Gifford, Iowa
9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1993. It stands in Union Township. It lies in ZIP code area 50258. It stands on South Fork Iowa River. The Survey maps it on the Eldora quadrangle. It stands 945 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 9 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 Waterloo quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1955 USGS Waterloo quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1979 USGS Eldora quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Ames quadrangle1:100000
- 1993 USGS Ames quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
18 since 2011Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 18 fires within 5 miles of Gifford between 2011 and 2019, burning about 271 acres in total. None 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 | 6 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 6 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2 |
| Smoking | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 July 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 1 July 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 2 June 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 8.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 8 April 2013 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 7 April 2018 | Debris and open burning | 18 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 5 April 2015 | Debris and open burning | 25 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 30 April 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 8.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 26 April 2014 | Debris and open burning | 20 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 11 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 11 workings within 5 miles of Gifford: 9 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Clay. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eldora Pipe and Tile Co. | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Jonker Brick and Tile Co. | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Gifford Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Hackney Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Hardin Aggregates Sand Pit & Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Lloyd Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Mccormick Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
2 since 2014Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Gifford in 2 storm reports between 2014 and 2020: 1 tornado, 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2014 | Tornado (EF1) | Gifford | $1,000 | Short track tornado hit a cemetery and then moved southeast with minor roof damage to a house before lifting. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Gifford | - | Public report via social media of numerous trees and power lines downed. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xenia | 1.7 miles | 9 | |
| Secor (historical) | 1.9 miles | 9 | |
| Union | 3.3 miles | 9 | |
| New Providence | 4.3 miles | 9 | |
| Lawn Hill | 4.4 miles | 9 | |
| Whitten | 4.9 miles | 9 | |
| Eldora | 5.0 miles | 9 | |
| Rough Woods Hill | 8.0 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 Gifford | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q5559906 | 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 456897. 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.




