Clayton, Idaho
13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1929 and the latest in 1989. It stands in the Stanley census division. It lies in ZIP code area 83227. It stands on Kinnikinic Creek. The Survey maps it on the Clayton quadrangle. 10 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 5,463 feet above sea level.
On record in Clayton
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 1 record
- Idaho Mining and Smelter Company Storelisted 2006
Population over time
2 figuresClayton grew from 7 to 10 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 7 | |
| 2020 | 10 | +3 (+43%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 13 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.
- 1929 USGS Bayhorse quadrangle1:125000
- 1957 USGS Challis quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1960 USGS Challis quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Challis quadrangle1:250000
- 1963 USGS Clayton quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1963 USGS Clayton quadrangle1:62500
- 1982 USGS White Cloud Peaks quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1989 USGS Challis quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
36 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 36 fires within 5 miles of Clayton between 1992 and 2019, burning about 22 acres in total. 22 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 |
|---|---|
| Natural | 22 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 7 |
| Fireworks | 3 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 2 |
| Smoking | 1 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 September 1995 | Natural | under an acre | Salmon-Challis National Forest | MULE SHOE |
| 3 September 1993 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Salmon-Challis National Forest | not named |
| 21 September 2008 | Natural | under an acre | Twin Falls District | MULE SHOE |
| 20 September 1993 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Salmon-Challis National Forest | not named |
| 18 September 1993 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Salmon-Challis National Forest | not named |
| 18 September 1992 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 3.0 acres | Salmon-Challis National Forest | not named |
| 10 September 2019 | Natural | under an acre | Twin Falls District | POVERTY |
| 10 September 1997 | Natural | under an acre | Salmon-Challis National Forest | CLAYTON II |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 20 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 20 workings within 5 miles of Clayton: 11 past producers, 6 prospects, 1 occurrence, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Lead, Silver, Silver, Lead, Gold. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carrothers-Hines Prospect | Nickel | Unknown | ||
| Clayton Silver Mine | Lead, Silver, Copper, Zinc, Gold | Past Producer | 1934 | |
| Dryden Mine | Lead, Zinc, Copper, Silver, Gold | Past Producer | Galena | |
| Ella Prospect | Silver, Lead, Gold, Copper | Past Producer | Replacement | |
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Quartzite Occurrence | Stone, Dimension | Producer | ||
| Rob-Roy Mine | Silver, Zinc, Lead | Past Producer | Vein | |
| Saturday Mountain Mine | Silver, Lead, Copper, Zinc, Gold | Past Producer | Galena | |
| Silver Bell Mine | Silver, Lead, Copper, Zinc, Gold | Past Producer | 1879 | |
| South Butte Mine | Silver, Lead, Gold, Copper, Zinc | Past Producer | Galena |
Storms near this place
6 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Clayton in 6 storm reports between 1998 and 2025: 3 flash flood, 3 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 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Clayton | - | The ITD mesonet site in Clayton recorded a 63 mph wind gust. |
| August 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Clayton | - | Private weather station measured 58 mph gust just off of Idaho Highway 75. |
| August 2021 | Flash Flood | Clayton | - | A NWS survey found evidence of an extensive mud slide along and across Highway 75 North of Clayton. |
| August 2021 | Flash Flood | Clayton | - | Idaho Transportation Department reported a mudslide and running water across Idaho Route 75 between East Fork Rd and Malm Gulch Rd completely blocking the highway. |
| September 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Clayton | - | Six trees down On Yankee Fork River in Clayton. Metal roof torn off the Yankee Fork Ranger Station . |
| September 1998 | Flash Flood | Clayton | - | TSTM induced flash flood on Slate Creek washed out 200 yards of Slate Creek Road. Camping trailer damaged. Several vehicles trapped beyond road break. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crystal (historical) | 4.0 miles | 14 | |
| Bayhorse | 10.7 miles | 13 | |
| Torreys | 10.7 miles | 14 | |
| Robinson Bar | 14.7 miles | 15 | |
| Sunbeam | 17.7 miles | 16 | |
| Custer | 18.0 miles | 15 | |
| Bonanza | 19.0 miles | 16 | |
| Challis | 19.2 miles | 11 |
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 Clayton | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1519793 | 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 396298. 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.







