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Lame Deer, Montana

8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1980. It stands in the Northern Cheyenne Reservation census division. It lies in ZIP code area 59043. It stands on Alderson Creek. The Survey maps it on the Lame Deer quadrangle. 1,897 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 3,327 feet above sea level.

Lame Deer within Rosebud County

On record in Lame Deer

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

3 figures

Lame Deer fell from 2,018 to 1,897 between 2000 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
20002,018
20102,052+34 (+2%)
20201,897-155 (-8%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 8 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

704 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 704 fires within 5 miles of Lame Deer between 1992 and 2020, burning about 4,114 acres in total. 155 started naturally. 72 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
Natural155
Misuse of fire by a minor135
Fireworks99
Debris and open burning91
Arson/incendiarism72
Missing data/not specified/undetermined68
Recreation and ceremony35
Equipment and vehicle use19
Other causes15
Smoking9
Power generation/transmission/distribution5
Railroad operations and maintenance1

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
9 September 2009Arson/incendiarismunder an acreNorthern Cheyenne AgencyBADGER
9 September 2001Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreNorthern Cheyenne AgencyBAPTIST
9 September 2000Smoking1.0 acresNorthern Cheyenne AgencyMATCH BOOK
9 September 1994Natural1.1 acresNorthern Cheyenne AgencyALDEN
8 September 2019Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreNorthern Cheyenne AgencyCOWBOY CAMP
8 September 2015Other causesunder an acreNorthern Cheyenne AgencyEAST SIDE 3
7 September 1996Misuse of fire by a minor1.0 acresNorthern Cheyenne AgencyICECREAM
6 September 2013Natural1.0 acresNorthern Cheyenne AgencyBUFFALO

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Rosebud County

Mines and quarries near this place

4 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Lame Deer: 3 unknowns, 1 occurrence. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Bentonite. 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
Clay PitBentoniteOccurrence
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown

Every working recorded in Rosebud County

Storms near this place

42 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Lame Deer in 42 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 23 thunderstorm wind, 16 hail, 2 flood, 1 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
May 2025Thunderstorm WindLame Deer-Mesonet bafm8 Badger Peak.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindLame Deer-Reported by local mesonet weather station.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindLame Deer-Gust estimated by trained spotter.
July 2025HailLame Deer-Hail 1 inch in diameter.
July 2019HailLame Deer-The hail covered the ground.
June 2015Thunderstorm WindLame Deer-The public reported a semi-truck blown over on Highway 212 near Lame Deer.
May 2014HailLame Deer-Hen egg size hail did damage to cars and car windshields on Birney Divide.
February 2012FloodLame Deer-County officials reported that minor flooding occurred across portions of Southern Rosebud County. Up to an inch of rain had fallen along with several inches of snow over the higher hills. The rain falling on frozen ground, combined with snow melt, resulted in minor flooding of low lying areas. Several ice jams were reported on Rosebud, Lame Deer and Muddy Creeks resulting in water over the roads in some locations, as well as the main road in the town of Birney. In addition, an ice jam was reported on the Tongue River and Hanging Woman Creek north and west of Birney. One rancher had to rescue calves from a flooded area. Another rancher had a chicken coup flooded killing 4 hens, as well as a stranded horse.
May 2011FloodLame Deer-Highway 212 was closed on Lame Deer Divide due to the road sliding down a hill. Significant lowland flooding was also reported along Rosebud Creek. Sandbagging efforts were required on the Tongue River to avoid flooding of homes in the St Labre and Ashland areas.
August 2008Thunderstorm WindLame Deer-An estimated thunderstorm wind gust of 60 mph was reported 15 miles south of Colstrip.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindLame Deer-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph in Lame Deer.
June 2007Flash FloodLame Deer-Lame Deer was under 3 to 4 feet of water, with homes flooded, people stranded, and a propane tank floating in the street.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindLame Deer-Power lines and trees down. Severe wind gusts occurred for a period of 20 minutes.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindLame Deer-Measure by RAWS
June 2006HailLame Deer-Windows broken out of house
June 2005Thunderstorm WindLame Deer-Shingles blown off roof
June 2005Thunderstorm WindLame Deer-Car port with 18 inch anchors blown over and crops flattened
June 2005Thunderstorm WindLame Deer-Shingles blown off roof
July 2000Thunderstorm WindLame Deer-RAWS station at Badger Peak reported a wind gust of 62 mph.
July 2000Thunderstorm WindLame Deer-73 mph thunderstorm wind gust from a RAWS station at Badger Peak.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindLame Deer-no account filed
May 2023HailLame Deer-no account filed
May 2021HailLame Deer-no account filed
May 2020Thunderstorm WindLame Deer-no account filed
July 2019HailLame Deer-no account filed
July 2018HailLame Deer-no account filed
August 2018Thunderstorm WindLame Deer-no account filed
July 2016Thunderstorm WindLame Deer-no account filed
May 2014Thunderstorm WindLame Deer-no account filed
May 2014Thunderstorm WindLame Deer-no account filed
May 2014HailLame Deer-no account filed
June 2013Thunderstorm WindLame Deer-no account filed
July 2013Thunderstorm WindLame Deer-no account filed
June 2011Thunderstorm WindLame Deer-no account filed
May 2007HailLame Deer-no account filed
June 2005HailLame Deer-no account filed
May 2003HailLame Deer-no account filed
June 2002HailLame Deer-no account filed
June 2002Thunderstorm WindLame Deer-no account filed
July 2001HailLame Deer-no account filed
June 1996HailLame Deer-no account filed
April 1994HailLame Deer-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Rosebud 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
Jimtown4.0 miles7
Saints Rest (historical)5.3 miles7
Wood Place14.6 miles8
Birney Day School17.8 miles9
Colstrip18.2 miles6
Castle Rock (historical)18.9 miles6
Ashland21.1 miles9
Birney22.3 miles7

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 Lame DeerAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q960936The 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 773196. 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.