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Cross Lake, Minnesota

11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1976. It stands in Crosslake City. It lies in ZIP code area 56442. The Survey maps it on the Cross Lake quadrangle. 2,394 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,240 feet above sea level.

Cross Lake within Crow Wing County

Population over time

2 figures

Cross Lake grew from 2,141 to 2,394 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.

YearPeople Change
20102,141
20202,394+253 (+12%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 11 printed sheets

Matched 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.

Fires near this place

112 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 112 fires within 5 miles of Cross Lake between 1992 and 2020, burning about 212 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 9 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 burning58
Missing data/not specified/undetermined22
Arson/incendiarism9
Equipment and vehicle use8
Recreation and ceremony7
Natural4
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Smoking1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
16 September 2006Naturalunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
13 September 2011Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
9 July 2007Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
7 July 2007Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
31 July 1993Arson/incendiarismunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
25 July 2003Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
25 July 2001Debris and open burningunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
21 July 2005Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Crow Wing County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Cross Lake: 3 occurrences. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Limestone, General. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Crow Wing County Marl Beds No 5Limestone, GeneralOccurrence
Crow Wing County Marl Beds No 6Limestone, GeneralOccurrence
Crow Wing County Marl Beds No 7Limestone, GeneralOccurrence

Every working recorded in Crow Wing County

Storms near this place

49 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cross Lake in 49 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 33 thunderstorm wind, 15 hail, 1 lightning. The reports record 3 injuries. 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 1999Thunderstorm WindCross Lake3 hurtno account filed
July 2013Thunderstorm WindCross Lake$6,000Thunderstorm winds knocked down at least 50 trees in the immediate Crosslake area. A large oak tree fell on a garage while another large tree fell on a motorhome.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindCross Lake$5,000Numerous trees were blown down across the county. A sailboat on Gull Lake was flipped over by the winds, along with pontoons at other resorts. Store signs in Brainerd were torn off and blown two blocks. Winds in Cross Lake were measured at 60 knots (69 mph). Trees in Baxter were blown down on cars.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindCross Lake$500A tree was blown down on County Road 1.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindCross Lake-A dozen trees were on roadways and three trees were down on powerlines in the community of Crosslake.
June 2024HailCross Lake-Hail 2 inches or more in diameter fell continuously between 6:17PM and 6:42PM. Hail was still over 1.5 inches in diameter over an hour and half after it stopped falling.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindCross Lake-Several trees were uprooted and snapped.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindCross Lake-A few small to medium sized trees were snapped.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindCross Lake-Multiple trees were snapped in the Crosslake Recreation area. One healthy tree that was about 1 to 2 feet in diameter was snapped near the base.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindCross Lake-A photo was received showing a 12 to 14 inch tree that had been snapped.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindCross Lake-A boat lift and a dock were flipped on Lower Whitefish Lake.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindCross Lake-Multiple medium to large trees were downed across a campground.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindCross Lake-A tree fell during the storm onto an occupied popup camper at the Corps of Engineers campground.
August 2018Thunderstorm WindCross Lake-Multiple trees and power lines were downed by the storm.
September 2017Thunderstorm WindCross Lake-Multiple trees were knocked down along with nearby power lines.
September 2017Thunderstorm WindCross Lake-Multiple trees were knocked down along with nearby power lines.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindCross Lake-Fifteen trees were blown down in the individual's yard.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindCross Lake-Large trees were blown down along West Shore Road.
May 2012Thunderstorm WindCross Lake-Numerous trees were blown down along County Roads 3, 103, and also 120.
May 2012Thunderstorm WindCross Lake-Ten trees were snapped off and two others uprooted at a USACE camp ground. Several other trees were blown down on structures around the camp.
May 2011Thunderstorm WindCross Lake-Two 12 inch diameter trees were uprooted.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindCross Lake-Trees were blown down between Crosslake and Fifty Lakes.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindCross Lake-Trees were blown down.
June 2008Thunderstorm WindCross Lake-People were trapped in a campground due to numerous downed trees. Trees were also reported down in the Whitefish and Deerwood areas.
May 2007Thunderstorm WindCross Lake-Several large oaks and powerlines were blown down.
June 2006Thunderstorm WindCross Lake-Two 10-inch diameter pine trees were blown down.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindCross Lake-Trees were blown down, causing power outages.
April 2004Thunderstorm WindCross Lake-There was major tree damage.
September 2004Thunderstorm WindCross Lake-Numerous trees were blown down.
June 2024HailCross Lake-no account filed
June 2024HailCross Lake-no account filed
June 2024HailCross Lake-no account filed
July 2022HailCross Lake-no account filed
July 2022HailCross Lake-no account filed
September 2022HailCross Lake-no account filed
August 2020HailCross Lake-no account filed
June 2005HailCross Lake-no account filed
June 2003LightningCross Lake-no account filed
April 2002Thunderstorm WindCross Lake-no account filed
June 2001HailCross Lake-no account filed
August 2000HailCross Lake-no account filed
July 1999Thunderstorm WindCross Lake-no account filed
June 1998HailCross Lake-no account filed
July 1998Thunderstorm WindCross Lake-no account filed
June 1998Thunderstorm WindCross Lake-no account filed
July 1996Thunderstorm WindCross Lake-no account filed
July 1996HailCross Lake-no account filed
July 1996HailCross Lake-no account filed
July 1996HailCross Lake-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Crow Wing County

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 PlaceDistance Sheets
Manhattan Beach4.9 miles10
Fifty Lakes5.6 miles11
Mission5.9 miles10
Breezy Point6.2 miles12
Lakewood Court6.3 miles10
Swanburg6.5 miles10
Emily9.6 miles11
Wolford10.6 miles10

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 Cross LakeAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1884108The 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 642486. 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.