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Benchland, Montana

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1890 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Stanford census division. It lies in ZIP code area 59462. The Survey maps it on the Benchland quadrangle.

Benchland within Judith Basin County

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 13 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

3 since 2019

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 3 fires within 5 miles of Benchland between 2019 and 2020, burning about 8 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
Equipment and vehicle use2
Missing data/not specified/undetermined1

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
21 September 2020Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresJudith Basin CountyFDH-MTLG36-351
26 August 2020Equipment and vehicle use2.0 acresJudith Basin CountyNOEL RANCH M.A.
3 June 2019Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresJudith Basin CountyMOCCASIN

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Judith Basin County

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Benchland: 1 unknown, 1 prospect. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Clay, Manganese. 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
M&M MinesManganeseProspect
Unnamed ClayClayUnknown

Every working recorded in Judith Basin County

Storms near this place

12 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Benchland in 12 storm reports between 2002 and 2025: 8 hail, 2 heavy rain, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado. 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
June 2025HailBenchland-Public report of quarter sized hail around Benchland.
June 2025HailBenchland-Public caller updated with golf ball sized hail a few minutes after initial call.
June 2025HailBenchland-Trained spotter reports hail of quarter size to half dollar size along US-87 between Moccasin and Windham. Damage to automobiles reported as well.
June 2024HailBenchland-Trained spotter reports 1 inch hail.
June 2019HailBenchland-One inch hail measured.
June 2019Tornado (EF0)Benchland-Tornado near Benchland at 510 PM. Classified as an EF0 Tornado with a peak wind estimated between 75 and 85 MPH. It was 400 yards wide and was on the ground for about a quarter of a mile. The tornado lifted near 515 PM.
June 2018HailBenchland-Spotter reported ping pong ball-size hail 2-miles NW of Benchland.
August 2014Heavy RainBenchland-Heavy rain, measuring 6.74 inches storm total, was reported.
August 2014Heavy RainBenchland-Heavy rain, measuring 2.23 inches in 24 hours, was reported.
June 2012HailBenchland-Quarter sized hailed, measuring 1.00 inches, was reported 2 miles NW of Benchland.
July 2002Thunderstorm WindBenchland-A severe thunderstorm produced a wind gust to 60 mph at Benchland.
August 2002HailBenchland-A severe thunderstorm produced 0.75 inch hail at Benchland 1N.

Every storm recorded in Judith Basin 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
Moccasin6.0 miles8
Windham6.5 miles13
Philbrook (historical)6.9 miles11
Utica8.6 miles16
Hobson9.3 miles8
Lehigh10.3 miles13
Scholtztown11.4 miles13
Stanford11.8 miles13

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 Q122571748The 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 802026. 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.