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Buffalo Gap, South Dakota

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1896 and the latest in 1993. It stands in Buffalo Gap town. It lies in ZIP code area 57722. The Survey maps it on the Buffalo Gap quadrangle. 131 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 3,261 feet above sea level.

Buffalo Gap within Custer County

On record in Buffalo Gap

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 3 records

Population over time

2 figures

Buffalo Gap grew from 126 to 131 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
2010126
2020131+5 (+4%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 16 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

54 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 54 fires within 5 miles of Buffalo Gap between 1992 and 2019, burning about 663 acres in total. 34 started naturally. None 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
Natural34
Debris and open burning6
Equipment and vehicle use5
Missing data/not specified/undetermined4
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Other causes1
Misuse of fire by a minor1
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
8 September 2003Natural1.0 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
7 September 2002Naturalunder an acreSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionWEST DUMP
2 September 2001Natural250 acresCascade Volunteer Fire DepartmentSOUTHERLAND SPRING
2 September 2000Naturalunder an acreSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionBOLAND
7 August 2019Naturalunder an acreSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionDRY
30 August 2006Naturalunder an acreSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
30 August 2006Naturalunder an acreSouth Dakota Wildland Fire Suppressionnot named
26 August 2011Natural5.8 acresSouth Dakota Wildland Fire SuppressionELM CREEK

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Custer County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Buffalo Gap: 3 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Flagstone. 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
Elm Creek QuarryFlagstonePast Producer
Burke QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer1905
Elm Creek QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer1895

Every working recorded in Custer County

Storms near this place

54 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Buffalo Gap in 54 storm reports between 1993 and 2024: 37 hail, 13 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, 1 flash flood. The reports record 1 injury. 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 2014LightningBuffalo Gap1 hurtA lightning bolt hit a storm chaser as he was filming a storm. The charge traveled to the ground and blew a hole in the pavement. The chaser's car and another car were disabled.
May 2019FloodBuffalo Gap$100,000Runoff from heavy rain flooded creeks and inundated roads. Flooding was reported on US Highway 16A near the Coolidge General Store and the Wildlife Loop Road in Custer State Park. Battle Creek covered several roads west of Hermosa. Spring Creek covered portions of Lower Spring Creek Road east of Hermosa. Cottonwood Creek overtopped Cottonwood Cutoff Road east of Buffalo Gap.
May 2010HailBuffalo Gap$75,000Very large hail damaged a few homes and automobiles near Buffalo Gap.
May 2005Flash FloodBuffalo Gap$50,000no account filed
July 2012Thunderstorm WindBuffalo Gap$25,000Strong winds damaged roofs, mobile homes, and trees in Buffalo Gap.
July 2007HailBuffalo Gap$3,000House windows were broken by large hail.
June 2005HailBuffalo Gap$2,000Combination of hail and gusty winds broke windows of house.
August 1993Tornado (F0)Buffalo Gap$50no account filed
July 2022Thunderstorm WindBuffalo Gap-Pea sized hail accompanied the storm.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindBuffalo Gap-A large pole barn was destroyed.
August 2021HailBuffalo Gap-The ground was covered with hail.
April 2020Thunderstorm WindBuffalo Gap-The spotter estimated wind gusts at 60 mph.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindBuffalo Gap-Small branches were broken off trees.
July 2017HailBuffalo Gap-A car windshield was cracked by the large hail.
July 2014HailBuffalo Gap-Hail to quarter size covered the ground.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindBuffalo Gap-Wind gusts were estimated at 60 mph.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindBuffalo Gap-Wind gusts were estimated at 70 mph.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindBuffalo Gap-Estimated wind gusts to 60 mph.
April 2024HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed
July 2022HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed
July 2021HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed
June 2019HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed
July 2019HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed
June 2018HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed
July 2016HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed
June 2015HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed
May 2014HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed
July 2013HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed
June 2013HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed
June 2013HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed
May 2012HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed
July 2012HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed
October 2011HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed
August 2010HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed
August 2010HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed
May 2008HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed
May 2008HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed
July 2008HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed
August 2007Thunderstorm WindBuffalo Gap-no account filed
May 2007HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed
June 2006HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed
June 2006Thunderstorm WindBuffalo Gap-no account filed
July 2006Thunderstorm WindBuffalo Gap-no account filed
June 2005HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed
July 2005HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed
August 2003HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed
August 2003Thunderstorm WindBuffalo Gap-no account filed
July 2003HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed
June 2002Thunderstorm WindBuffalo Gap-no account filed
August 2002HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed
May 2001HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed
July 2000HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed
June 1999HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed
May 1994HailBuffalo Gap-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Custer 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
Cold Spring II (historical)13.6 miles18
Fairburn14.5 miles16
Pringle16.9 miles18
Blue Bell17.9 miles18
Argyle18.0 miles18
Nihart18.6 miles16
State Game Lodge19.6 miles22
Ivanhoe (historical)20.3 miles15

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 Buffalo GapAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2159126The 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 1254122. 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.