Cottonwood, Idaho
10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1924 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Cottonwood census division. It lies in ZIP code area 83522. The Survey maps it on the Cottonwood quadrangle. 822 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 3,497 feet above sea level.
On record in Cottonwood
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 2 records
James V. and Sophia Baker Houselisted 2004
St. Gertrude's Convent and Chapellisted 1979
Population over time
2 figuresCottonwood fell from 900 to 822 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 | 900 | |
| 2020 | 822 | -78 (-9%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 10 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.
- 1924 USGS Kamiah quadrangle1:125000
- 1955 USGS Pullman quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Pullman quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1967 USGS Cottonwood quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1981 USGS Orofino quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
14 since 2001Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 14 fires within 5 miles of Cottonwood between 2001 and 2020, burning about 192 acres in total. 8 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 | 8 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 2 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 September 2019 | Natural | under an acre | Idaho Department of Lands | RAD HAY |
| 2 September 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 acres | Nez Perce Tribe | FREI HILL |
| 8 August 2005 | Natural | under an acre | Idaho Department of Lands | LOWER BUTTE |
| 6 August 2009 | Natural | under an acre | Idaho Department of Lands | LEGENDARY |
| 26 August 2013 | Natural | under an acre | Idaho Department of Lands | ONE AM |
| 19 August 2020 | Natural | under an acre | Craig Mountain Area Office | DOCK BUTTE |
| 19 August 2004 | Equipment and vehicle use | 18 acres | Nez Perce Tribe | NO.PECK |
| 17 August 2013 | Natural | under an acre | Idaho Department of Lands | ROCKY BUTTE |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 10 workings within 5 miles of Cottonwood: 4 past producers, 4 producers, 1 occurrence, 1 unknown. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Clay, Gold, Silver, Platinum. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cottonwood Butte | Gold, Silver, Platinum, Copper | Past Producer | Gold | |
| Cottonwood Clay Occurrence No. 25 Prospect | Clay | Occurrence | Clay | |
| Borrow Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Borrow Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Cottonwood Quarry | Stone | Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Id 48 Quarry | Stone | Producer | ||
| Idaho 48 Quarry | Stone | Producer | ||
| State Pit 425-048 | Stone | Unknown | ||
| Willemburg Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
7 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cottonwood in 7 storm reports between 1995 and 2024: 5 hail, 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2022 | Hail | Cottonwood | $50,000 | Significant hail damage to multiple residences was observed, including broken windows, damaged siding, and crop losses. Wind driven hail broke through windows. Canola and wheat crops were flattened. A vineyard near Cottonwood was stripped by hail. |
| July 1995 | Hail | Cottonwood | $50,000 | Several severe thunderstorms moved through the state of Idaho. One thunderstorm in Northern Idaho produced hail .75 inch to 1.50 inches in diameter and high winds that downed power lines and trees in Nez Perce, Lewis, Latah, Shoshone, and Idaho counties. In thirty minutes, one inch of rain fell just northwest of Mountain Home. Winds gusting to 60 miles per hour occured at Osbourne, Sturgell Mountain, Rupert, and Minidoka Dam. One inch hail fell near Cottonwood and 1.50 inches hail fell at near Grangeville. This storm damaged the wheat and barley crops at a 100 percent loss in the Cottonwood area. Just south of Cottonwood trees were uprooted and the roof of an apartment building was torn off causing extensive property damage. This area also suffered a power outage. On Highway 95 near Lewiston Hill near Moscow two tractor-semitrailer were overturned by gusty winds. Power outages, telephone lines, trees downed, fire started by lightning caused damaged to an office building in Winchester. In the Peck area trees were downed and heavy rain caused visiblity to decrease to zero at times. Winds at Fenn and Cottonwood shattered windows and hail dented automobiles. In Southwest Idaho, lightning ignited nine grass fires. The largest was only 200 acres and all fires were contained quickly. The Moscow-Pullman Airport lost power to their runway lights until 2130 MST. They had to divert and cancel flights. Lake Coeur d'Alene had eight foot swells causing a dock to be torn apart. In Silver Valley, gusty winds to 60 mph downed power lines and trees. Silver Valley was also without power for a short period of time. |
| August 2024 | Hail | Cottonwood | - | A trained spotted called in to report one inch hail at 17:06 PDT from Cottonwood, ID. |
| June 2015 | Heavy Rain | Cottonwood | - | Trained spotter reported heavy rain with 0.5 inches of accumulation, pea size hail, and estimated 50 mph winds. |
| June 2010 | Hail | Cottonwood | - | Quarter size hail was reported by the public in Cottonwood, lasting 10 to 15 minutes. |
| June 2006 | Hail | Cottonwood | - | no account filed |
| July 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottonwood | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keuterville | 5.0 miles | 8 | |
| Greencreek | 6.1 miles | 10 | |
| Denver | 6.9 miles | 10 | |
| Ferdinand | 7.5 miles | 8 | |
| Fenn | 7.7 miles | 8 | |
| Westlake | 9.8 miles | 8 | |
| Dryden | 9.9 miles | 8 | |
| Boles | 12.6 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 Cottonwood | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1517328 | 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 372152. 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.




