Ekalaka, Montana
9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1993. It stands in the Ekalaka census division. It lies in ZIP code area 59324. It lies near Carter Gulch. The Survey maps it on the Ekalaka quadrangle. 399 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 3,425 feet above sea level.
On record in Ekalaka
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 2 records
- First National Bank of Ekalaka and Rickard Hardware Store Buildinglisted 2015
- Medicine Rocks State Parklisted 2017
Population over time
2 figuresEkalaka grew from 332 to 399 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 | 332 | |
| 2020 | 399 | +67 (+20%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 9 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.
- 1954 USGS Ekalaka quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1956 USGS Ekalaka quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Ekalaka quadrangle1:250000
- 1965 USGS Ekalaka quadrangle1:250000
- 1979 USGS Ekalaka quadrangle1:24000
- 1982 USGS Ekalaka quadrangle1:100000
- 1993 USGS Ekalaka quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
32 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 32 fires within 5 miles of Ekalaka between 1995 and 2019, burning about 10,584 acres in total. 24 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 | 24 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 September 1995 | Natural | under an acre | Custer Gallatin National Forest | SINRUD SPRINGS |
| 20 September 2001 | Natural | under an acre | Custer Gallatin National Forest | J.P. SMITH |
| 17 September 2013 | Natural | under an acre | Miles City Field Office | MILL |
| 14 September 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,473 acres | Miles City Field Office | DUGAN |
| 14 September 2006 | Natural | under an acre | Miles City Field Office | PUMPER STATION |
| 8 August 2007 | Natural | under an acre | Custer Gallatin National Forest | OPEECHE DRAW |
| 8 August 2003 | Natural | 27 acres | Custer Gallatin National Forest | HEGGEN |
| 4 August 2019 | Natural | under an acre | Carter County | DRAW - CARTER |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Ekalaka: 1 occurrence. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Aggregate, Light Weight. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Site I Gravel Deposit | Aggregate, Light Weight | Occurrence |
Storms near this place
60 of 105 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ekalaka in 105 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 75 hail, 22 thunderstorm wind, 3 heavy rain, 3 funnel cloud. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2025 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | Spotter reported 1.5 hail. |
| June 2025 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | Facebook report . |
| June 2025 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | Hail report. |
| July 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ekalaka | - | A severe thunderstorm moved across portions of Carter County during the early morning hours on the 13th. Very intense straight line winds from this thunderstorm downed |30-35 large pine trees. In addition, a number of additional trees had limbs snapped. |
| August 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ekalaka | - | Considerable damage occurred in the town of Ekalaka. The door from a newspaper building was blown off its hinges. An 80 foot tall 36 inch diameter Cottonwood tree was blown over along with numerous trailers being overturned. There was tree damage and power lines down all over town resulting in power outages. Other damages included blown down distribution poles and broken windows. In addition, four hangers and an enclosed private aircraft at the county airport suffered severe damage. |
| July 2011 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | Many broken windows along with house siding being removed was reported. |
| August 2009 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ekalaka | - | Winds were estimated to be around 70 mph. This combined with hail resulted in damage to the siding of a house and windows being blown out on the west side. |
| May 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ekalaka | - | A few power outages were reported. |
| August 2007 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | Some minor crop damage was reported. |
| July 2007 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | Very heavy rain also accompanied the hail. |
| June 2005 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | Penny size hail reported by County Sheriff |
| June 2005 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | Garden shredded |
| June 2005 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | Leaves stripped from trees |
| May 2005 | Heavy Rain | Ekalaka | - | 2.12 inches of rain in Ekalaka (2-day total) |
| May 2005 | Heavy Rain | Ekalaka | - | 2.12 inches of rain in Ekalaka (2-day total) |
| June 2005 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | Wind gusts to 60 mph |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ekalaka | - | Some dime size hail |
| June 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ekalaka | - | Aspen tree blown down |
| June 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ekalaka | - | Four cattle shelters destroyed in Ridgeway. 400 gallon propane tank blown over. Cattle shelter blown into creek. Roof damage to houses. Wooden fences blown down. |
| August 2002 | Wildfire | Ekalaka | - | Kraft Spring Complex: Begin Date: August 31, 2002End Date: September 9, 2002Acres Burned: 69,900Total Persons: 471Structural Loss: 1Cost: 2M |
| July 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ekalaka | - | 60 mph thunderstorm wind gust with dime sized hail |
| July 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ekalaka | - | 70 mph thunderstorm wind gust with nickel size hail |
| July 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ekalaka | - | 70 mph thunderstorm wind gust with dime size hail...2 foot diameter trees downed |
| July 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ekalaka | - | 65 mph thunderstorm winds with nickel size hail |
| June 2000 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | Wind gusts 60 to 70 mph. |
| August 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ekalaka | - | 60 mph thunderstorm wind gust |
| July 1999 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | Spotter report of dime size hail. |
| August 1999 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | Carter County Sheriff reported nickel size hail. |
| August 1999 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | Spotter report of half dollar size hail. |
| June 1999 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | Spotter report of dime size hail. |
| June 1999 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | Spotter report of dime size hail. |
| August 1999 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | Carter County Sheriff reported dime size hail. |
| June 1999 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | Spotter report of dime size hail. |
| June 1999 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | DES reported quarter size hail. |
| July 1999 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | Spotter report of dime size hail. |
| July 1999 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | Spotter report of dime size hail. |
| July 1998 | Heavy Rain | Ekalaka | - | A spotter reported 0.72 inches of rainfall in 45 minutes. |
| July 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ekalaka | - | A spotter reported a thunderstorm with wind gusts to 60 mph. |
| July 2020 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | no account filed |
| June 2020 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | no account filed |
| July 2019 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | no account filed |
| August 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ekalaka | - | no account filed |
| May 2017 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | no account filed |
| June 2016 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | no account filed |
| June 2016 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | no account filed |
| June 2016 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | no account filed |
| August 2016 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | no account filed |
| August 2016 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | no account filed |
| June 2014 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | no account filed |
| May 2013 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | no account filed |
| May 2013 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | no account filed |
| July 2011 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | no account filed |
| July 2011 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | no account filed |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Ekalaka | - | no account filed |
| July 2010 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | no account filed |
| August 2009 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | no account filed |
| August 2009 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Hail | Ekalaka | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beaver Flats (historical) | 8.4 miles | 9 | |
| Pershing (historical) | 9.2 miles | 8 | |
| Elgin (historical) | 11.7 miles | 10 | |
| Prairie Dale (historical) | 13.5 miles | 8 | |
| Chausse (historical) | 15.8 miles | 8 | |
| Mill Iron | 17.8 miles | 9 | |
| Chalk Buttes (historical) | 18.7 miles | 9 | |
| Belltower | 19.6 miles | 8 |
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 Ekalaka | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q961306 | 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 771161. 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.






