BlockBefore

Big Sky, Montana

21 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1888 and the latest in 1989. It stands in the Big Sky census division. It lies in ZIP code area 59716. The Survey maps it on the Gallatin Peak quadrangle. 3,591 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 7,218 feet above sea level.

Big Sky within Gallatin County

On record in Big Sky

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Big Sky grew from 2,308 to 3,591 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20102,308
20203,591+1,283 (+56%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 surveys from 21 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

30 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 30 fires within 5 miles of Big Sky between 1993 and 2020, burning about 25 acres in total. 11 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
Natural11
Missing data/not specified/undetermined8
Smoking3
Recreation and ceremony3
Debris and open burning2
Fireworks1
Equipment and vehicle use1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

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
8 September 2016Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreCuster Gallatin National ForestLOW DOG
29 September 2008Debris and open burning3.0 acresCuster Gallatin National ForestSPANISH PEAKS
15 September 2020Power generation/transmission/distributionunder an acreCuster Gallatin National ForestLONE PEAK
12 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCuster Gallatin National ForestSHACK
10 September 2005Naturalunder an acreCuster Gallatin National ForestYELLOW MOUNTAIN
7 August 2016Naturalunder an acreCuster Gallatin National ForestPANCAKE
6 August 2012Naturalunder an acreCuster Gallatin National ForestWEST FORK
5 August 2006Naturalunder an acreCuster Gallatin National ForestSHEDHORN

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Gallatin County

Mines and quarries near this place

8 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Big Sky: 4 prospects, 3 occurrences, 1 unknown. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Gold, Asbestos, Copper, Gold, Silver, Iron. 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
Beehive BasinMicaUnknown
Last Chance ProspectCopper, Gold, SilverOccurrence
Last Chance ProspectIronProspect
Moon Lake KyaniteKyanite, GarnetOccurrence
Gallatin River PlacersGoldProspect
Moon Lake AsbestosAsbestosProspect
Moon Lake Asbestos DepositAsbestosOccurrence1892
Ridge ProspectGoldProspect

Every working recorded in Gallatin County

Storms near this place

7 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Big Sky in 7 storm reports between 2002 and 2018: 4 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail. 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 2018Thunderstorm WindBig Sky-Mesonet station 5-miles WSW of Big Sky recorded 65-mph peak gust from thunderstorm. Elevation: 8622 feet MSL.
July 2013Thunderstorm WindBig Sky-High winds estimated at 52KT (60MPH) were reported 9 mi NE of Big Sky, MT. A 2.5 foot diameter tree was blown down, blocking highway 191.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindBig Sky-A thunderstorm produced a wind gust to 59 mph at Big Sky 7S (the Yellow Mule RAWS site - elevation 9200 feet).
August 2008HailBig Sky-A severe thunderstorm dropped 1 inch diameter hail at Big Sky 2E.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindBig Sky-A severe thunderstorm produced a wind gust to 59 mph at Big Sky 6S (Yellow Mule RAWS site).
May 2002HailBig Sky-A severe thunderstorm produced 0.75 inch hail in Big Sky.
June 2002HailBig Sky-A severe thunderstorm produced 1.00 inch hail near Big Sky.

Every storm recorded in Gallatin 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
Big Sky Meadow Village3.7 miles21
Big Sky Canyon Village6.2 miles21
Eldridge (historical)14.9 miles23
Little Bear (historical)20.8 miles22
Gallatin Gateway23.0 miles22
Gallatin Gateway Inn Park23.0 miles22
Country Court24.0 miles22
Atkins24.9 miles22

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 Big SkyAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q964258The 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 1853174. 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.