Tappen, North Dakota
6 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1952 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Tappen City. It lies in ZIP code area 58487. The Survey maps it on the Tappen South quadrangle. 217 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,772 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresTappen grew from 197 to 217 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 | 197 | |
| 2020 | 217 | +20 (+10%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
4 surveys from 6 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.
- 1952 USGS Tappen South quadrangle1:24000
- 1953 USGS Jamestown quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1956 USGS Jamestown quadrangle1:250000
- 1985 USGS Steele quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
2 since 2000Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 2 fires within 5 miles of Tappen between 2000 and 2003, burning about 12 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 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 |
|---|---|
| Arson/incendiarism | 1 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 August 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2.0 acres | Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge | SLADE WILDIFRE |
| 29 June 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 10 acres | Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge | WEST GATE |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
26 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Tappen in 26 storm reports between 1997 and 2025: 13 hail, 9 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2025 | Tornado (EF1) | Tappen | $750,000 | This is the first event entry for one tornado that passed through two counties, Kidder and Stutsman. This Quasi-Linear Convective System (QLCS) tornado started northwest of Crystal Springs in Kidder County and moved to the east-southeast. The tornado then shifted towards the east-northeast near the Stutsman County line, and continued into Stutsman County before it lifted to the north-northwest of Medina. Near the point of touchdown, a machine shed was completely destroyed, with the roof laying in a pasture about 350 feet away. Approximately five miles to the south-southeast, two additional farmsteads in close proximity were struck. The first one had an older barn along with a pole barn completely destroyed. The second farmstead had an older barn collapse, and an empty 18 foot diameter grain bin lifted and moved approximately 400 feet. Along the grain bin's path it hit a building, two vehicles, and a camper before it came to rest in front of the collapsed barn. Shortly thereafter, the tornado turned north-northeast and then struck another farmstead approximately 3 miles away. At this farm, a quonset building was moved off its foundation, and boards from the inside were sucked out and laying a few feet away. Additional buildings were damaged, with debris from a children's play house blown a half mile away and a picnic table blown a quarter mile. Mature trees were snapped and fully de-leafed with numerous large branches broken off. The tornado then continued to the north-northeast and twisted multiple smaller metal high-voltage power towers. Further to the north-northeast before it lifted, the tornado struck another farmstead where a farm outbuilding was destroyed, the shingles, siding, and gutters were severely damaged on a house, and trees were snapped about half way up. Based on the damage done this tornado was rated EF-1, and from that wind speeds were estimated to be around 110 mph. |
| July 2014 | Hail | Tappen | $40,000 | There was hail damage to roofs and vehicles. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tappen | $15,000 | Power lines were blown down. |
| July 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tappen | $10,000 | Many small tree limbs were blown down due to the strong winds. |
| May 2023 | Hail | Tappen | - | NWS had no reports of damage. |
| September 2023 | Funnel Cloud | Tappen | - | Three funnel clouds developed at the same time in very close proximity. Two funnels then diminished with one remaining for a little longer. |
| August 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tappen | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated by a trained spotter. |
| May 2021 | Tornado (EFU) | Tappen | - | The tornado touched down in an open field southeast of Tappen. There was no damage to evaluate and so by National Weather Service policy the tornado is rated EF Unknown. |
| September 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tappen | - | A trained spotter estimated thunderstorm wind gusts of 60 mph. |
| May 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tappen | - | Heavy rain accompanied the strong winds. |
| May 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tappen | - | This was from a North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network observation site. |
| August 2006 | Hail | Tappen | - | Damage to a pickup truck and camper. |
| July 2004 | Hail | Tappen | - | Estimated wind gust to 60 mph (52 knots) was reported with this storm. |
| June 2003 | Tornado (F0) | Tappen | - | Tornado briefly touched down in open country. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tappen | - | no account filed |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tappen | - | no account filed |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tappen | - | no account filed |
| June 2021 | Hail | Tappen | - | no account filed |
| August 2020 | Hail | Tappen | - | no account filed |
| July 2019 | Hail | Tappen | - | no account filed |
| August 2013 | Hail | Tappen | - | no account filed |
| July 2011 | Hail | Tappen | - | no account filed |
| August 2011 | Hail | Tappen | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Hail | Tappen | - | no account filed |
| August 2004 | Hail | Tappen | - | no account filed |
| August 1997 | Hail | Tappen | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ladoga | 3.9 miles | 7 | |
| Dawson | 6.1 miles | 7 | |
| Crystal Springs | 8.5 miles | 7 | |
| Steele | 14.9 miles | 7 | |
| Pettibone | 18.0 miles | 8 | |
| Lake Williams | 18.0 miles | 7 | |
| Robinson | 20.0 miles | 7 | |
| Tuttle | 26.5 miles | 7 |
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 Tappen | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1787274 | 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 1032435. 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.
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.



