Three Forks, Montana
20 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1888 and the latest in 1992. It stands in the Three Forks census division. It lies in ZIP code area 59752. The Survey maps it on the Three Forks quadrangle. 1,989 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 4,075 feet above sea level.
On record in Three Forks
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 7 records
Three Forks of the MissouriNational Historic Landmark · listed 1966
Adams Blocklisted 1999
Airway Radio Stationlisted 1998
Ruby Theatrelisted 1982
Sacajawea Hotellisted 1980
Three Valleys State Banklisted 2005
Upper Madison Schoollisted 1983
Population over time
2 figuresThree Forks grew from 1,869 to 1,989 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 | 1,869 | |
| 2020 | 1,989 | +120 (+6%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
11 surveys from 20 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.
- 1888 USGS Three Forks quadrangle1:250000
- 1894 USGS Three Forks quadrangle1:250000
- 1895 USGS Three Forks quadrangle1:250000, 5 printings
- 1947 USGS Bozeman quadrangle1:250000
- 1948 USGS Bozeman quadrangle1:250000
- 1950 USGS Three Forks quadrangle1:62500, 4 printings
- 1955 USGS Bozeman quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Bozeman quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1965 USGS Bozeman quadrangle1:250000
- 1987 USGS Three Forks quadrangle1:24000
- 1992 USGS Bozeman quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
24 since 2000Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 24 fires within 5 miles of Three Forks between 2000 and 2020, burning about 1,409 acres in total. 6 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 |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11 |
| Natural | 6 |
| Debris and open burning | 5 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Beaverhead County | 201066 |
| 3 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Fergus County | 201056 |
| 28 September 2020 | Debris and open burning | 15 acres | Gallatin County | CIRCLE S |
| 11 September 2019 | Natural | under an acre | Gallatin County | not named |
| 29 August 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Central Land Office | WILLOW CREEK |
| 27 August 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Gallatin County | not named |
| 2 August 2005 | Natural | under an acre | Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest | LYONS FACE |
| 19 August 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Gallatin County | 202063 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
5 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Three Forks: 2 past producers, 1 occurrence, 1 prospect, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Pumice, Gold, Stone. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Logan-Madison River Ash | Pumice | Occurrence | ||
| Silica Quarry | Stone | Producer | ||
| Three Forks Placer | Gold | Prospect | ||
| B & N Portable Crusher | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
5 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Three Forks in 5 storm reports between 1998 and 2011: 3 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2011 | Flood | Three Forks | - | Flooding near Three Forks closed Old Town Road. Flooding also occurred in the Gallatin Canyon near Greek Creek campground. Parts of the Missouri Headwaters State Park and Drouillard Fishing access also closed due to flooding. |
| July 2010 | Hail | Three Forks | - | A thunderstorm dropped 1 inch diameter hail at Three Forks 5NE. |
| August 2002 | Hail | Three Forks | - | A severe thunderstorm produced 0.75 inch hail in Three Forks. |
| July 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Three Forks | - | GIANT COTTONWOOD TREES DOWNED |
| July 1998 | Hail | Three Forks | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson (historical) | 0.7 miles | 20 | |
| Gallatin (historical) | 3.8 miles | 21 | |
| Carpenter | 4.7 miles | 21 | |
| Lower Madison (historical) | 5.4 miles | 20 | |
| Trident | 5.5 miles | 21 | |
| Logan | 6.6 miles | 21 | |
| Willow Creek | 6.7 miles | 21 | |
| Manhattan | 11.9 miles | 20 |
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 Three Forks | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q966283 | 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 777603. 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.










