Sutcliffe, Nevada
23 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1980. It stands in the Pyramid Lake census division. It lies in ZIP code area 89510. It lies near Hardscrabble CaƱon. The Survey maps it on the Sutcliffe quadrangle. 282 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 3,888 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresSutcliffe grew from 253 to 282 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 | 253 | |
| 2020 | 282 | +29 (+11%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 23 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.
- 1891 USGS Reno quadrangle1:125000
- 1893 USGS Reno quadrangle1:125000, 7 printings
- 1957 USGS Reno quadrangle1:250000, 5 printings
- 1957 USGS Sutcliffe quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1959 USGS Reno quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Reno quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1980 USGS Reno quadrangle1:100000, 3 printings
- 1980 USGS Sutcliffe quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
84 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 84 fires within 5 miles of Sutcliffe between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,830 acres in total. 25 started naturally. 3 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 |
|---|---|
| Natural | 25 |
| Fireworks | 10 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 9 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 8 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 8 |
| Smoking | 6 |
| Debris and open burning | 6 |
| Firearms and explosives use | 3 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 3 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 3 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 1997 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Carson City District Office | BIA #16 |
| 30 September 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Carson City District Office | BONFIRE |
| 3 September 2006 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Carson City District Office | WNA 10 |
| 16 September 1993 | Natural | under an acre | Carson City District Office | BIA 2 |
| 1 September 1995 | Smoking | under an acre | Carson City District Office | BIA 18 |
| 9 August 2001 | Natural | 2.0 acres | Carson City District Office | WNA 10 |
| 4 August 2017 | Natural | 3.6 acres | Carson City District Office | NEEDLES |
| 4 August 2000 | Natural | under an acre | Carson City District Office | WNA 18 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 11 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 11 workings within 5 miles of Sutcliffe: 5 past producers, 3 prospects, 3 occurrences. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Uranium, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Diatomite, Copper. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowary Mine | Uranium, Barium-Barite | Past Producer | ||
| Modoc Mine | Copper, Zinc, Silver, Lead, Gold | Prospect | ||
| Mullen Pass Area | Diatomite | Prospect | ||
| Sutcliffe Area Calcium Carbonate | Calcium | Past Producer | ||
| Unnamed Quarry | Limestone, General | Past Producer | ||
| Sand and Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Sand and Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Armstrong Claims | Uranium | Occurrence | ||
| Armstrong Claims | Uranium | Prospect | ||
| Unnamed Uranium | Uranium | Occurrence |
Storms near this place
10 since 1997Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Sutcliffe in 10 storm reports between 1997 and 2025: 4 thunderstorm wind, 2 heavy rain, 2 flood, 1 funnel cloud. The reports record 1 injury. 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 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sutcliffe | 1 hurt, $5,000 | no account filed |
| January 2017 | Flood | Sutcliffe | $7,000,000 | Highway 446 was destroyed by flood waters in more than 10 places on the southwest side of Pyramid Lake. Some sections were left with nearly 50-foot deep ravines. The highway was not re-opened to the public until early March. Repair cost based on Nevada Department of Transportation estimates from Reno-Gazette Journal article in February. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sutcliffe | - | Peak outflow gust at mesonet station CW8738 in Reno. |
| January 2019 | Heavy Rain | Sutcliffe | - | CO-OP observer Q63 near Sutcliffe reported 1.17 inches of rainfall in a 24 hour period from 16 January 0700PST to 17 January 0700PST. |
| August 2017 | Flash Flood | Sutcliffe | - | A nearly stationary thunderstorm west-southwest of Pyramid Lake produced 1.25 inches of rain in less than an hour. The USGS stream gauge on Hardscrabble Creek registered a 5-foot rise in its level in about 40 minutes from 15151555PST. Nevada Department of Transporation reported debris and rocks on Nevada Highway 445 just south of Sutcliffe, Nevada, with all lanes blocked. No damage estimates were available. |
| May 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sutcliffe | - | The Pyramid Lake Fisheries observation in Sutcliffe reported this wind gust. |
| June 2011 | Flood | Sutcliffe | - | The intersection of Whiskey Springs and Grass Valley Road had about a foot of water flowing over it. Standing water was also reported on other roads in the area. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sutcliffe | - | A trained weather spotter estimated a wind gust of 52 knots (60 mph) at the Pyramid Lake boat ramp. |
| September 1998 | Heavy Rain | Sutcliffe | - | 0.33 inches of rain in 5 minutes reported by spotter near Pyramid Lake. |
| June 1997 | Funnel Cloud | Sutcliffe | - | A funnel cloud was reported on the east side of Pyramid Lake in Washoe County. The funnel cloud lasted several minutes before dissipating. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pyramid (historical) | 6.0 miles | 22 | |
| Upper Pyramid (historical) | 6.9 miles | 22 | |
| Pyramid | 10.1 miles | 18 | |
| Nixon | 15.2 miles | 22 | |
| Zenobia | 16.0 miles | 17 | |
| Nashville | 16.5 miles | 24 | |
| Flanigan | 21.5 miles | 20 | |
| Spanish Springs | 21.5 miles | 24 |
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 Sutcliffe | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2323083 | 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 858208. 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.







