Benton Lake, Montana

15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1976. It stands in the Great Falls North census division. It lies in ZIP code area 59404. The Survey maps it on the Benton Lake East quadrangle. The federal gazetteer marks this settlement historical: it is no longer a populated place, though the surveys that recorded it still are.

Benton Lake within Cascade County

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 15 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.

1886 USGS Great Falls quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
1949 USGS Great Falls quadrangle1:62500
1951 USGS Great Falls quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
1954 USGS Great Falls quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
1957 USGS Great Falls quadrangle1:250000
1965 USGS Benton Lake East quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
1976 USGS Great Falls North quadrangle1:100000

Fires near this place

10 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 10 fires within 5 miles of Benton Lake (historical) between 1996 and 2020, burning about 437 acres in total. 5 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
Natural	5
Equipment and vehicle use	2
Debris and open burning	2
Fireworks	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
7 September 2012	Equipment and vehicle use	44 acres	Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge	BOOTLEGGER
26 August 2020	Debris and open burning	under an acre	Cascade County	DENT ROAD FIRE
15 August 2014	Natural	33 acres	Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge	BLR UNIT 6
12 August 2012	Natural	118 acres	Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge	EAST BOOTLEGGER
5 July 2017	Fireworks	under an acre	Central Land Office	BLACK EAGLE
18 July 1996	Natural	1.0 acres	Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge	TETON RIDGE
9 June 1998	Natural	under an acre	Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge	NATURAL A
19 April 2012	Natural	under an acre	Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge	GATE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Cascade County

Mines and quarries near this place

6 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Benton Lake (historical): 5 unknowns, 1 prospect. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Uranium. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status
United Petroleum Good 1	Uranium	Prospect
Unnamed Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Unknown
Unnamed Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Unknown
Unnamed Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Unknown
Unnamed Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Unknown
Unnamed Gravel Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Unknown

Every working recorded in Cascade 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.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Watson (historical)	8.1 miles	16
Portage	9.3 miles	18
Sheffels	10.1 miles	19
Countryside Village	10.5 miles	16
North Great Falls (historical)	11.0 miles	16
Little Chicago (historical)	11.4 miles	16
Black Eagle	11.5 miles	16
Rainbow	11.7 miles	19

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1762284. 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.