BlockBefore

Quay, New Mexico

6 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1970. It stands in the Tucumcari census division. It lies in ZIP code area 88401. The Survey maps it on the Quay quadrangle. It stands 4,285 feet above sea level.

Quay within Quay County

Topographic sheets covering this place

3 surveys from 6 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

1 photograph,

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.

Baca-Goodman House, Third & Aber Streets, Tucumcari, Quay County, NM
Baca-Goodman House, Third & Aber Streets, Tucumcari, Quay County, NM
Photographer not recorded. Library of Congress

Fires near this place

9 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 9 fires within 5 miles of Quay between 1996 and 2018, burning about 3,218 acres in total. 3 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
Equipment and vehicle use3
Missing data/not specified/undetermined3
Natural3

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
4 September 2000Missing data/not specified/undetermined640 acresNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionWRIGHT
25 July 2016Natural80 acresLas Vegas DistrictCEMENTARY FIRE
21 June 2017Natural100 acresLas Vegas DistrictHAMPTON FIRE
29 May 2016Natural50 acresLas Vegas DistrictDAVIDSON
12 March 2018Equipment and vehicle use50 acresLas Vegas DistrictLABOONE PASTURE 2
10 March 2018Equipment and vehicle use30 acresLas Vegas DistrictLABOONE PASTURE
21 February 2016Equipment and vehicle use2,250 acresLas Vegas DistrictJESTER
7 January 1996Missing data/not specified/undetermined15 acresNew Mexico State Forestry DivisionCRP

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Quay County

Mines and quarries near this place

4 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Quay: 4 unknowns. 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
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Unnamed PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown
Unnamed PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown

Every working recorded in Quay County

Storms near this place

11 since 2001

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Quay in 11 storm reports between 2001 and 2025: 6 hail, 2 flash flood, 1 heavy rain, 1 thunderstorm wind. 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 2025Funnel CloudQuay-An observer on State Highway 209 at mile marker 76 looking east southeast observed a funnel cloud on the mesa south of Tucumcari.
June 2025HailQuay-Storm chasers on the ICECHIP field research program observed quarter to ping pong ball size hail near Quay from a severe thunderstorm.
May 2021HailQuay-A trained spotter reported 1 inch hail as they were driving along U.S. Highway 209 near Quay.
June 2014Flash FloodQuay-Highway 248 closed due to flooding from mile marker 0 to 5. Road remained closed beyond causative event until early in the morning on the 10th.
August 2010Flash FloodQuay-A low water crossing along Quay Road 49 flooded out due to the heavy rains. This area only received about an inch of rain, however, areas upstream received nearly 4 inches, resulting in high water in all area creeks and streams.
October 2003Heavy RainQuay-Highway 209 was closed for several hours due to mud and high water following locally heavy rain.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindQuay-no account filed
May 2005HailQuay-no account filed
July 2005HailQuay-no account filed
August 2004HailQuay-no account filed
May 2001HailQuay-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Quay 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
Ragland7.7 miles7
Kirk (historical)8.6 miles7
Jordan10.7 miles6
Ogle (historical)11.7 miles6
Puerto (historical)11.9 miles6
Forrest12.8 miles7
Plain (historical)13.1 miles7
Norton13.2 miles6

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 QuayAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q7269613The 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 899861. 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.