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Joseph, Oregon

12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1955 and the latest in 1990. It stands in the Joseph census division. It lies in ZIP code area 97846. It stands on Newby Creek. The Survey maps it on the Joseph quadrangle. 1,154 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 4,190 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Joseph within Wallowa County

On record in Joseph

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 5 records

Population over time

3 figures

Joseph grew from 1,054 to 1,154 between 2000 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
20001,054
20101,081+27 (+3%)
20201,154+73 (+7%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 surveys from 12 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

51 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 51 fires within 5 miles of Joseph between 1995 and 2019, burning about 50 acres in total. 13 started naturally. 1 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
Debris and open burning14
Natural13
Missing data/not specified/undetermined7
Recreation and ceremony7
Smoking3
Equipment and vehicle use3
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Other causes1
Arson/incendiarism1

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
3 September 2016Equipment and vehicle use6.3 acresOregon Department of Forestry Salem HeadquartersAIRPORT
25 September 2001Missing data/not specified/undetermined5.0 acresWallowa UnitJOSPEH
2 September 2012Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreOregon Department of Forestry Salem HeadquartersCENTURY LANE
14 September 2012Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreOregon Department of Forestry Salem HeadquartersLEWIS
11 September 1997Naturalunder an acreWallowa UnitHURRICANE SWITCHBACK
5 August 2009Natural1.0 acresWallowa-Whitman National ForestDRAGON
5 August 2007Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreWallowa-Whitman National ForestHURRICANE CRK CMPFIR
3 August 2005Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreWallowa UnitHERSHEY

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Wallowa County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 32 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 32 workings within 5 miles of Joseph: 11 past producers, 10 occurrences, 10 prospects, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Copper, Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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
Falls Creek Forest CampGold, Copper, Lead, Zinc, SilverOccurrenceGalena, Pyrite, Sphalerite
Good Enough ProspectLead, Silver, Zinc, Gold, CopperOccurrence1909
Hard Climb ProspectZinc, Copper, Silver, Gold, LeadOccurrenceGalena, Sphalerite
Hard Climb ProspectCopper, Gold, Lead, Zinc, SilverProspect
Joseph Mountain MineLead, Silver, Gold, Copper, Molybdenum, ZincOccurrenceVein
Joseph Mountain MinesCopper, Silver, Molybdenum, Zinc, Lead, GoldProspect
Kipp-FreemanCopper, MolybdenumOccurrencePyrite
Kipp-Freeman ProspectCopper, MolybdenumProspect
Old Time ProspectGold, Silver, CopperProspect
Old Timer ProspectGold, Silver, CopperOccurrenceVein

Every working recorded in Wallowa County

Storms near this place

16 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Joseph in 16 storm reports between 2000 and 2024: 5 hail, 4 thunderstorm wind, 3 flash flood, 2 funnel cloud. 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
July 2002Flash FloodJoseph$1,000,000The Wallowa County Sheriff's Office confirmed a mudslide near the Blue Mountain Council Boy Scout Camp at the south end of Wallowa Lake. The mudslide destroyed a dining hall near the boy scout camp. The debri flow in the lake was several feet thick. The mudslide swept away several trees and damaged three vehicles in its path.
April 2024HailJoseph-A thunderstorm developed over the Wallowa Mountains late in the afternoon of April 14, moving northwest into more populated areas of the Wallowa Valley, such as Joseph and Lostine.
May 2020HailJoseph-Nickle to quarter size hail covering the ground in Joseph.
October 2016Thunderstorm WindJoseph-Trained Spotter Estimated a 70 MPH wind gust.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindJoseph-Thunderstorm downed four large trees at the Scout Camp south of Wallowa Lake.
August 2003WildfireJoseph-The Lightning Complex Fire was a lightning sparked fire which burned 16,028 acres, destroying one structure. The fire burned shrubs, grass, and timber. The cost of fighting the fire topped 1.1 million dollars.
May 2003Thunderstorm WindJoseph-Numerous trees reported down countywide.
June 2001HailJoseph-One inch hail, along with gusty winds, was reported at an elevation of 4200 feet.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindJoseph-no account filed
June 2010HailJoseph-no account filed
June 2010HailJoseph-no account filed
May 2008Funnel CloudJoseph-no account filed
May 2008Funnel CloudJoseph-no account filed
June 2004Flash FloodJoseph-no account filed
June 2004Flash FloodJoseph-no account filed
August 2000LightningJoseph-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Wallowa 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
Alder (historical)4.7 miles10
Enterprise5.6 miles10
Armin (historical)12.8 miles11
Lostine14.0 miles10
Evans14.4 miles11
Wallowa21.7 miles10
Fruita21.9 miles11
Zumwalt23.5 miles10

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 JosephAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2729524The 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 1144403. 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.