BlockBefore

Mexican Hat, Utah

21 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1886 and the latest in 1989. It stands in the Blanding census division. It lies in ZIP code area 84531. It stands on Gypsum Creek. The Survey maps it on the Mexican Hat quadrangle. 21 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 4,245 feet above sea level.

Mexican Hat within San Juan County

Population over time

2 figures

Mexican Hat fell from 31 to 21 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
201031
202021-10 (-32%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 surveys from 21 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

5 since 2016

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 5 fires within 5 miles of Mexican Hat between 2016 and 2020, burning about 4 acres in total. None 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined4
Debris and open burning1

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
7 July 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMoab Field OfficeMONTANA
27 June 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMoab Field OfficeHWY163 MM26
27 June 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMoab Field OfficeHWY163 MM27
27 May 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMoab Field OfficeLAUNCH
8 April 2020Debris and open burning3.0 acresUtah Division Forestry Fire State LandsMEXICAN HAT

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in San Juan County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 10 workings within 5 miles of Mexican Hat: 6 past producers, 2 producers, 2 occurrences. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Limestone, General, Calcium, Oil Sands. 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
Limestone QuarryCalciumPast Producer
Mexican Hat Oil Impregnated RockOil SandsOccurrence1882
Limestone QuarryLimestone, GeneralPast ProducerCalcite
Limestone QuarryLimestone, GeneralPast ProducerCalcite
Utah Department of Highways Pit #19049Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducerUnconsolidated Sediments
Utah Department of Highways Pit No. 19044Sand and Gravel, ConstructionOccurrenceQuartzite
Utah Department of Highways Pit No. 19048Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerGravel, Sandstone
Utah Dept of Highways Pit No 19044Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Utah Dept of Highways Pit No 19048Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Utah Dept of Highways Pit No 19049Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in San Juan County

Storms near this place

12 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Mexican Hat in 12 storm reports between 2000 and 2025: 6 flash flood, 1 funnel cloud, 1 flood, 1 thunderstorm wind. 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
September 2023Flash FloodMexican Hat$12,000A truck was swept away as a result of flash flooding from heavy rain on Johns Canyon Road which runs along a slot canyon in Gooseneck State Park. The San Juan County Sheriff's Office was able to send someone to rescue the stranded driver. No injuries were reported.
September 2002FloodMexican Hat$2,000no account filed
August 2025Flash FloodMexican Hat-At approximately 5:20 PM MDT, heavy rain in the area north of Mexican Hat, UT, resulting in failed culverts and flash flooding. On State Highway 163, the failed culverts and and heavy rain resulted in water over the road, making them impassable until the water receded. Additionally, heavy rain in this region led to water over the road on County Highway 261, in an area of steep switchbacks. While no damage was reported, these roads did become impassable and had to be cleared in the hours after the water receded. No injuries or fatalities were reported.
June 2020Flash FloodMexican Hat-Heavy rain from thunderstorms allowed normally dry arroyos to fill rapidly which resulted in a flash flood. The Cooperative Observer at the Valley of the Gods north of Mexican Hat measured 0.58 inches of rain at the end of the event.
June 2020HailMexican Hat-A severe thunderstorm produced large hail measured to be the size of quarters at the Valley of the Gods north of Mexican Hat.
July 2017Heavy RainMexican Hat-A thunderstorm with heavy rainfall produced 0.61 of an inch within 30 minutes. Minor street flooding was reported.
July 2017Flash FloodMexican Hat-Heavy rainfall caused flash flooding in the Valley of the Gods. Water over a foot deep flowed across Valley of the Gods Road along several washes and caused visitors to become stranded. A total of 0.94 of an inch of rain was measured within 75 minutes at the Valley of the Gods cooperative weather station.
June 2015Tornado (EF0)Mexican Hat-At 5:40 pm a rare tornado touched down near Comb Ridge east of Monument Valley in southeast Utah. The tornado drifted slowly to the northeast and roped out lasting approximately 15 minutes. No damage occurred as the tornado traveled over the open desert. This rare mesocyclonic tornado formed on the southwest corner of an uncommon long-lived, single-cell storm on the Colorado Plateau. The storm formed in far northwest Arizona and traveled over 75 miles before dissipating in western Colorado. Due to the high-visibility location of the storm near tourist attractions in Monument Valley, there were numerous eye-witness accounts and photos of this rare event. The tornado was photographed from over 25 miles away in some cases.
August 2013Flash FloodMexican Hat-Fast flowing water originating from Gypsum Creek covered county roads up to at least 12 inches in depth.
September 2013Flash FloodMexican Hat-Fast flowing water runoff from heavy rainfall overran the Valley of the Gods roadway and filled adjacent dry washes.
July 2009Thunderstorm WindMexican Hat-An intense thunderstorm produced strong outflow winds in the Valley of the Gods area. Unsecured items at a residence were blown over.
August 2000Funnel CloudMexican Hat-no account filed

Every storm recorded in San Juan 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
Halchita2.1 miles21
Tselakai Dezza14.3 miles20
Little Water17.0 miles20
Bluff19.0 miles22
Goulding20.3 miles19
Oljato25.2 miles18
Red Lake Village29.0 miles19
Montezuma Creek30.1 miles20

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 Mexican HatAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1926233The 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 1430248. 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.