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Dessa, Missouri

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1907 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Buffalo Township. It lies in ZIP code area 64865. The Survey maps it on the Seneca quadrangle.

Dessa within Newton County

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 16 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

73 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 73 fires within 5 miles of Dessa between 1992 and 2020, burning about 428 acres in total. None started naturally. 3 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 burning45
Missing data/not specified/undetermined17
Equipment and vehicle use4
Recreation and ceremony3
Arson/incendiarism3
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
9 September 2019Equipment and vehicle use21 acresMissouri Department of Conservation179423-07334-09092019-1425
5 September 1995Equipment and vehicle use38 acresMissouri Department of Conservationnot named
21 September 2020Debris and open burning9.2 acresMissouri Department of Conservation230710-07355-09212020-1311
10 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMissouri Department of Conservation179425-07334-09102019-1155
10 September 1999Debris and open burning2.0 acresMissouri Department of Conservationnot named
12 August 2014Debris and open burning1.0 acresMissouri Department of Conservationnot named
5 July 2013Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresMissouri Department of Conservationnot named
3 July 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresMissouri Department of Conservationnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Newton County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 14 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 14 workings within 5 miles of Dessa: 14 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Silica, Lead, Zinc, Barium-Barite, Lead, Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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
Unknown - Lead & BariteBarium-Barite, LeadPast Producer
Unknown - Ls.Stone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Unknown - PbLeadPast Producer
Seneca RacineLead, ZincPast Producer
Unknown - Zn & PbLead, ZincPast Producer
Unknown - TripoliSilicaPast Producer
Unknown - TripoliSilicaPast Producer
Unknown - TripoliSilicaPast Producer
Unknown - TripoliSilicaPast Producer
Unknown - TripoliSilicaPast Producer

Every working recorded in Newton County

Storms near this place

7 since 2011

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Dessa in 7 storm reports between 2011 and 2025: 7 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
April 2025Flash FloodDessa-State highway AA was flooded and impassable near Buffalo Creek.
April 2025Flash FloodDessa-State Highway Aa at Buffalo Creek was flooded and impassable.
May 2021Flash FloodDessa-State Highway AA at a tributary of Buffalo Creek was closed at a low water crossing due to flooding.
March 2021Flash FloodDessa-Highway AA was closed at a low water area due to flooding.
May 2019Flash FloodDessa-State Highway AA was closed due to flooding from Buffalo Creek.
August 2013Flash FloodDessa-Route AA was closed due to flood waters.
April 2011Flash FloodDessa-Route AA was closed due to flooding.

Every storm recorded in Newton 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
Westview2.1 miles16
Wela Park5.0 miles16
Seneca5.3 miles16
Belfast5.4 miles15
Racine6.2 miles16
McElhany6.6 miles15
Seneca Quapaw Agency (historical)8.0 miles16
June8.6 miles16

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 716852. 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.