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Los Alamos, New Mexico

21 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1892 and the latest in 2002. It stands in the Los Alamos census division. It lies in ZIP code area 87544. It lies near Acid Canyon. The Survey maps it on the Guaje Mountain quadrangle. 13,179 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 7,320 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Los Alamos within Los Alamos County

On record in Los Alamos

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 5 records

Surveyed buildings and structures 2 records

Population over time

2 figures

Los Alamos grew from 12,019 to 13,179 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
201012,019
202013,179+1,160 (+10%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 21 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.

Photographs

2 photographs,

Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.

Fuller Lodge, Central & Twentieth Streets, Los Alamos, Los Alamos County, NM
Fuller Lodge, Central & Twentieth Streets, Los Alamos, Los Alamos County, NM
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress
Romero Cabin, Pajarito Road, Los Alamos, Los Alamos County, NM
Romero Cabin, Pajarito Road, Los Alamos, Los Alamos County, NM
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress

Fires near this place

134 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 134 fires within 5 miles of Los Alamos between 1992 and 2020, burning about 358 acres in total. 98 started naturally. 6 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
Natural98
Recreation and ceremony16
Missing data/not specified/undetermined9
Arson/incendiarism6
Debris and open burning2
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Misuse of fire by a minor1

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 September 2009Naturalunder an acreSanta Fe National ForestCABRA
8 September 1996Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionFIR
6 September 1995Naturalunder an acreSanta Fe National ForestGUAJE
5 September 2002Naturalunder an acreSanta Fe National ForestCANON
2 September 2011Natural2.0 acresSanta Fe National ForestCABALLO
2 September 2007Naturalunder an acreSanta Fe National ForestLD
13 September 2017Naturalunder an acreNorthern Pueblos AgencySACRED AREA
7 August 1993Naturalunder an acreBandelier National MonumentBLACK

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Los Alamos County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Los Alamos: 3 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Pumice. 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
Copar Guaje Canyon MinePumiceProducerPumice
Copar MillPumiceProducer
Copar MinePumiceProducer

Every working recorded in Los Alamos County

Storms near this place

34 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Los Alamos in 34 storm reports between 2000 and 2024: 19 hail, 12 flash flood, 1 wildfire, 1 dust devil. 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
May 2000WildfireLos Alamos$1,500,000,000no account filed
August 2011Flash FloodLos Alamos$6,000,000After 1 to 1.5 inches of rain fell on the northern portion of the Las Conchas burn scar, flash flooding was reported in Santa Clara Canyon. Four people that were working in the canyon had to be rescued by helicopter.
July 2001Flash FloodLos Alamos$3,500,000no account filed
August 2001Flash FloodLos Alamos$100,000Brief heavy rain and strong runoff caused more damage to North Road in Los Alamos where recent drainage upgrades and repairs were washed away. North Road continues to suffer damage with such rapid and high runoff from the burned areas of Pueblo Canyon which have not recovered from last years Cerro Grande fire storm.
July 2012Flash FloodLos Alamos$50,000Mud, logs and large rocks washed onto State Road 501 (West Jemez Rd.) near State Road 4, as well as in Los Alamos Canyon and along Camp May road. Heavy equipment and road graders were needed to clear the debris.
May 2013Dust DevilLos Alamos$30,000Roof of gymnasium torn off and dropped onto library and playground area at Barranca Mesa Elementary School.
October 2012HailLos Alamos$10,000Newspaper report with images of significant hail damage to a mobile home in Los Alamos. Home owners reported hail was ping pong ball sized. Location is estimated from article giving home address. Time is estimated, based on radar imagery and other hail reports in the area. All images attached to this event are courtesy of the Los Alamos Daily Post newspaper.
May 2024HailLos Alamos-Los Alamos Sky Cam and pictures from local residents showed significant accumulations of pea to penny size hail in downtown Los Alamos from a thunderstorm. Hail accumulation depth looked to be around 2 to 3 inches based on tire track marks on the road.
May 2020HailLos Alamos-Hail up to the size of nickels reported in Los Alamos.
June 2017HailLos Alamos-Hail up to the size of nickels in Los Alamos.
June 2017HailLos Alamos-Hail up to the size of half dollars in Los Alamos.
June 2017HailLos Alamos-Hail up to the size of nickels in Los Alamos.
June 2017HailLos Alamos-Hail up to the size of quarters in Los Alamos.
August 2016LightningLos Alamos-Lightning splintered a tree at the Los Alamos Golf Course near 16 Los Alamos High School Golf Team members and four coaches. The strike occurred at around 4 pm, about 300 feet away from where the team was practicing. Several of the students reported feeling a strong static electricity sensation flow through their bodies. Fortunately, no injuries occurred.
October 2015HailLos Alamos-Penny to nickel size hail covered the ground.
July 2013Flash FloodLos Alamos-Power outages as well as flooding in the basement at Los Alamos National Labs were reported. An isolated strong cell formed over the area and stayed generally stationary for 2 hours. Rainfall amounts over 1.5 were recorded at sites across LANL.
May 2012HailLos Alamos-Quarter size hail reported in Los Alamos.
May 2012HailLos Alamos-The emergency manager reported dime to penny size hail.
October 2012HailLos Alamos-Quarter size hail reported at the Los Alamos airport.
October 2012HailLos Alamos-Hail piled up to a depth of four inches. County officials had to utilize snow plows to clear hail piles from roadways.
July 2012Flash FloodLos Alamos-The intersection of State Road 4 and State Road 501 (West Jemez Rd.) was closed due to flash flooding.
August 2011Flash FloodLos Alamos-Water and debris flowed over Highway 501 after approximately one inch of rain fell over central portions of the Las Conchas burn scar. The highway was temporarily closed.
August 2011Flash FloodLos Alamos-Both Highway 4 and 501 were closed in the Jemez Mountains due to flooding. Heavy rains on the Las Conchas burn scar caused significant runoff and debris flow over the roadways. At least a 50 yard stretch of debris several inches deep was noted along State Highway 501. Both roads had to be cleared by the Highway Department before traffic was allowed to pass.
July 2009HailLos Alamos-The security team at Los Alamos National Laboratory reported penny to nickel sized hail.
July 2005HailLos Alamos-A brief and intense hail storm with stones ranging form one half inch to one inch in diameter covered city streets and parking lots to a depth of 4 to 8 inches.
June 2000Flash FloodLos Alamos-Heavy ash and debris swept off the Cerro Grande Burn area into Water and Pajarito Canyons during heavy rain of 1 inch just west of Los Alamos.
August 2000Flash FloodLos Alamos-Heavy storm water runoff flooded Guaje and Garcia Canyons below the Cerro Grande Burn area during a burst of 1 inch rainfall.
October 2015HailLos Alamos-no account filed
May 2008HailLos Alamos-no account filed
June 2006HailLos Alamos-no account filed
June 2006HailLos Alamos-no account filed
June 2000Flash FloodLos Alamos-no account filed
October 2000HailLos Alamos-no account filed
July 2000Flash FloodLos Alamos-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Los Alamos 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
Upper Frijoles Crossing5.8 miles21
White Rock6.9 miles20

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 Los AlamosAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q318637The 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 901357. 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.