Bestwall, Kansas
15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1889 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Blue Rapids City Township. It lies in ZIP code area 66411. The Survey maps it on the Blue Rapids quadrangle.
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.
- 1889 USGS Marysville quadrangle1:125000
- 1894 USGS Marysville quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
- 1955 USGS Manhattan quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1956 USGS Manhattan quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS Manhattan quadrangle1:250000
- 1968 USGS Blue Rapids quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1986 USGS Blue Rapids quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
9 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 9 fires within 5 miles of Bestwall between 1996 and 2020, burning about 2,349 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 |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7 |
| Debris and open burning | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 May 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Kansas Forest Service | not named |
| 3 May 2017 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Marshall County | 2017009 |
| 16 April 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 acres | Kansas Forest Service | not named |
| 11 April 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 2015017 |
| 24 February 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,288 acres | Marshall County | not named |
| 20 February 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4.0 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 10 |
| 16 February 2017 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Marshall County | 2017003 |
| 15 December 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Kansas Forest Service | 2019006 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
2 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Bestwall: 2 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Gypsum-Anhydrite. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Rapids Mine & Mill | Gypsum-Anhydrite | Producer | ||
| Blue Rapids Mine & Mill | Gypsum-Anhydrite | Producer |
Storms near this place
35 since 2010Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Bestwall in 35 storm reports between 2010 and 2025: 19 thunderstorm wind, 12 hail, 2 tornado, 1 funnel cloud. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bestwall | $5,000 | Several one inch tree limbs were down, as well as a 6 to 8 inch diameter tree in Blue Rapids. Power outages were also reported in the city. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bestwall | - | No damage reported, but person had high confidence in 70 mph winds. |
| April 2023 | Hail | Bestwall | - | Ping pong sized hail reported for about 10 minutes. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bestwall | - | Six inch tree limbs blown down. |
| July 2023 | Hail | Bestwall | - | Hail covering the ground with sizes up to half dollars. |
| July 2023 | Hail | Bestwall | - | Hail covering the ground with hail diameter up to 2 inches in size. |
| July 2023 | Hail | Bestwall | - | Golf ball sized hail reported in Blue Rapids. |
| June 2022 | Tornado (EF1) | Bestwall | - | Another tornado path that was nearly indistinguishable from the widespread straight line wind damage that preceded it into the north side of Blue Rapids. It appears that a tornado did damage along a path that traveled just north of a Georgia Pacific Plant along and just west of highway 77 where it derailed train cars then pushed south into the river bottoms snapping trees. The track became very broad as it approached the river where it appears it transitioned to a damaging downburst surge of 100-105 mph straight line winds across the city of Blue Rapids with the worst damage on the west side of the city. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bestwall | - | Numerous 2 to 4 inch diameter tree limbs down. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bestwall | - | Trees and power lines down. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bestwall | - | Winds estimated at 95 mph. One and two family residences lost portions of the roof, many trees down in the town of Blue Rapids. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bestwall | - | Power poles broken and 3 inch diameter tree limbs down, likely associated with a tornado. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bestwall | - | Trees uprooted or snapped, roof blown off a structure. |
| June 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bestwall | - | Power poles broken, 3 inch diameter tree limbs down as reported via mping. |
| May 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bestwall | - | Trees reported down. |
| July 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bestwall | - | Report of 60 mph wind gust. |
| August 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bestwall | - | Report of 4 inch diameter tree limb down. |
| August 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bestwall | - | Report via social media of 4 inch tree limb down. |
| July 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bestwall | - | Estimated wind gust. |
| July 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bestwall | - | Large broken tree branches, up to 3 inches in diameter. Time was estimated from radar. |
| May 2018 | Tornado (EF0) | Bestwall | - | Short weak tornado along leading edge of outflow with bowing structure. |
| September 2018 | Flash Flood | Bestwall | - | Water was reported over Highway 77 near the 7th road intersection. |
| September 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bestwall | - | Estimated wind gust of 60 MPH. Tree limbs were reported down although the size was unknown. |
| April 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bestwall | - | Time estimated by radar. |
| August 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bestwall | - | Wind gusts estimated. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Bestwall | - | A trained spotter near Blue Rapids reported a 60 mph wind gust. |
| September 2010 | Funnel Cloud | Bestwall | - | A storm chaser reported a brief funnel cloud near Blue Rapids. |
| April 2025 | Hail | Bestwall | - | no account filed |
| May 2016 | Hail | Bestwall | - | no account filed |
| April 2016 | Hail | Bestwall | - | no account filed |
| April 2016 | Hail | Bestwall | - | no account filed |
| October 2016 | Hail | Bestwall | - | no account filed |
| October 2014 | Hail | Bestwall | - | no account filed |
| May 2013 | Hail | Bestwall | - | no account filed |
| May 2010 | Hail | Bestwall | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Rapids | 2.1 miles | 15 | |
| Alcove Spring | 3.8 miles | 15 | |
| Shroyer | 4.4 miles | 15 | |
| Waterville | 5.5 miles | 15 | |
| Reedsville | 7.0 miles | 14 | |
| Carden | 8.8 miles | 14 | |
| Marysville | 9.0 miles | 15 | |
| Upland | 9.2 miles | 14 |
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.
| Wikidata item Q122592278 | 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 484949. 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.






