Gale, Illinois
22 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1934 and the latest in 1996. It stands in McClure precinct. It lies in ZIP code area 62990. It stands on Miller Creek. The Survey maps it on the Thebes quadrangle. It stands 338 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
14 surveys from 22 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.
- 1934 USGS Thebes quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
- 1939 USGS Thebes quadrangle1:62500
- 1949 USGS Paducah quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1950 USGS Paducah quadrangle1:250000
- 1954 USGS Paducah quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1955 USGS Thebes quadrangle1:62500
- 1961 USGS Paducah quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1964 USGS Paducah quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1966 USGS Thebes quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1984 USGS Cape Girardeau quadrangle1:100000
- 1986 USGS Cape Girardeau quadrangle1:100000
- 1987 USGS Paducah quadrangle1:250000
- 1993 USGS Thebes quadrangle1:24000
- 1996 USGS Thebes quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
30 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 30 fires within 5 miles of Gale between 1997 and 2020, burning about 279 acres in total. None started naturally. 3 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 | 12 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 9 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 3 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 2 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 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 2006 | Debris and open burning | 2.5 acres | Shawnee National Forest | MUD PUPPY |
| 9 August 2018 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Shawnee National Forest | BEAN RIDGE |
| 29 August 2017 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Shawnee National Forest | SEXTON CREEK |
| 8 May 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 90 acres | Shawnee National Forest | REIMAN |
| 6 April 2010 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Shawnee National Forest | ASPEN II |
| 5 April 2007 | Railroad operations and maintenance | under an acre | Shawnee National Forest | GALE FIRE |
| 3 April 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 5.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | BEAN |
| 25 April 2014 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Shawnee National Forest | GALE |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 12 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 12 workings within 5 miles of Gale: 4 prospects, 3 past producers, 2 producers, 2 occurrences. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Diatomite, Clay, Silica. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miss.River Shale Exposure | Clay | Prospect | ||
| Shawnee Special Use Silica Deposit 3 | Silica | Occurrence | ||
| Birk No. 3 Mine | Diatomite | Prospect | ||
| Birk No.3 Mine | Diatomite | Prospect | ||
| Federal Mine | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Grays Point Quarry #2 & Mill | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Limestone Prospect | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Occurrence | ||
| Thebes Sandstone Deposit | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Prospect | ||
| Unk | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Unk | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Unknown |
Storms near this place
2 since 2008Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Gale in 2 storm reports between 2008 and 2013: 1 flood, 1 tornado. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2013 | Tornado (EF0) | Gale | $100,000 | The tornado passed through East Cape Girardeau with estimated peak winds near 80 mph. Numerous trees and tree branches were blown down. There was shingle and other minor damage to several houses. A church steeple was blown off a church. Some damage occurred to fencing and small sheds. The average path width was 175 yards. |
| September 2008 | Flood | Gale | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thebes | 2.1 miles | 22 | |
| East Cape Girardeau | 4.1 miles | 25 | |
| McClure | 4.8 miles | 25 | |
| Fayville | 5.9 miles | 22 | |
| Diswood | 6.7 miles | 22 | |
| Olive Branch | 7.5 miles | 22 | |
| Clank | 7.7 miles | 22 | |
| Dawleys | 8.4 miles | 22 |
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 Gale | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q5518249 | 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 408843. 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.













