Wakpala, South Dakota
8 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the East Corson unorganized territory. It lies in ZIP code area 57658. The Survey maps it on the Wakpala quadrangle. 267 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,726 feet above sea level.
Topographic sheets covering this place
4 surveys from 8 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1953 USGS McIntosh quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1956 USGS Wakpala quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1958 USGS McIntosh quadrangle1:250000
- 1985 USGS Mobridge quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
231 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 231 fires within 5 miles of Wakpala between 1992 and 2020, burning about 2,736 acres in total. 11 started naturally. 49 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/undetermined | 49 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 49 |
| Debris and open burning | 37 |
| Fireworks | 31 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 20 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 16 |
| Natural | 11 |
| Other causes | 9 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 4 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 2 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 2014 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Standing Rock Agency | DITCH 1 |
| 6 September 1997 | Natural | 50 acres | Standing Rock Agency | NOBODYHOME |
| 5 September 2012 | Debris and open burning | 140 acres | Standing Rock Agency | MOON BOOTS |
| 4 September 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Standing Rock Agency | TRACTOR |
| 3 September 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Standing Rock Agency | LESMEISTER |
| 26 September 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 2.5 acres | Standing Rock Agency | TIRE |
| 26 September 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Standing Rock Agency | WAKPALA2 |
| 25 September 2014 | Other causes | 40 acres | South Dakota Wildland Fire Suppression | WHEAT STUBLE BURN |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
39 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Wakpala in 39 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 17 hail, 11 thunderstorm wind, 7 flood, 3 flash flood. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2009 | Flood | Wakpala | $50,000 | no account filed |
| September 2025 | Tornado (EFU) | Wakpala | - | Storm chasers reported a brief tornado touchdown over open land, roughly 8 miles northeast of Wakpala, SD. No damage was reported. |
| June 2023 | Flood | Wakpala | - | Oak Creek near Wakpala, at the WKPS2 gauge, rose into minor flood stage of 10.0 feet at 3:00 pm MDT on June 25th, crested at 11.8 feet at 7:45 pm MDT on the 25th, and then fell below flood stage at 7:15 am MDT on the 26th. Agricultural land was impacted. |
| July 2018 | Flash Flood | Wakpala | - | Very heavy rains caused flash flooding on Oak Creek near Wakpala. Oak creek rose 10 feet in a short period of time reaching 15 feet in the early morning. The creek then crested at 16.34 feet in the mid morning hours to just over major flood stage. Oak Creek then fell slowly into the afternoon and evening hours to below flood stage. Some agricultural land and roads were flooded. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wakpala | - | Seventy mph winds downed the empty water tower in Wakpala. |
| June 2014 | Flash Flood | Wakpala | - | Very heavy rains brought flash flooding with water running over U.S. Highway 12 west of the Grand River Casino. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wakpala | - | Seventy mph winds were estimated. |
| June 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wakpala | - | Sixty mph winds downed several tree branches and moved an empty hay trailer. |
| October 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wakpala | - | Roofing material from two homes were blown off and impacted nearby homes. |
| October 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wakpala | - | A window was blown out of a home by blowing debris. |
| May 2025 | Flood | Wakpala | - | no account filed |
| May 2025 | Flood | Wakpala | - | no account filed |
| May 2025 | Flood | Wakpala | - | no account filed |
| April 2023 | Flood | Wakpala | - | no account filed |
| May 2022 | Flood | Wakpala | - | no account filed |
| July 2020 | Hail | Wakpala | - | no account filed |
| July 2019 | Hail | Wakpala | - | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Hail | Wakpala | - | no account filed |
| July 2017 | Hail | Wakpala | - | no account filed |
| May 2016 | Hail | Wakpala | - | no account filed |
| May 2016 | Hail | Wakpala | - | no account filed |
| June 2014 | Hail | Wakpala | - | no account filed |
| June 2014 | Hail | Wakpala | - | no account filed |
| August 2014 | Hail | Wakpala | - | no account filed |
| August 2012 | Hail | Wakpala | - | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Hail | Wakpala | - | no account filed |
| July 2008 | Hail | Wakpala | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Hail | Wakpala | - | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Hail | Wakpala | - | no account filed |
| July 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wakpala | - | no account filed |
| August 2007 | Hail | Wakpala | - | no account filed |
| August 2007 | Hail | Wakpala | - | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wakpala | - | no account filed |
| July 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wakpala | - | no account filed |
| August 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wakpala | - | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Hail | Wakpala | - | no account filed |
| July 1997 | Flash Flood | Wakpala | - | no account filed |
| May 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wakpala | - | no account filed |
| August 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Wakpala | - | no account filed |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jeffrey (historical) | 5.2 miles | 8 | |
| Snake Creek | 5.7 miles | 8 | |
| Mahto | 10.2 miles | 7 | |
| Little Eagle | 14.3 miles | 8 | |
| Kenel | 14.4 miles | 8 | |
| McLaughlin | 18.2 miles | 8 | |
| Maple Leaf | 26.4 miles | 7 | |
| Bullhead | 29.9 miles | 8 |
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 Wakpala | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q7961208 | The 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 1258794. 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.
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.



