Ritter, Iowa
7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Floyd Township. It lies in ZIP code area 51201. The Survey maps it on the Sheldon quadrangle. It stands 1,427 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
4 surveys from 7 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 Fairmont quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Fairmont quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS Sheldon quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Iowa Great Lakes quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
13 since 2007Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 13 fires within 5 miles of Ritter between 2007 and 2020, burning about 56 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 8 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5 |
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 | under an acre | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | HWY 60 AND 250TH ST., IA |
| 11 July 2020 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 9 May 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 24 May 2014 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 7 April 2020 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 20 April 2019 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 31 March 2015 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Iowa Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 4 November 2020 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 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 28 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 28 workings within 5 miles of Ritter: 19 past producers, 9 producers. 9 still produce. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashton Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Ashton Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Faber Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Floyd River Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Frisbee Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Hanson Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Maudlin Const Co | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Oelrich Fm | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Osceola County Pits | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Ruby Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
10 since 2011Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ritter in 10 storm reports between 2011 and 2025: 7 flood, 2 hail, 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 | Flood | Ritter | $50,000 | Persistent moderate to heavy rain caused flooding of fields and other lowlands, including several roads, homes, and businesses. This flooding lasted for almost two days, and was aggravated locally by additional storms during that time. Some roads were damaged or washed out. |
| May 2024 | Flood | Ritter | - | A period of thunderstorms, followed by multiple hours of persistent moderate rainfall, resulted in excessive ponding of water in fields and rural roads. This included water over the road near the intersection of Nest Ave and 310th St. Rainfall totals through the entire event were reported between 2 to 4.5 inches. |
| June 2024 | Flood | Ritter | - | The Floyd River at Sheldon rose above flood stage the morning of June 21st, cresting around 5.7 feet above flood stage (17.7 feet) on June 22nd. This crest is in the Major Stage. The river then fell below flood stage on the morning of June 24th. For a more comprehensive description of flood damage, please see other entries for O'Brien County. |
| July 2023 | Hail | Ritter | - | Crop damage is an estimate from insured losses. Information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture. |
| March 2019 | Flood | Ritter | - | Snow melt and heavy rainfall (measured 1.82 inches at Sheldon and 1.92 inches at Sanborn) resulted in significant flooding of agricultural lands. The Floyd River at Sheldon (gage site SHLI4) reached the fourth highest stage on record cresting 1.70 feet above flood stage on March 14. |
| June 2018 | Flood | Ritter | - | A week of periodic heavy rainfall ending June 26 resulted in a widespread 4 to 8 inches of rainfall, much of which occurred on June 20 and 24. Weekly rainfall totaled 7.36 inches at Sheldon, 7.31 inches at Sibley and 6.13 inches at Sanborn. Moderate flooding occurred with significant amounts of crop and pasture land, as well as the Sheldon Golf Course, inundated as the Floyd River at Sheldon (gage site SHLI4) crested 3.5 feet above flood stage on June 21. The river dropped below flood stage on June 21. |
| September 2018 | Flood | Ritter | - | Widespread rainfall from September 18-20 totaled generally 5 to 10 inches, resulting in moderate flooding. Most farmland within 1000 feet of the river was inundated as the Floyd River at Sheldon (gage site SHLI4) crested at 2.5 feet above flood stage on September 20. |
| March 2011 | Flood | Ritter | - | Melting of a heavy winter snow cover caused flooding of lowlands, lakes, and streams. There was considerable flooding of farmland. Several roads in the county were flooded. Some of the roads were closed, and a few were washed out in spots. The flooding onset was rapid for a snow melt flood due to high water and groundwater levels from record precipitation in the year 2010. |
| September 2025 | Hail | Ritter | - | no account filed |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ritter | - | 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.
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 Ritter | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q17108586 | 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 464720. 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.



