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Polaris, Montana

12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1955 and the latest in 1997. It stands in the Dillon census division. It lies in ZIP code area 59746. It stands on Billings Creek. The Survey maps it on the Polaris quadrangle. It stands 6,352 feet above sea level.

Polaris within Beaverhead County

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 12 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

15 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 15 fires within 5 miles of Polaris between 1992 and 2019, burning about 3,762 acres in total. 8 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
Natural8
Recreation and ceremony2
Missing data/not specified/undetermined2
Equipment and vehicle use2
Smoking1

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
8 August 2000Natural448 acresBeaverhead-Deerlodge National ForestCIRCLE S
7 August 2018Smokingunder an acreBeaverhead-Deerlodge National ForestBULL CREEK
5 August 1994Natural5.0 acresBeaverhead-Deerlodge National Forestnot named
26 August 2015Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreCentral Land OfficeGRASSHOPPER FIRE
23 August 1997Naturalunder an acreBeaverhead-Deerlodge National ForestCLARK CREEK
22 August 1998Equipment and vehicle use30 acresBeaverhead-Deerlodge National ForestLITTLE GOLD
21 July 2012Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreCentral Land OfficeSAWTOOTH TRAILHEAD
20 July 1999Naturalunder an acreBeaverhead-Deerlodge National ForestPOLARIS

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Beaverhead County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 23 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 23 workings within 5 miles of Polaris: 7 occurrences, 7 past producers, 5 unknowns, 3 prospects. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Silver, Tungsten, Gold, Lead. 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
Bob Harrison MineSilver, Lead, ZincOccurrenceVein
Else ClaimGold, Silver, CopperOccurrenceVein
Farlin CreekLimestone, DimensionPast Producer
Hazel ProspectTungsten, MolybdenumOccurrencePowellite, Scheelite
Miss GrundyIron, SilicaProspect
Polaris MineSilver, Copper, Zinc, Lead, GoldPast Producer1883, 1884
Polaris MineSilver, Lead, Zinc, CopperPast Producer
Silver King MineSilver, Copper, Lead, Gold, ZincPast ProducerVein
Silver King MineLead, Zinc, SilverPast Producer
UnnamedTungsten, Gold, SilverUnknown

Every working recorded in Beaverhead County

Storms near this place

3 since 2013

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Polaris in 3 storm reports between 2013 and 2024: 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 heavy rain, 1 hail. 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
August 2024HailPolaris-Public report of large hail in northern Beaverhead county. Photo received via email showing the large hail.
June 2020Heavy RainPolaris-Mesonet station mulm8 8.2 e Polaris.
August 2013Thunderstorm WindPolaris-Strong winds measuring 90KT (104MPH) were reported 3 miles N of Polaris, MT. Winds caused damage to a home and trees in the area of the report.

Every storm recorded in Beaverhead 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
Maverick Mountain3.9 miles13
Elkhorn Hot Springs5.9 miles13
Gloss Place8.2 miles9
Coolidge (historical)9.4 miles13
Elkhorn9.4 miles13
Ermont Mill12.9 miles18
Argenta15.0 miles19
Jackson15.3 miles10

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 PolarisAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q4371587The 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 789046. 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.