BlockBefore

Choteau, Montana

11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1920 and the latest in 1987. It stands in the Choteau census division. It lies in ZIP code area 59422. The Survey maps it on the Choteau quadrangle. 1,721 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 3,819 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Choteau within Teton County

On record in Choteau

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

Choteau grew from 1,684 to 1,721 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
20101,684
20201,721+37 (+2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 11 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

6 since 2016

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 6 fires within 5 miles of Choteau between 2016 and 2017, burning about 11 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
Fireworks3
Missing data/not specified/undetermined1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Equipment and vehicle use1

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 August 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSouthwestern Land Officenot named
12 August 2017Power generation/transmission/distributionunder an acreCentral Land OfficeCHOTEAU
5 July 2017Fireworks2.0 acresCentral Land OfficeCHOTEAU
11 July 2017Fireworks2.0 acresCentral Land OfficeCHOTEAU
17 June 2017Fireworksunder an acreCentral Land OfficeCHOTEAU
24 October 2017Equipment and vehicle use6.0 acresCentral Land OfficeCHOTEAU

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Teton County

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Choteau: 1 occurrence. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Iron, REE, Titanium. 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
Iron-Titanium OccurrenceIron, REE, TitaniumOccurrence

Every working recorded in Teton County

Storms near this place

44 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Choteau in 44 storm reports between 1994 and 2024: 18 hail, 17 thunderstorm wind, 4 flood, 2 flash flood. 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
January 2020FloodChoteau$250,000An ice jam along the Spring Creek on the northeastern side of Choteau sent flood waters up to a couple feet in depth into a small section of the city with minor impacts. The flooding may have also played a partial role in the basement flooding reported by up to 80 houses in the city. Information was provided by the city of Choteau Facebook and by NWS field inspection.
August 2024HailChoteau-COOP observer reports quarter sized hail fell for about ten minutes.
July 2022Heavy RainChoteau-Trained spotter reported 1.01 inches of total rainfall today, with 0.74 inches falling in 1 hour.
July 2022HailChoteau-Public report from MPING for 1.75 inch hail.
July 2021Thunderstorm WindChoteau-The Choteau Ancantha Newspaper posted images of large healthy tree limbs and power lines taken down by thunderstorm winds. Power outages were also reported.
July 2021Flash FloodChoteau-Flooding with debris on roadways near 4th Avenue SW and 1st St, with additional flooding at 7th Avenue NW and Division St. Both areas had impassable roads. Up to 1.82 inches of rain were reported with the thunderstorms. Pictures provided by Choteau Acantha Newspaper.
March 2018FloodChoteau-Law enforcement reported snowmelt flooding forced closure of several roads in Teton County. Exact extent of flooding unknown.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindChoteau-Estimated peak gusts of 65 mph. Large trees knocked down in multiple locations in Choteau.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindChoteau-Delayed report of multiple trees down and no power in Choteau. Also reported pea-size hail. Estimated peak gusts of 60 mph. Time of report estimated via radar.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindChoteau-Mesonet station reported a wind gust 63 mph.
June 2016HailChoteau-A thunderstorm dropped 1 inch diameter hail at Choteau. Also, 1 inch diameter hail fell at Bynum 12WSW. Minor damage was reported to vehicles and roofs.
August 2014Heavy RainChoteau-Heavy rain, measuring 2.41 inches storm total, was reported.
August 2013Thunderstorm WindChoteau-High winds measuring 56KT (65MPH) were reported 10 miles SW of Choteau, MT.
July 2013Thunderstorm WindChoteau-High winds of 56KT (64MPH) were reported 10 mi SSW of Choteau, MT.
June 2012HailChoteau-Golf ball sized hail (1.75 inches) was reported mixed in with small hail 8 miles ENE of Choteau.
June 2012HailChoteau-Hail of 1 inch was reported 2 miles S of Choteau.
March 2011FloodChoteau-Numerous road closures across Teton county.
August 2010Flash FloodChoteau-National Weather Service 88D radar returns indicated heavy rainfall from a slow moving thunderstorm thus prompting a flash flood warning. No reports of damage were received.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindChoteau-A severe thunderstorm produced a wind gust to 60 mph at Choteau 2S. Large tree limbs were reported down within the city.
July 2009HailChoteau-A severe thunderstorm dropped 1.75 inch diameter hail at Choteau 9WSW. Windows were reported broken at several homes.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindChoteau-A thunderstorm produced a wind gust to 60 mph at Choteau.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindChoteau-A severe thunderstorm produced a wind gust to 60 mph at Choteau.
July 2008HailChoteau-A severe thunderstorm dropped .75 inch diameter hail at Choteau.
July 2008HailChoteau-A severe thunderstorm dropped 1.75 inch diameter hail at Choteau 4S.
May 2008FloodChoteau-Storm total rainfall was 5.20 inches. Deep Creek was out of its banks and approached a home.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindChoteau-A severe thunderstorm produced a wind gust to 71 mph at the Choteau airport.
June 2002Thunderstorm WindChoteau-A severe thunderstorm produced a 60 mph wind gust at Choteau.
July 2002HailChoteau-A severe thunderstorm produced 0.88 inch hail at Choteau 6N.
June 2001Thunderstorm WindChoteau-Reported by spotter at Choteau Airport (actual location Choteau 2 S).
May 2001Thunderstorm WindChoteau-Actual spotter location Choteau 2 S.
September 2000WildfireChoteau-Ear Mountain fire, 1978 acres burned, lightning caused.
July 2022HailChoteau-no account filed
June 2005HailChoteau-no account filed
June 2004Thunderstorm WindChoteau-no account filed
September 2004Thunderstorm WindChoteau-no account filed
September 2004Thunderstorm WindChoteau-no account filed
June 2003HailChoteau-no account filed
June 2003HailChoteau-no account filed
August 1999HailChoteau-no account filed
June 1997HailChoteau-no account filed
June 1997HailChoteau-no account filed
June 1997HailChoteau-no account filed
June 1994HailChoteau-no account filed
June 1994Thunderstorm WindChoteau-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Teton 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
Choteau Junction0.6 miles11
Truchot Hill1.7 miles11
Farmington5.2 miles11
Burton (historical)6.3 miles11
Koyl7.4 miles11
Eastham Junction7.5 miles11
Malone9.0 miles11
New Rockport Colony9.2 miles11

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 ChoteauAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q967215The 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 800592. 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.