BlockBefore

Rolla, North Dakota

7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the East Rolette unorganized territory. It lies in ZIP code area 58367. The Survey maps it on the Rolla quadrangle. 1,223 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,814 feet above sea level.

Rolla within Rolette County

Population over time

2 figures

Rolla fell from 1,280 to 1,223 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.

YearPeople Change
20101,280
20201,223-57 (-4%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 7 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

671 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 671 fires within 5 miles of Rolla between 1992 and 2020, burning about 3,781 acres in total. None started naturally. 130 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
Debris and open burning299
Missing data/not specified/undetermined163
Arson/incendiarism130
Misuse of fire by a minor31
Fireworks18
Other causes12
Recreation and ceremony11
Equipment and vehicle use4
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Firearms and explosives use1
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
9 September 1997Debris and open burning3.4 acresTurtle Mountain AgencyLILLIAN
8 September 2012Debris and open burning112 acresTurtle Mountain AgencyTRAIL
8 September 2011Arson/incendiarismunder an acreTurtle Mountain AgencySTINKY
8 September 2003Missing data/not specified/undetermined30 acresTurtle Mountain AgencySANFORD
7 September 2011Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreTurtle Mountain AgencyMATTRESS
5 September 2005Debris and open burning2.0 acresTurtle Mountain AgencyCOMBINE
4 September 2013Arson/incendiarismunder an acreTurtle Mountain AgencyREBURN
4 September 2007Arson/incendiarismunder an acreTurtle Mountain AgencyBUTCH

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Rolette County

Mines and quarries near this place

1 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Rolla: 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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
Rolette County PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Rolette County

Storms near this place

16 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Rolla in 16 storm reports between 1997 and 2025: 6 thunderstorm wind, 6 hail, 2 tornado, 2 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 2010Thunderstorm WindRolla$5,000Brief power outages occurred in Rolla due to the strong winds.
June 2023Funnel CloudRolla-Multiple funnel clouds occurred over the Rolla area. At one point, three funnel clouds were noted occurring simultaneously.
June 2018Tornado (EF0)Rolla-The tornado remained over rural areas and caused no damage. Therefore, the tornado was rated EF0.
June 2006Tornado (F0)Rolla-Tornado tracked by Rolette County Sheriff. No structures impacted and no damage. Tornado crossed from Rolette County (NWS Bismarck) into Towner County (NWS Grand Forks). See Tornado entry for Towner County 1305 to 1310 06/23/06 from National Weather Service Grand Forks, North Dakota.
August 2025HailRolla-no account filed
July 2022Thunderstorm WindRolla-no account filed
July 2020Thunderstorm WindRolla-no account filed
June 2019Funnel CloudRolla-no account filed
June 2016Thunderstorm WindRolla-no account filed
July 2013Thunderstorm WindRolla-no account filed
June 2012HailRolla-no account filed
July 2012HailRolla-no account filed
June 2009HailRolla-no account filed
June 2007HailRolla-no account filed
August 2002HailRolla-no account filed
June 1997Thunderstorm WindRolla-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Rolette 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
Belcourt6.8 miles7
Saint John7.8 miles7
Shell Valley13.7 miles9
Mylo15.4 miles7
Agate17.5 miles7
Rolette18.0 miles7
Thorne18.5 miles7
East Dunseith21.1 miles9

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 RollaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q643726The 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 1030958. 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.