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Carlton, Montana

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1912 and the latest in 1998. It stands in the Lolo census division. It lies in ZIP code area 59833. It stands on Carlton Creek. The Survey maps it on the Florence quadrangle. 721 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 3,176 feet above sea level.

Carlton within Missoula County

On record in Carlton

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 within a mile 1 record

The National Register names another town for these. They stand within one mile of this settlement's coordinate.

Population over time

2 figures

Carlton grew from 694 to 721 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
2010694
2020721+27 (+4%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 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

124 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 124 fires within 5 miles of Carlton between 1992 and 2020, burning about 141 acres in total. 28 started naturally. 4 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined39
Debris and open burning33
Natural28
Recreation and ceremony13
Arson/incendiarism4
Equipment and vehicle use3
Misuse of fire by a minor2
Fireworks1
Other causes1

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
3 September 1994Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresSouthwestern Land OfficeLOWER MORMON
24 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreBitterroot National ForestONE HORSE FIRE
2 September 2009Naturalunder an acreBitterroot National ForestCARLTON CREEK
17 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreLolo National ForestMORMON PEAK#4
14 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreRavaIIi County441 TIE CHUTE LN
13 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMissoula County200158
12 September 1996Natural2.5 acresSouthwestern Land OfficeWOODCHUCK
1 September 2009Natural5.0 acresMissoula Field OfficeBALDY MOUNTAIN

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Missoula County

Mines and quarries near this place

9 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 9 workings within 5 miles of Carlton: 5 occurrences, 2 prospects, 1 past producer, 1 unknown. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Gold, Lead, Silver, Barium-Barite, Copper, Silica, Pumice. 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
SchroederQuartzOccurrence
Whaley CopperCopper, Lead, Silver, ZincProspect
Wild MapleZinc, Gold, Lead, SilverProspect
Lolo Quartz DepositSilicaPast ProducerQuartz
MaclaySilicaUnknown
Unnamed PumicePumiceOccurrence
Unnamed PumicePumiceOccurrence
WhaleyBarium-Barite, CopperOccurrenceVein
Whaley Mining ClaimsBarium-Barite, Copper, Gold, Lead, SilverOccurrenceBarite, Chalcocite, Chalcopyrite, Malachite

Every working recorded in Missoula County

Storms near this place

7 since 2010

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Carlton in 7 storm reports between 2010 and 2025: 6 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind. 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
July 2025HailCarlton-Hail estimated slightly over one inch in diameter was reported in Lolo, an event confirmed by at least two separate photos submitted by local residents.
July 2022HailCarlton-One inch hail was reported on the 'eastside' of Florence, MT.
August 2015HailCarlton-Public tweeted image confirms at least quarter size hail.
May 2013HailCarlton-Tree branches 2 inches in diameter broken off trees and branches stripped of leaves.
July 2010HailCarlton-An NWS employee reported one inch in diameter hail north of Florence.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindCarlton-Media shared photos of a backyard trampoline blown up against the side of a home.
August 2010HailCarlton-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Missoula 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
McClain2.1 miles13
Cozy Court5.4 miles14
Lolo5.7 miles14
Orchard Homes13.0 miles14
Yukon Saddle14.2 miles18
Missoula14.3 miles18
Hell Gate (historical)14.3 miles15
Travois Village14.9 miles15

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 CarltonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q5752322The 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 780946. 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.