West Albany, New York
32 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1994. It stands in Albany City. It lies in ZIP code area 12205. It stands on Sand Creek. The Survey maps it on the Albany quadrangle.
Then and now
1893 to 1994The same ground, surveyed 101 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.


Compare 1893 against another survey:
On record in West Albany
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 within a mile 1 record
The National Register names another town for these. They stand within one mile of this settlement's coordinate.
- Friend Humphrey Houselisted 1985 · 1.0 miles away
Topographic sheets covering this place
16 surveys from 32 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.
- 1893 USGS Albany quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1895 USGS Albany quadrangle1:62500
- 1898 USGS Albany quadrangle1:62500, 8 printings
- 1927 USGS Albany quadrangle1:62500, 5 printings
- 1947 USGS Albany quadrangle1:62500
- 1948 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
- 1950 USGS Albany quadrangle1:62500
- 1953 USGS Albany quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1956 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS Albany quadrangle1:250000
- 1978 USGS Albany quadrangle1:24000
- 1986 USGS Albany quadrangle1:100000
- 1989 USGS Albany quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1994 USGS Albany quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
1,500 since 1999Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1,500 fires within 5 miles of West Albany between 1999 and 2020, burning about 1,339 acres in total. 62 started naturally. 249 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 |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 940 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 249 |
| Smoking | 80 |
| Debris and open burning | 77 |
| Natural | 62 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 40 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 16 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 14 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 13 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 9 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.2 acres | Fire Department of New York | NA |
| 9 September 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | NA |
| 9 September 2006 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | not named |
| 9 September 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | not named |
| 8 September 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 6.3 acres | Fire Department of New York | N/A |
| 8 September 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | not named |
| 8 September 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | not named |
| 8 September 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Fire Department of New York | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Specimens collected near this place
12 of 4,775 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 4,775 specimens collected within 10 miles of West Albany between 1760 and 1975: 2,746 Animalia, 1,327 Fungi, 647 Plantae, 33 Unrecorded, 16 Chromista, 4 Protozoa, 2 Bacteria. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A C. Frederick, A C. Frederick, A C. Frederick, A. Clapp and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.
| Image | Species | Year | Collected by | Where, as recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Diplodia crataegi Fuckel | 1895 | Charles E. Fairman | |
![]() | Coniothyrium Corda, 1840 | 1899 | not recorded | |
![]() | Phyllosticta limitata Peck | 1899 | P.L. Huested | |
![]() | Hemaris thysbe Fabricius, 1775 | 1760 | W.W. Hill | |
![]() | Monotropa procera Torr. | 1817 | E. James | Near Albany |
| Fontinalis duriaei Schimp. | 1825 | H. H. Eaton | ||
| Geastrum hygrometricum Pers. | 1827 | H. H. Eaton | Troy | |
![]() | Acalypha rhomboidea Raf. | 1828 | J. Hall | Troy |
![]() | Alnus serrulata (Aiton) Willd. | 1828 | J. Hall | Troy |
![]() | Apocynum androsaemifolium L. | 1828 | J. Hall | Troy |
![]() | Apocynum cannabinum L. | 1828 | J. Hall | Troy |
![]() | Asclepias amplexicaulis Sm. | 1828 | J. Hall | Troy |
All 4,775 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Mines and quarries near this place
7 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of West Albany: 3 producers, 3 past producers, 1 plant. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Perlite. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Troy Plant | Perlite | Plant | ||
| Albany Gravel Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Valente Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Albany Clay Pit | Clay | Producer | ||
| Albany Clay Pit | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Rensselaer Clay Pit | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Rensselear Clay Pit | Clay | Producer |
Storms near this place
10 since 2008Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names West Albany in 10 storm reports between 2008 and 2021: 9 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning. 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 2008 | Lightning | West Albany | $25,000 | Lightning is believed to have struck a pole, following the wires into a house on Russell Road in West Albany, igniting a fire within a wall. The fire was extinguished within 15 minutes, but caused damage to a wall. |
| September 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Albany | - | A large tree limb was reported down. |
| May 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Albany | - | Wind ripped siding off a garage on Osborne Road. |
| March 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Albany | - | A tree was reported down at the intersection of Lorna Lane and Nicolla Avenue in Colonie due to thunderstorm winds. |
| September 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Albany | - | An iron fence was damaged due to a tree downed by thunderstorm winds between the Towers of Colonie apartment complex and the Colonie Center Mall. |
| June 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Albany | - | Multiple trees were reported down in Loudonville as a result of thunderstorm wind. One large tree was downed at the corner of Knob Hill Road and Dorwood Drive, which also damaged a fence. Power lines were downed and burning as a result of the downed tree as well. Additional downed tree limbs were located near the intersection of Maxwell Road and Old Niskayuna Road and one car was crushed as a result of the downed tree limbs. Pea sized hail also accompanied the strong winds. |
| September 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Albany | - | A large tree was reported down on Sand Creek Road in Colonie due to thunderstorm winds. |
| August 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Albany | - | A tree was reported down at the Times Union office building on Albany-Shaker Road in Colonie due to thunderstorm winds. |
| August 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Albany | - | Trees and wires were reported down in Colonie due to thunderstorm winds. Power outages were reported in the area as a result of the downed wires. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Albany | - | A National Weather Service survey team verified a microburst centered at Computer Drive West and Wolf Road in Colonie. Damage was confined to downed trees, with no damage to structures. A few trees were toppled or snapped. Mostly branches were downed. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loudon Heights | 1.3 miles | 32 | |
| Roessleville | 1.7 miles | 32 | |
| Loudonville | 1.9 miles | 32 | |
| Yarbrough Homes | 2.3 miles | 32 | |
| Albany | 2.4 miles | 32 | |
| Menands | 2.9 miles | 32 | |
| Lincoln Park Homes | 2.9 miles | 32 | |
| Newtonville | 3.0 miles | 32 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 969076. 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.
Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.
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.

























