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West Sand Lake, New York

30 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Sand Lake town. It lies in ZIP code area 12196. It sits by Crystal Cliff. The Survey maps it on the Averill Park quadrangle. 2,616 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 525 feet above sea level.

West Sand Lake within Rensselaer County

Then and now

1893 to 1989

The same ground, surveyed 96 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 Sand Lake, surveyed 1989
Topographic sheet of West Sand Lake, surveyed 1893

Population over time

2 figures

West Sand Lake fell from 2,660 to 2,616 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
20102,660
20202,616-44 (-2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

14 surveys from 30 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

404 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 404 fires within 5 miles of West Sand Lake between 1992 and 2020, burning about 422 acres in total. 22 started naturally. 80 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/undetermined209
Arson/incendiarism80
Debris and open burning54
Natural22
Equipment and vehicle use13
Smoking13
Recreation and ceremony5
Power generation/transmission/distribution4
Misuse of fire by a minor3
Railroad operations and maintenance1

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 2002Arson/incendiarismunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
8 September 2007Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
6 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
3 September 2016Arson/incendiarismunder an acreFire Department of New YorkN/A
26 September 2010Debris and open burningunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
23 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
18 September 2009Debris and open burningunder an acreFire Department of New Yorknot named
17 September 2016Debris and open burningunder an acreFire Department of New YorkN/A

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Rensselaer County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 14 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 14 workings within 5 miles of West Sand Lake: 12 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. 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
C.E. Wicks PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
C.E. Wicks Pit and MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Cranston Leveling PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Cranston Leveling PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Dunns PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Dunns PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Edgewood Drive PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Edgewood Drive PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Morans PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Morans PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Rensselaer County

Storms near this place

14 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names West Sand Lake in 14 storm reports between 1995 and 2024: 10 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 2 flash flood. The reports record 2 injuries. 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 2007Thunderstorm WindWest Sand Lake2 hurtTrees were reported down from thunderstorm winds in West Sand Lake.||In addition, a police officer and firefighter were both injured in North Greenbush while rescuing 2 people from an auto accident during a thunderstorm, as a large limb from a maple tree fell on them due to strong winds. The police officer was hit on the head, and stayed in the hospital overnight for observation, while the firefighter was hit on the arm and stomach, and was treated and released from the hospital.
July 2021Flash FloodWest Sand Lake$500,000Several inches of moving water was reported flowing over Route 43 in several locations between West Sand Lake and Averill Park. Route 66 was washed out as well north of Averill Park. Several other roads were closed or washed out in the Town of Sand Lake, including Holcomb Road, Burden Lake Road, Old Best Road, and Taborton Road.
July 1995Thunderstorm WindWest Sand Lake$10,000no account filed
July 2001HailWest Sand Lake$7,000no account filed
July 2024Thunderstorm WindWest Sand Lake-Wires were downed on New York Route 43 between Geiser Road and Higgins Road near West Sand Lake.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindWest Sand Lake-A tree was downed on Springer Road near Route 43.
July 2019Thunderstorm WindWest Sand Lake-Route 43 was closed between Mammoth Spring Road and Geiser Road due to downed poles and wires.
August 2018Thunderstorm WindWest Sand Lake-A telephone pole was snapped.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindWest Sand Lake-Several trees were downed due to thunderstorms winds near Mammoth Springs Road in North Greenbush. Some of the trees fells on houses, causing some minor damage.
May 2013HailWest Sand Lake-A member of the public reported penny size hail fell from a thunderstorm in West Sand Lake.
August 2011Flash FloodWest Sand Lake-Portions of Route 43 in West Sand Lake were reported closed due to flooding, including between Geiser Road and Mammouth Spring Road, and between Route 150 and Route 351.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindWest Sand Lake-Numerous trees and wires were reported down in West Sand Lake along Route 43 due to strong thunderstorm winds.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindWest Sand Lake-Two or more trees were reported down due to strong thunderstorm winds in West Sand Lake.
July 2005Thunderstorm WindWest Sand Lake-Trees down on Burden Lake Road and tree down on Route 150.

Every storm recorded in Rensselaer 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
Bon Acre1.7 miles30
Snyders Corner1.9 miles30
Best2.4 miles31
Sliters2.7 miles30
Maple Grove2.9 miles30
Averill Park3.0 miles30
Eastmor3.1 miles32
Luther3.5 miles31

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 West Sand LakeAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q3460116The 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 970858. 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.