Ralston, Iowa
8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1993. It stands in Glidden Township. It lies in ZIP code area 51459. The Survey maps it on the Glidden quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 8 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
- 1980 USGS Glidden quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Carroll quadrangle1:100000
- 1993 USGS Carroll quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
5 since 2008Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 5 fires within 5 miles of Ralston between 2008 and 2019, burning about 82 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 | 2 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 April 2019 | Debris and open burning | 10 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 15 April 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 29 March 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 6 October 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 24 October 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 20 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
8 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Ralston: 7 past producers, 1 unknown. None of them 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ralson Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Ralston-Beiter | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Sprague Pit | 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 | Unknown | ||
| Unknown | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Wright Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
8 since 2011Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ralston in 8 storm reports between 2011 and 2023: 4 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 1 heavy rain. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ralston | $5,000 | Winds estimated greater than 60 mph with 6 to 8 inch branches down. Some of the branches were older. |
| June 2013 | Hail | Ralston | $2,000 | no account filed |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ralston | - | Trees down south of Bennett Access. Time estimated by radar. |
| December 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ralston | - | Wind estimates of at least 70 mph from Ralston Fire Dept. Sporadic damage reported. |
| September 2015 | Heavy Rain | Ralston | - | Public reported heavy rainfall of 3.90 inches. End time radar estimated. |
| May 2011 | Hail | Ralston | - | Trained spotter reported prolonged pea size hail with a brief period of nickel size. |
| June 2013 | Hail | Ralston | - | no account filed |
| May 2011 | Hail | Ralston | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glidden | 5.2 miles | 8 | |
| Benan (historical) | 5.7 miles | 8 | |
| Carrollton | 8.8 miles | 9 | |
| Lidderdale | 9.8 miles | 8 | |
| Lanesboro | 10.3 miles | 8 | |
| Willey | 10.9 miles | 9 | |
| Coon Rapids | 12.0 miles | 9 | |
| Carroll | 12.5 miles | 8 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 460511. 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.





