Velva, North Dakota
9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1948 and the latest in 1980. It stands in Velva Township. It lies in ZIP code area 58790. It stands on Spring Creek. The Survey maps it on the Velva quadrangle. 1,086 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,512 feet above sea level.
On record in Velva
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 2 records
Hotel Berrylisted 1982
Alfred and Clara Sevareid Houselisted 1996
Population over time
2 figuresVelva grew from 1,084 to 1,086 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 | 1,084 | |
| 2020 | 1,086 | +2 (+0%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 9 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.
- 1948 USGS Velva quadrangle1:62500
- 1949 USGS Velva quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1951 USGS Velva quadrangle1:62500
- 1954 USGS Minot quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Minot quadrangle1:250000
- 1980 USGS Velva quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
10 since 2002Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 10 fires within 5 miles of Velva between 2002 and 2019, burning about 51 acres in total. None 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 3 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 1 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 1 |
| Smoking | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 September 2018 | Debris and open burning | 3.0 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | 903171 |
| 11 September 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 5.0 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | 911181 |
| 10 September 2018 | Smoking | 1.0 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | 910181 |
| 21 August 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | 82120182 |
| 13 August 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Turtle Mountain Agency | WARM WIND |
| 5 July 2002 | Fireworks | 1.5 acres | Turtle Mountain Agency | MARY |
| 14 July 2019 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | North Dakota State Forest Service | 2019-20 |
| 29 April 2008 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 16 acres | J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge | JOHNSON WPA |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Velva: 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Velva Sand & Gravel | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
25 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Velva in 25 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 11 hail, 4 tornado, 4 thunderstorm wind, 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2011 | Hail | Velva | $150,000 | The large hail caused damage to area crops. The hail also damaged windows, siding, and vehicles. The damage amount is estimated. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Velva | $70,000 | A metal out-building was severely damaged by the wind. Pieces of the metal then blew into a multi family home causing damage to the roof. |
| May 2013 | Flood | Velva | $50,000 | A late season rapid snow melt caused flooding along the Souris (Mouse) River through southwest McHenry County. Additionally, there were necessary releases from upstream dams in North Dakota and Saskatchewan, Canada, due to rapid snow melt there. Some roads near the river were damaged. |
| July 1994 | Tornado (F1) | Velva | $50,000 | The tornado was reported by many observers and by the public. Its path was limited to the rural areas of the county. There were no injuries and the damage was mostly to crops and trees. |
| June 2013 | Flood | Velva | $45,000 | This river flooding was in part a continuation from the spring flooding that began in April and continued through May and into June. Some river points remained above flood stage through this period. The heavy rains through May and into June kept high water flowing through the system. |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Velva | $25,000 | Significant tree damage occurred in Velva, with one large tree uprooted. |
| April 2013 | Flood | Velva | $20,000 | A late season rapid snow melt caused flooding along the Souris (Mouse) River through southwest McHenry County. Additionally, there were necessary releases from upstream dams in North Dakota and Saskatchewan, Canada, due to rapid snow melt there. Some roads near the river were damaged. |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Velva | $20,000 | Trees snapped and a few uprooted. |
| June 2014 | Funnel Cloud | Velva | - | The Velva Fire Department reported a funnel cloud near Velva. |
| June 2013 | Tornado (EF0) | Velva | - | Multiple reports of a weak tornado touchdown in far southeastern McHenry County were received. There was no damage and so the tornado was rated EF0. |
| June 2008 | Funnel Cloud | Velva | - | A funnel cloud was reported near Velva by Minot Air Force Base personnel. |
| June 2002 | Flash Flood | Velva | - | Numerous street flooding and water over many roads. |
| June 2002 | Tornado (F1) | Velva | - | Several tree's uprooted and shingles blown off roof several homes. |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Velva | - | Twenty ash trees blown over. |
| July 1998 | Hail | Velva | - | Damage to roofs and boats around a lake. People used hail stones as ice cubes. |
| July 1994 | Hail | Velva | - | The tornado was reported by many observers and by the public. Its path was limited to the rural areas of the county. There were no injuries and the damage was mostly to crops and trees. |
| July 1994 | Tornado (F1) | Velva | - | The tornado was reported by many observers and by the public. Its path was limited to the rural areas of the county. There were no injuries and the damage was mostly to crops and trees. |
| July 2020 | Hail | Velva | - | no account filed |
| August 2013 | Hail | Velva | - | no account filed |
| August 2013 | Hail | Velva | - | no account filed |
| July 2010 | Hail | Velva | - | no account filed |
| July 2010 | Hail | Velva | - | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Hail | Velva | - | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Hail | Velva | - | no account filed |
| August 2001 | Hail | Velva | - | 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.
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 Velva | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2278261 | 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 1032637. 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.





