompanied by 40 to 50 mph winds. Crop damage is an estimate from insured losses. Information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
April 2011Tornado (EF0)Alta-A brief tornado, one of two close together, caused no reported damage.
April 2011Tornado (EF0)Alta-A brief tornado, one of two close together, caused no reported damage.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindAlta-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including up to 3 inch diameter branches blown down.
July 2004Thunderstorm WindAlta-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including 2 to 3 inch diameter branches blown down.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindAlta-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including at least one tree blown down.
August 2002Flash FloodAlta-Heavy rainfall of at least five and a half inches caused extensive flooding of roads, basements, and other low areas.
June 2001Thunderstorm WindAlta-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including numerous trees blown down.
April 2026HailAlta-no account filed
June 2023HailAlta-no account filed
June 2020HailAlta-no account filed
September 2007Thunderstorm WindAlta-no account filed
March 2006HailAlta-no account filed
April 2004HailAlta-no account filed
May 2004HailAlta-no account filed
July 2003HailAlta-no account filed
June 2001HailAlta-no account filed
June 1998HailAlta-no account filed
May 1998HailAlta-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Buena Vista 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
Casino Beach4.7 miles9
Storm Lake4.8 miles9
Hanover6.3 miles9
Truesdale6.9 miles9
Lakeside7.2 miles9
Elkton9.5 miles9
Juniata9.9 miles9
Sulphur Springs10.8 miles9

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 AltaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1913550The 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 454152. 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.