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.
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
- B-K Ranchlisted 2006
Population over time
2 figuresBig 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2,308 | |
| 2020 | 3,591 | +1,283 (+56%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
11 surveys from 21 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.
- 1888 USGS Three Forks quadrangle1:250000
- 1894 USGS Three Forks quadrangle1:250000
- 1895 USGS Three Forks quadrangle1:250000, 5 printings
- 1947 USGS Bozeman quadrangle1:250000
- 1948 USGS Bozeman quadrangle1:250000
- 1950 USGS Spanish Peaks quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
- 1955 USGS Bozeman quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Bozeman quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1965 USGS Bozeman quadrangle1:250000
- 1988 USGS Gallatin Peak quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1989 USGS Ennis quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
30 since 1993Regional 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 |
|---|---|
| Natural | 11 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 8 |
| Smoking | 3 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 3 |
| Debris and open burning | 2 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Custer Gallatin National Forest | LOW DOG |
| 29 September 2008 | Debris and open burning | 3.0 acres | Custer Gallatin National Forest | SPANISH PEAKS |
| 15 September 2020 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Custer Gallatin National Forest | LONE PEAK |
| 12 September 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Custer Gallatin National Forest | SHACK |
| 10 September 2005 | Natural | under an acre | Custer Gallatin National Forest | YELLOW MOUNTAIN |
| 7 August 2016 | Natural | under an acre | Custer Gallatin National Forest | PANCAKE |
| 6 August 2012 | Natural | under an acre | Custer Gallatin National Forest | WEST FORK |
| 5 August 2006 | Natural | under an acre | Custer Gallatin National Forest | SHEDHORN |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
8 within 5 milesRegional 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beehive Basin | Mica | Unknown | ||
| Last Chance Prospect | Copper, Gold, Silver | Occurrence | ||
| Last Chance Prospect | Iron | Prospect | ||
| Moon Lake Kyanite | Kyanite, Garnet | Occurrence | ||
| Gallatin River Placers | Gold | Prospect | ||
| Moon Lake Asbestos | Asbestos | Prospect | ||
| Moon Lake Asbestos Deposit | Asbestos | Occurrence | 1892 | |
| Ridge Prospect | Gold | Prospect |
Storms near this place
7 since 2002Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Sky | - | Mesonet station 5-miles WSW of Big Sky recorded 65-mph peak gust from thunderstorm. Elevation: 8622 feet MSL. |
| July 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big 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 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Sky | - | A thunderstorm produced a wind gust to 59 mph at Big Sky 7S (the Yellow Mule RAWS site - elevation 9200 feet). |
| August 2008 | Hail | Big Sky | - | A severe thunderstorm dropped 1 inch diameter hail at Big Sky 2E. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Big Sky | - | A severe thunderstorm produced a wind gust to 59 mph at Big Sky 6S (Yellow Mule RAWS site). |
| May 2002 | Hail | Big Sky | - | A severe thunderstorm produced 0.75 inch hail in Big Sky. |
| June 2002 | Hail | Big Sky | - | A severe thunderstorm produced 1.00 inch hail near Big Sky. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Sky Meadow Village | 3.7 miles | 21 | |
| Big Sky Canyon Village | 6.2 miles | 21 | |
| Eldridge (historical) | 14.9 miles | 23 | |
| Little Bear (historical) | 20.8 miles | 22 | |
| Gallatin Gateway | 23.0 miles | 22 | |
| Gallatin Gateway Inn Park | 23.0 miles | 22 | |
| Country Court | 24.0 miles | 22 | |
| Atkins | 24.9 miles | 22 |
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 Sky | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q964258 | 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 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.










