Alta Vista, Kansas
15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1885 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Garfield Township. It lies in ZIP code area 66834. The Survey maps it on the Alta Vista quadrangle. 409 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,457 feet above sea level.
On record in Alta Vista
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
- Pearl Opera Houselisted 2024
Population over time
2 figuresAlta Vista fell from 444 to 409 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 | 444 | |
| 2020 | 409 | -35 (-8%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 15 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.
- 1885 USGS Eskridge quadrangle1:125000
- 1889 USGS Eskridge quadrangle1:125000
- 1894 USGS Eskridge quadrangle1:125000, 5 printings
- 1955 USGS Hutchinson quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1959 USGS Hutchinson quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1971 USGS Alta Vista quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Council Grove quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
10 since 2015Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 10 fires within 5 miles of Alta Vista between 2015 and 2018, burning about 114 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 | 6 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2 |
| Other causes | 1 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 July 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 3.0 acres | Morris County | 10 |
| 20 July 2017 | Debris and open burning | 7.0 acres | Morris County | 11 |
| 11 April 2017 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Morris County | 9 |
| 3 March 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.0 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 5 |
| 26 March 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 35 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 10 |
| 21 March 2018 | Debris and open burning | 25 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 8 |
| 18 March 2017 | Debris and open burning | 12 acres | Morris County | 5 |
| 14 October 2015 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Kansas Forest Service | 18 |
Storms near this place
60 of 70 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Alta Vista in 70 storm reports between 1996 and 2026: 44 hail, 17 thunderstorm wind, 5 tornado, 3 flash flood. 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 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alta Vista | $45,000 | Strong winds damaged several outbuildings and silos. |
| June 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alta Vista | $15,000 | Strong winds blew down tree limbs as large as 2 feet in diameter onto vehicles doing damage. |
| September 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alta Vista | $2,000 | Two tree up to 2 feet in diameter snapped in half along K4 Highway. |
| August 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alta Vista | $2,000 | no account filed |
| June 2009 | Hail | Alta Vista | $1,000 | Tree damage and bay window broken on house were reported. |
| June 2009 | Hail | Alta Vista | $1,000 | Tree damage and bay window broken was on house. |
| May 2025 | Tornado (EF0) | Alta Vista | - | A small tornado produce tree damage just north of a property in southern Wabaunsee County. The small tornado moved east of highway 4 and into pastureland where there were few damage indicators. The end point was estimated based on radar imagery. |
| June 2025 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | Estimated hail to quarter size in diameter. |
| March 2024 | Tornado (EF2) | Alta Vista | - | NWS damage survey along with multiple video accounts show a tornado formed just east of Alta Vista then tracked over mainly rural areas of Wabaunsee County to the northeast producing damage along an 8.5 mile long track. The tornado was most intense just northeast of Alta Vista and southeast of Volland where EF2 damage was found to hardwood trees where widespread healthy tree trunks were snapped on the west side of the circulation. The survey crew could not access further east closer to the center point or eastern flank of the tornado circulation damage path however it is estimated that this was around 300 yards wide at its widest point. Maximum winds estimated to around 115 mph based upon damage to hardwood trees. |
| April 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alta Vista | - | Wind gust of 65 mph reported by NWS employee. |
| May 2020 | Tornado (EFU) | Alta Vista | - | Storm chasers also reported a small tornado on the ground northeast of Alta Vista. No damage was reported from this tornado. Other chasers viewing this storm from 15-20 miles east of it also reported a tornado around 825 pm looking west toward Wabaunsee County. |
| August 2019 | Tornado (EFU) | Alta Vista | - | Law enforcement reported 2 small tornadoes this is the northern tornado. No damage was noted with the tornadoes however reports and radar do suggest that they existed in some form. Path and time are estimated off radar and reports. |
| May 2017 | Tornado (EF0) | Alta Vista | - | A report from a chaser indicated a brief tornado in open country in the Flint Hills. No damage was reported. The tornado lasted less than 30 seconds. |
| May 2017 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | Report received via social media. |
| May 2017 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | The report was time estimated via radar. |
| June 2014 | Flood | Alta Vista | - | Minor flooding of creek. Water appears to be more than 1 foot deep over low water crossing but creek still running within banks. |
| May 2012 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | The hail fell for 10 minutes. |
| March 2012 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | This is a delayed report, discovered on social media. |
| April 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alta Vista | - | Spotter measured winds of 65 mph. |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alta Vista | - | A tree was knocked over 2 miles south of Alta Vista. |
| August 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alta Vista | - | A trained spotter reported 60 mph winds. a metal flag pole was pushed over as a result of the wind. |
| June 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alta Vista | - | Two inch limbs are breaking off trees. |
| June 2009 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | Tree damage and bay window broken on house were reported. |
| July 2008 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | Several trained spotter in Alta Vista reported hail from one and three quarter inches in diameter to two and a half inches in diameter. |
| March 2006 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | Hail covered the ground. |
| June 2004 | Flash Flood | Alta Vista | - | Heavy rains produced flash flooding that did crop damage near Alta Vista. |
| June 2004 | Flash Flood | Alta Vista | - | Heavy rains of 6 to 10 inches produced flash flooding near Alta Vista. |
| June 2004 | Flash Flood | Alta Vista | - | Heavy rains caused a creek to overflow. |
| April 2026 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| August 2019 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| April 2016 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| May 2013 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| May 2012 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| May 2012 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| April 2011 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| April 2011 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| June 2009 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| June 2009 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| June 2009 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| October 2007 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| July 2007 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| April 2006 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| April 2006 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| November 2003 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| April 2002 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| April 2002 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| April 2002 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| May 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| May 2002 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| May 2002 | Hail | Alta Vista | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Alta Vista | - | 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 Alta Vista | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2629514 | 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 476909. 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.
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.






