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Cou Falls, Iowa

14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1887 and the latest in 1994. It stands in Jefferson Township. It lies in ZIP code area 52338. It stands on Swisher Creek. The Survey maps it on the Swisher quadrangle.

Cou Falls within Johnson County

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 14 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

73 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 73 fires within 5 miles of Cou Falls between 2006 and 2020, burning about 237 acres in total. 1 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/undetermined35
Debris and open burning30
Equipment and vehicle use5
Natural1
Recreation and ceremony1
Smoking1

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
5 September 2012Naturalunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
30 September 2012Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
30 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
4 August 2012Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
25 August 2013Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
19 August 2016Debris and open burning2.0 acresIowa Department of Natural ResourcesJEFFERSON-MONROE FD
9 July 2012Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
6 July 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreIowa Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Johnson 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 Cou Falls: 3 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, 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
Wagner PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
W.J. Turecek QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Wray QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every working recorded in Johnson County

Storms near this place

3 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cou Falls in 3 storm reports between 2006 and 2011: 1 hail, 1 flash flood, 1 thunderstorm wind. 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
June 2010Flash FloodCou Falls$250,000Heavy rains resulted in flash flooding of several streets in and around the Iowa City and Coralville areas during the late morning and afternoon of June 15. Several cars were stalled out in the flood waters in Iowa City. The water was about a foot deep at the intersection of Keokuk and Laurel Streets. First Avenue in Coralville was impassable due to high water. About 3 miles south of Iowa City, a trailer park was flooded and several roads were closed due to flooding. In Morse, a large 500 gallon tank was dislodged from its footing creating a hazardous material situation.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindCou Falls$125,000Wind gusts estimated to be 70 to 90 mph topped off some large trees and uprooted other trees on the south and west sides of Swisher, IA around 2 am. Nearby rural areas also experienced some tree damage. At 1443 Blain Cemetery Road, a tree fell onto the house and into the living room. Near exit 10 on I 380, a tree fell onto a parked truck smashing the cab. In Ely, IA a light pole was blown over behind the public library. There were several other reports of tree damage along the path. KCRG also contributed to this report.
April 2006HailCou Falls$2,000Deputy reported golfball size hail at highway 965 & Cou Falls Rd NW

Every storm recorded in Johnson 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
Curtis (historical)1.5 miles14
Swisher2.2 miles14
Shueyville2.7 miles14
Green Castle (historical)3.0 miles14
Twin View Heights5.3 miles16
North Liberty6.1 miles19
Tiffin7.7 miles17
Western Hills Mobine Estates8.0 miles17

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.

Wikidata item Q122598037The 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 464509. 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.