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Vernal, Utah

17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1885 and the latest in 1980. It stands in the Vernal census division. It lies in ZIP code area 84078. The Survey maps it on the Vernal NE quadrangle. 10,079 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 5,328 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Vernal within Uintah County

On record in Vernal

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 12 records

Surveyed buildings and structures 2 records

Population over time

2 figures

Vernal grew from 9,089 to 10,079 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
20109,089
202010,079+990 (+11%)

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.

Photographs

8 of 19 photographs shown, 2022

Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.

A replica of a petroglyph, or rock carving, at the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum in the small city of Vernal in eastern Utah's Uintah County
A replica of a petroglyph, or rock carving, at the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum in the small city of Vernal in eastern Utah's Uintah County
Highsmith, Carol M, 2022. Library of Congress
Figure of a Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur outside the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum in the small city of Vernal in eastern Utah's Uintah County
Figure of a Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur outside the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum in the small city of Vernal in eastern Utah's Uintah County
Highsmith, Carol M, 2022. Library of Congress
Figure of a prehistoric Pteranodon flying reptile at the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum in the small city of Vernal in eastern Utah's Uintah County
Figure of a prehistoric Pteranodon flying reptile at the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum in the small city of Vernal in eastern Utah's Uintah County
Highsmith, Carol M, 2022. Library of Congress
Murals and other art figures of fearsome dinosaurs such as this are not unusual in the small city of Vernal in eastern Utah's Uintah County
Murals and other art figures of fearsome dinosaurs such as this are not unusual in the small city of Vernal in eastern Utah's Uintah County
Highsmith, Carol M, 2022. Library of Congress
Murals, art figures, and sculptures of fearsome dinosaurs such as this in a city park are not unusual in the small city of Vernal in eastern Utah's Uintah County
Murals, art figures, and sculptures of fearsome dinosaurs such as this in a city park are not unusual in the small city of Vernal in eastern Utah's Uintah County
Highsmith, Carol M, 2022. Library of Congress
Murals and quirky art figures of dinosaurs such as this are not unusual in the small city of Vernal in eastern Utah's Uintah County
Murals and quirky art figures of dinosaurs such as this are not unusual in the small city of Vernal in eastern Utah's Uintah County
Highsmith, Carol M, 2022. Library of Congress
A speedboat pulls not a water skier but what appear to be two people in a single tube in the reservoir at Steinaker State Park, near Vernal, a small city in rugged Uintah County near the Colorado border in northeast Utah
A speedboat pulls not a water skier but what appear to be two people in a single tube in the reservoir at Steinaker State Park, near Vernal, a small city in rugged Uintah County near the Colorado border in northeast Utah
Highsmith, Carol M, 2022. Library of Congress
Figure of a prehistoric woolly mammoth outside the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum in the small city of Vernal in eastern Utah's Uintah County
Figure of a prehistoric woolly mammoth outside the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum in the small city of Vernal in eastern Utah's Uintah County
Highsmith, Carol M, 2022. Library of Congress

Every photograph of Uintah County

Fires near this place

138 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 138 fires within 5 miles of Vernal between 1992 and 2020, burning about 206 acres in total. 4 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/undetermined59
Debris and open burning37
Equipment and vehicle use16
Fireworks13
Recreation and ceremony4
Natural4
Misuse of fire by a minor2
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Firearms and explosives use1

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
30 September 2010Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreUtah Division Forestry Fire State LandsGUTTING TORCH
23 September 1993Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresUtah Division Forestry Fire State LandsNO PERMIT
22 September 2009Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreUtah Division Forestry Fire State Lands4000 S 5000 E
20 September 2019Equipment and vehicle use3.5 acresUtah Division Forestry Fire State LandsASHLEY CREEK
18 September 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreUtah Division Forestry Fire State LandsWELLS
8 August 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreUtah Division Forestry Fire State LandsMAILBOX
7 August 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreVernal Field OfficeSTEINAKER 1
4 August 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreUtah Division Forestry Fire State LandsNAPLES ASSIST

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Uintah 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 Vernal: 4 past producers, 3 producers, 1 occurrence. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Uranium, 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
Asphalt Ridge DepositOil SandsPast Producer1895
Devil and Satan DepositsUraniumOccurrence
Rock Point Sand PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerUnconsolidated Sediments
Rock Point Sand PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Steinaker Park Borrow PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerUnconsolidated Sediments
Steinaker Park Borrow PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Utah Dept Highways Pit # 24029Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Utah Dept. of Highways Pit No 24029Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerUnconsolidated Sediments

Every working recorded in Uintah County

Storms near this place

27 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Vernal in 27 storm reports between 1993 and 2023: 10 hail, 6 thunderstorm wind, 4 flash flood, 2 tornado. 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
May 1997Flash FloodVernal$100,000no account filed
August 1999Thunderstorm WindVernal$30,000no account filed
September 2013HailVernal$20,000Large hail flattened gardens, dented a number of vehicles, and broke some windows.
August 2009Tornado (EF0)Vernal$1,000A tornado tracked through a small section of Vernal, mostly staying between houses. A number of trees had large limbs broken off and some minor damage occurred to sheds. The tornado was seen by many area residents and photographed by at least three persons.
July 1998Flash FloodVernal$1,000no account filed
July 2023Thunderstorm WindVernal-A peak wind gust of 68 MPH was measured by the automated weather station at the Vernal Regional Airport.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindVernal-A peak wind gust of 59 mph was measured by the automated weather station at the Vernal Regional Airport.
August 2018HailVernal-Multiple trained spotters and members of the public observed nickel-sized hail in Vernal, mainly in the northwest portion of the city and in the downtown area.
September 2013HailVernal-Hail accumulated up to two inches deep on Highway 191 and minor flooding was reported in the area.
June 2010HailVernal-Hail up to 1 inch in diameter was reported.
June 2010HailVernal-Hail up to 1.25 inches in diameter pummelled the area.
October 1994HailVernal-A thunderstorm dropped 0.75-inch diameter hail at Ashley Creek. Larger hail was observed but not measured.
May 1993Tornado (F0)Vernal-The cold upper low previously mentioned moved over northeast Utah by the early evening hours of the 5th. This produced a cold core funnel cloud. This was one of the rare occasions that a cold core funnel cloud became a tornado. The tornado was spotted by an airplane. Because the tornado only lasted a few minutes, and was in a sparsely populated region of the state, it caused no damage.
September 2013HailVernal-no account filed
September 2013HailVernal-no account filed
September 2013HailVernal-no account filed
May 2006Thunderstorm WindVernal-no account filed
September 2006Heavy RainVernal-no account filed
May 2003HailVernal-no account filed
August 2002WildfireVernal-no account filed
July 2002Flash FloodVernal-no account filed
May 2000Thunderstorm WindVernal-no account filed
September 1999Funnel CloudVernal-no account filed
August 1999Funnel CloudVernal-no account filed
July 1998Heavy RainVernal-no account filed
August 1997Flash FloodVernal-no account filed
July 1995Thunderstorm WindVernal-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Uintah 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
Naples2.5 miles18
Maeser3.4 miles17
Dry Fork10.2 miles20
Jensen11.9 miles19
Lapoint14.5 miles17
Tridell17.0 miles17
Bullionville17.1 miles21
Gusher18.7 miles16

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 VernalAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q482828The 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 1433885. 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.