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Carter Lake, Iowa

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1994. It stands in Kane Township. It lies in ZIP code area 51510. The Survey maps it on the Omaha North quadrangle. 3,791 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 981 feet above sea level.

Carter Lake within Pottawattamie County

Population over time

2 figures

Carter Lake grew from 3,785 to 3,791 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
20103,785
20203,791+6 (+0%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 15 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

12 since 2007

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 12 fires within 5 miles of Carter Lake between 2007 and 2020, burning about 28 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 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/undetermined6
Debris and open burning3
Smoking2
Arson/incendiarism1

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 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
27 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
7 April 2020Debris and open burning9.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
21 April 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
19 April 2018Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
17 April 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
15 April 2007Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
8 March 2020Smokingunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Pottawattamie County

Mines and quarries near this place

7 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Carter Lake: 5 past producers, 1 plant, 1 producer. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Lead, Refiner, Silver, Antimony, Bismuth, Gold, Lead, Smelter. 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
(Facility) Omaha RefineryLead, Refiner, Silver, Antimony, Bismuth, GoldPlant
Asarco (Omaha) RefineryLead, SmelterPast Producer
Crescent QuarrySand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Hively PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
UnknownSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Wickham PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Pottawattamie County

Storms near this place

7 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Carter Lake in 7 storm reports between 1995 and 2024: 3 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 1 flash flood, 1 tornado. 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
April 2024HailCarter Lake-The Pottawattamie County Emergency Manager reported golf ball sized hail in Carter Lake.
April 2024Tornado (EF3)Carter Lake-This is a continuation of the Douglas County segment of this EF-3 tornado. This is also the second time the tornado moved through portions of western Pottawattamie County. At the start of this segment, the tornado moved northeast across the Missouri River and crossed Interstate 29 near mile marker 58. It widened to about one-quarter mile, damaging numerous homes and businesses between the interstate and Little Kiln Road. The most intense damage was sustained to a residence along Little Kiln Road due to the collapse of most of the exterior and interior walls except for a few interior rooms. A storm damage survey the following day found this to be EF-3 damage, with peak winds estimated at 152 miles per hour. This damage point was when the tornado was at its strongest. The tornado then continued northeast, moving across Old Lincoln Highway about 1.5 miles south of Crescent. EF-2 damage to several homes occurred due to the major loss of the roof and exterior walls. A vehicle detail shop was also destroyed in this area. The tornado then moved across mainly woodland areas before impacting a home and farm outbuildings near the intersection of Badger and Jefferson Avenues, where EF-2 damage was sustained to the home due to major roof damage. After this, the tornado moved across agricultural and woodland areas between 195th Street and Cougar Avenue, producing EF-1 damage to several manufactured homes and farm outbuildings. Further to the northeast, the tornado produced EF-0 damage to farm outbuildings by removing large portions of their roofs and snapping large tree limbs. This tornado weakened near the intersection of 210th Street and Teakwood Road, producing intermittent damage to tree limbs. It crossed Interstate 880 about 7 miles west of the I-29 and I-880 interchange, or about 7 miles southeast of Missouri Valley. Shortly after crossing Interstate 880, the tornado briefly moved into far southern Harrison County where it dissipated half a mile north of the county line just to the east of Overton Avenue. The peak width of the tornado during this segment of its track was measured at 550 yards, with an average width estimated at 300 yards.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindCarter Lake-This is a continuation of the swath of significant damage winds from Douglas County. This storm continued to produce winds in excess of 90 miles per hour as it moved through western portions of Pottawattamie County. Just like in northeastern Douglas County, multiple roads were closed due to down trees and powerlines. Winds continued to weaken with eastward extent after the storm moved across Interstate 80, though severe wind gusts and damage were reported as far east as Oakland where numerous trees and branches were down across the town. Emergency management reported several houses with trees on them in addition to building debris being blown several blocks in some instances.
August 2018Flash FloodCarter Lake-Water was reported over Joslin Avenue.
July 2001Thunderstorm WindCarter Lake-Large tree limbs were broken by thunderstorm wind gusts which were around 70 mph. A gust of 70 mph was measured at Eppley Airfield which is just a mile or so east of Carter Lake.
May 2000Thunderstorm WindCarter Lake-Thunderstorm winds downed power lines causing a power loss for some customers for around 2 hours.
July 1995HailCarter Lake-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Pottawattamie 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
Council Bluffs3.6 miles14
Clara4.5 miles15
Crescent6.0 miles14
Chautauqua6.6 miles14
Gilliatt8.5 miles14
Ascot8.6 miles13
Weston10.0 miles12
Honey Creek10.0 miles12

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 Carter LakeAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1944958The 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 455192. 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.