BlockVarco, Minnesota
9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Austin Township. It lies in ZIP code area 55912. It stands on Rose Creek. The Survey maps it on the Lyle quadrangle. It stands 1,201 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 9 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 Austin quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS Mason City quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS Mason City quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Mason City quadrangle1:250000
- 1982 USGS Lyle quadrangle1:24000
- 1985 USGS Austin quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
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 Varco: 2 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lea Sand & Gravel Plit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Ulland Quarry & Mill | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer |
Storms near this place
14 since 2008Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Varco in 14 storm reports between 2008 and 2025: 8 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 1 flood, 1 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 2008 | Flood | Varco | $600,000 | The Cedar River in Austin reached a crest of 22.4 feet at the waste water treatment plant and 21.4 feet 3 miles south of Austin. Both of these crests occurred on June 12 and were the third highest on record. Flood stage at the waste water treatment plant is 15.0 feet and 11.0 feet 3 miles south of Austin. In addition, Turtle and Dobbins Creek near Austin crested at 13.74 feet and 18.95 feet respectively on June 12, which were both the second highest crests on record. All-time record crests were 14.77 feet at Turtle Creek, 25.0 feet at the waste water treatment plant and 23.26 feet 3 miles south of Austin, all of which occurred on September 16, 2004. Dobbins Creek all-time record crest was 19.18 feet on July 10, 2000.||Sections of Interstate 90 were closed from flood waters along the Cedar River. |
| December 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Varco | $15,000 | The roof of a house was damaged and trees were snapped off southwest of Austin. |
| December 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Varco | $7,000 | The roof to a house sustained some damage and trees were blown down southwest of Austin. |
| December 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Varco | $5,000 | Large trees were snapped off in a cemetery southwest of Austin. |
| December 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Varco | $2,000 | Trees were blown down southwest of Austin. |
| May 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Varco | $2,000 | A tree was blown down across U.S. Highway 218 north of Lyle. |
| April 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Varco | $1,500 | Law enforcement reported large trees down across Highway 105 six miles south of Austin. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Varco | - | Broadcast media relayed photos of fallen large trees and tree limbs near Austin. |
| June 2025 | Hail | Varco | - | The public reported ping pong ball sized hail 3 miles southeast of Varco. |
| June 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Varco | - | An estimated 60 mph wind gust occurred north of Lyle. |
| June 2014 | Flash Flood | Varco | - | Runoff from heavy rain caused Rose Creek to go out of its banks sending water over County Road 4 west of the town of Rose Creek. |
| August 2013 | Hail | Varco | - | Hail up to the size of half dollars fell south of Austin. |
| August 2013 | Hail | Varco | - | Hail that ranged in size from golf balls to 2 inches, fell south of Austin. |
| June 2019 | Hail | Varco | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austin Acres | 4.0 miles | 9 | |
| Austin | 4.3 miles | 9 | |
| Mapleview | 5.9 miles | 9 | |
| Nicolville | 6.3 miles | 9 | |
| Rose Creek | 6.6 miles | 9 | |
| Lyle | 7.0 miles | 9 | |
| Ramsey | 7.2 miles | 9 | |
| Andyville | 8.3 miles | 9 |
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 Varco | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q7915516 | 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 654983. 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.
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.