Ray, Minnesota
10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1999. It stands in the East Koochiching unorganized territory. It lies in ZIP code area 56669. The Survey maps it on the Ray quadrangle. It stands 1,158 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 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.
- 1954 USGS International Falls quadrangle1:250000
- 1957 USGS International Falls quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS International Falls quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1969 USGS Ray quadrangle1:24000, 4 printings
- 1978 USGS Littlefork quadrangle1:100000
- 1999 USGS Ray quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
32 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 32 fires within 5 miles of Ray between 1992 and 2020, burning about 301 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 5 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 | 15 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 6 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 5 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 3 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2 |
| Natural | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 September 1997 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 13 August 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 29 July 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 23 June 2016 | Railroad operations and maintenance | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 2 June 2019 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 19 June 2002 | Natural | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 11 June 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 7 May 1994 | Debris and open burning | 8.0 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Ray: 1 occurrence. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Peat. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Koochiching County Peat Bogs | Peat | Occurrence |
Storms near this place
10 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ray in 10 storm reports between 1995 and 2023: 7 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind. 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 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ray | $5,000 | A roof was damaged along Highway 217 near mile post 17. |
| August 2023 | Hail | Ray | - | Hail was mostly dime-sized but a few hailstones were quarter-sized. |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ray | - | Two trees were blown down. Branches were blown down as well. |
| August 1995 | Hail | Ray | - | Hail damaged windshield of weather spotter. |
| June 2019 | Hail | Ray | - | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Hail | Ray | - | no account filed |
| August 1999 | Hail | Ray | - | no account filed |
| June 1999 | Hail | Ray | - | no account filed |
| June 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ray | - | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Hail | Ray | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ericsburg | 8.3 miles | 8 | |
| Spring Lodge Resort and Marina | 12.9 miles | 10 | |
| Island View | 12.9 miles | 10 | |
| Thunderbird Resort | 13.1 miles | 10 | |
| Sha-Sha Resort | 13.1 miles | 10 | |
| Nakoda | 15.0 miles | 9 | |
| Falls Junction | 15.0 miles | 10 | |
| Jameson | 15.7 miles | 10 |
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 Ray | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q14693012 | 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 657994. 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.





