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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.

West Albany within Albany County

Then and now

1893 to 1994

The 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.

Topographic sheet of West Albany, surveyed 1994
Topographic sheet of West Albany, surveyed 1893

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.

Topographic sheets covering this place

16 surveys from 32 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.

Fires near this place

1,500 since 1999

Regional 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/undetermined940
Arson/incendiarism249
Smoking80
Debris and open burning77
Natural62
Equipment and vehicle use40
Power generation/transmission/distribution16
Railroad operations and maintenance14
Misuse of fire by a minor13
Recreation and ceremony9

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
9 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.2 acresFire Department of New YorkNA
9 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFire Department of New YorkNA
9 September 2006Debris and open burningunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
9 September 2002Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
8 September 2016Arson/incendiarism6.3 acresFire Department of New YorkN/A
8 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
8 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
8 September 2001Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Albany County

Specimens collected near this place

12 of 4,775 shown

Regional 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 SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
Specimen of Diplodia crataegi FuckelDiplodia crataegi Fuckel1895Charles E. Fairman
Specimen of Coniothyrium Corda, 1840Coniothyrium Corda, 18401899not recorded
Specimen of Phyllosticta limitata PeckPhyllosticta limitata Peck1899P.L. Huested
A photograph of the species Hemaris thysbe, not of this specimenHemaris thysbe Fabricius, 17751760W.W. Hill
A photograph of the species Monotropa procera, not of this specimenMonotropa procera Torr.1817E. JamesNear Albany
Fontinalis duriaei Schimp.1825H. H. Eaton
Geastrum hygrometricum Pers.1827H. H. EatonTroy
A photograph of the species Acalypha rhomboidea, not of this specimenAcalypha rhomboidea Raf.1828J. HallTroy
A photograph of the species Alnus serrulata, not of this specimenAlnus serrulata (Aiton) Willd.1828J. HallTroy
A photograph of the species Apocynum androsaemifolium, not of this specimenApocynum androsaemifolium L.1828J. HallTroy
A photograph of the species Apocynum cannabinum, not of this specimenApocynum cannabinum L.1828J. HallTroy
A photograph of the species Asclepias amplexicaulis, not of this specimenAsclepias amplexicaulis Sm.1828J. HallTroy

All 4,775 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this place

7 within 5 miles

Regional 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Troy PlantPerlitePlant
Albany Gravel PlantSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Valente Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Albany Clay PitClayProducer
Albany Clay PitClayPast Producer
Rensselaer Clay PitClayPast Producer
Rensselear Clay PitClayProducer

Every working recorded in Albany County

Storms near this place

10 since 2008

Regional 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2008LightningWest Albany$25,000Lightning 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 2021Thunderstorm WindWest Albany-A large tree limb was reported down.
May 2020Thunderstorm WindWest Albany-Wind ripped siding off a garage on Osborne Road.
March 2017Thunderstorm WindWest Albany-A tree was reported down at the intersection of Lorna Lane and Nicolla Avenue in Colonie due to thunderstorm winds.
September 2015Thunderstorm WindWest 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 2015Thunderstorm WindWest 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 2015Thunderstorm WindWest Albany-A large tree was reported down on Sand Creek Road in Colonie due to thunderstorm winds.
August 2014Thunderstorm WindWest Albany-A tree was reported down at the Times Union office building on Albany-Shaker Road in Colonie due to thunderstorm winds.
August 2014Thunderstorm WindWest 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 2011Thunderstorm WindWest 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.

Every storm recorded in Albany 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
Loudon Heights1.3 miles32
Roessleville1.7 miles32
Loudonville1.9 miles32
Yarbrough Homes2.3 miles32
Albany2.4 miles32
Menands2.9 miles32
Lincoln Park Homes2.9 miles32
Newtonville3.0 miles32

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.