Columbia Falls, Montana
11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1943 and the latest in 1994. It stands in the Columbia Falls census division. It lies in ZIP code area 59912. It stands on Cedar Creek. The Survey maps it on the Columbia Falls South quadrangle. 5,308 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 3,087 feet above sea level.
On record in Columbia Falls
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 3 records
Flathead River Bridgelisted 2010
Soldiers' Home Historic Districtlisted 1994
St. Richard's Churchlisted 1980
Population over time
2 figuresColumbia Falls grew from 4,688 to 5,308 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 | 4,688 | |
| 2020 | 5,308 | +620 (+13%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 11 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.
- 1943 USGS Kalispell quadrangle1:125000
- 1957 USGS Kalispell quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1960 USGS Kalispell quadrangle1:250000
- 1961 USGS Kalispell quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Columbia Falls South quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1981 USGS Kalispell quadrangle1:100000
- 1994 USGS Columbia Falls South quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
134 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 134 fires within 5 miles of Columbia Falls between 1992 and 2020, burning about 106 acres in total. 9 started naturally. 1 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 |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 58 |
| Debris and open burning | 25 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 16 |
| Natural | 9 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 6 |
| Smoking | 6 |
| Fireworks | 4 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 2 |
| Other causes | 2 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 2 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Northwestern Land Office | TRAP ROAD |
| 7 September 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Northwestern Land Office | HIDEAWAY |
| 3 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Flathead County | HWY 206 / COLUMBIA MEADOWS DR-CF |
| 28 September 2010 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Northwestern Land Office | TOFTUM LANE |
| 24 September 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Northwestern Land Office | SOUTH CEDER LAKE |
| 22 September 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Northwestern Land Office | not named |
| 22 September 1999 | Smoking | under an acre | Northwestern Land Office | CEDAR CREEK |
| 20 September 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Flathead National Forest | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
4 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Columbia Falls: 3 producers, 1 plant. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Aluminum, Contained or Metal. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Facility) Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. Smelter | Aluminum, Contained or Metal | Plant | 1955 | |
| Art Weaver Crusher | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Blue Moon Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Crushing Plant No.. 1 | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
10 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Columbia Falls in 10 storm reports between 1996 and 2016: 4 hail, 4 thunderstorm wind, 2 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2016 | Flood | Columbia Falls | $35,000 | Between 4 to 6 inches of rain fell within 24 hours causing Spoon and Duck lakes to spill out onto Lake Drive and North Fork Road, and ending up near the Blankenship Road intersection as culverts were unable to handle the extra runoff. Rabe Road also experienced flooding from water originating from the Tea Kettle Mountain area. A private sensor located east-northeast of the Tea Kettle North Mountain or about 3 miles northwest of Coram, measured 6.29 inches of rainfall. The flooding closed North Fork Rd and Rabe Rd which impacted 25 to 30 residents. At least fifteen structures including basements and shop garages were flooded. One unfinished garage saw water that rose to near the ceiling. A fire chief with the Blankenship Fire Department who lives just off of North Fork Road outside of Columbia Falls reported that over three thousand gallons of water flooded his finished basement during this event. On May 23rd, more intense rain developed just north of Columbia Falls resulting in Trumble Creek coming out of its banks. This placed water around seven homes, but did not cause much damage or prevent residents from access. Glacier National Park closed the Going-to-the-Sun-Road at the Apgar Loop Junction due to a culvert washout in the afternoon of May 23rd. Another reason why the culvert was overwhelmed was due to beaver dams breaking up higher in the drainage. At least two portions of the Forest Service road 895 past the Hungry Horse Dam were washed out on May 23rd including Beta Creek. Forest service road 316 from the 6.3 mile marker on North Fork Road to the Canyon Creek area also experienced several washouts. |
| July 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Columbia Falls | $20,000 | A trained spotter estimated wind gusts up to 65 mph with trees blown down on to roads. |
| August 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Columbia Falls | $15,000 | The Daily Inter Lake newspaper reported that a tree had fallen on a home on Kokanee Bend two miles southwest of Columbia Falls. The law enforcement scanner traffic indicated that the tree had cut the home in half trapping the people inside. They were uninjured and were eventually able to get out of the house. |
| August 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Columbia Falls | $4,000 | A trained spotter reported strong gusty winds that brought down power lines and trees of unknown size. They also reported pea size hail. |
| May 2013 | Flood | Columbia Falls | - | Farmer crops adjacent to the Flathead River between Evergreen and Columbia Falls were inundated with water. |
| August 2013 | Hail | Columbia Falls | - | A trained spotter reported nickel size hail southwest of Columbia Falls. |
| May 2007 | Hail | Columbia Falls | - | A member of the public reported nickel to quarter sized hail 2 miles west of Columbia Falls. |
| May 2007 | Hail | Columbia Falls | - | Columbia Falls Police called with a report that 0.75 inch diameter hail fell from the thunderstorm that passed through town. |
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Columbia Falls | - | no account filed |
| July 1996 | Hail | Columbia Falls | - | no account filed |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Park | 0.3 miles | 11 | |
| Big Sky Colonial Manor | 1.1 miles | 11 | |
| Lazy Day Court | 1.6 miles | 11 | |
| Conkelley | 2.8 miles | 12 | |
| Halfmoon | 3.3 miles | 12 | |
| La Salle | 5.3 miles | 11 | |
| Hungry Horse | 6.5 miles | 12 | |
| Martin City | 7.7 miles | 12 |
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 Columbia Falls | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q649200 | 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 806934. 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.






