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.
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
- Danish Lutheran Churchlisted 2011
Population over time
2 figuresAlta 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 1,883 | |
| 2020 | 2,087 | +204 (+11%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 10 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.
- 1954 USGS Fort Dodge quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1957 USGS Fort Dodge quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Fort Dodge quadrangle1:250000
- 1979 USGS Alta quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1985 USGS Storm Lake quadrangle1:100000, 3 printings
Fires near this place
6 since 2009Regional 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/undetermined | 4 |
| Debris and open burning | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | 200-580TH ST., IA |
| 3 May 2015 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 7 April 2018 | Debris and open burning | 4.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 28 March 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 45 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 21 March 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 21 March 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
5 within 5 milesRegional 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Wetherell-Borklund Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
30 since 1994Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2021 | Tornado (EF1) | Alta | $100,000 | The 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 2010 | Flash Flood | Alta | $50,000 | Heavy 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 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alta | $50,000 | no account filed |
| June 1994 | Hail | Alta | $50,000 | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alta | $40,000 | Thunderstorm 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 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alta | $10,000 | Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage at a cemetery, and moved a 20 inch tombstone 36 feet. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alta | - | Winds were measured by a personal weather station. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alta | - | Several large tree limbs were downed by thunderstorm winds. |
| May 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alta | - | Thunderstorm winds downed a wooden power pole, which caused failure of several adjacent poles. |
| July 2023 | Hail | Alta | - | 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 2021 | Hail | Alta | - | Hail was accompanied by wind gusts to around 50 mph. |
| June 2021 | Hail | Alta | - | 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 2011 | Tornado (EF0) | Alta | - | A brief tornado, one of two close together, caused no reported damage. |
| April 2011 | Tornado (EF0) | Alta | - | A brief tornado, one of two close together, caused no reported damage. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alta | - | Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including up to 3 inch diameter branches blown down. |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alta | - | Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including 2 to 3 inch diameter branches blown down. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alta | - | Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including at least one tree blown down. |
| August 2002 | Flash Flood | Alta | - | Heavy rainfall of at least five and a half inches caused extensive flooding of roads, basements, and other low areas. |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alta | - | Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including numerous trees blown down. |
| April 2026 | Hail | Alta | - | no account filed |
| June 2023 | Hail | Alta | - | no account filed |
| June 2020 | Hail | Alta | - | no account filed |
| September 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alta | - | no account filed |
| March 2006 | Hail | Alta | - | no account filed |
| April 2004 | Hail | Alta | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Alta | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | Alta | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Hail | Alta | - | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Hail | Alta | - | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Hail | Alta | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Casino Beach | 4.7 miles | 9 | |
| Storm Lake | 4.8 miles | 9 | |
| Hanover | 6.3 miles | 9 | |
| Truesdale | 6.9 miles | 9 | |
| Lakeside | 7.2 miles | 9 | |
| Elkton | 9.5 miles | 9 | |
| Juniata | 9.9 miles | 9 | |
| Sulphur Springs | 10.8 miles | 9 |
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 Alta | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1913550 | 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 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.




