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Benchmark, South Dakota

17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1894 and the latest in 1998. It stands in the South Lawrence unorganized territory. It lies in ZIP code area 57759. It stands on Hay Creek. The Survey maps it on the Nemo quadrangle.

Benchmark within Lawrence County

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 17 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

97 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 97 fires within 5 miles of Benchmark between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,671 acres in total. 37 started naturally. 5 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
Natural37
Debris and open burning17
Missing data/not specified/undetermined15
Recreation and ceremony13
Arson/incendiarism5
Power generation/transmission/distribution3
Equipment and vehicle use3
Smoking2
Other causes1
Fireworks1

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 2019Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreBlack Hills National ForestLOST FIRE
5 September 1995Naturalunder an acreBlack Hills National ForestUGLY SNAG
4 September 2011Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreBlack Hills National ForestKILLOERN
3 September 2012Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreBlack Hills National ForestDIAMOND DALE
29 September 2004Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
16 September 1997Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreBlack Hills National ForestWONDERBAR
9 August 1996Naturalunder an acreBlack Hills National ForestDALTON
8 August 2016Naturalunder an acreBlack Hills National ForestROUBAIX

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Lawrence County

Mines and quarries near this place

8 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Benchmark: 4 past producers, 2 occurrences, 1 prospect, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Silver, Gold, Silver, Gold, Lead. 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
Ama Queen MineSilver, GoldOccurrenceGold, Silver
CalabogiaSilver, LeadProspect
Cf&I PitIronProducer
Gravel PitStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Lucky StrikeGold, SilverPast ProducerPlacer
Lucky StrikeGold, SilverPast Producer
Safe InvestmentGold, SilverPast Producer
Safe Investment MineGold, SilverOccurrenceReplacement

Every working recorded in Lawrence 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
Greenwood0.9 miles17
Novak1.5 miles17
Tomahawk2.8 miles17
Channing (historical)3.4 miles17
Nemo4.4 miles17
Roubaix5.8 miles20
Brownsville (historical)7.1 miles20
Virginia (historical)7.9 miles20

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1261253. 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.