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Methow, Washington

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1899 and the latest in 2001. It stands in the Methow Valley census division. It lies in ZIP code area 98834. It stands on French Creek. The Survey maps it on the Methow quadrangle. 92 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,154 feet above sea level.

Methow within Okanogan County

Population over time

3 figures

Methow fell from 262 to 92 between 2000 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
2000262
201068-194 (-74%)
202092+24 (+35%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 13 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

63 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 63 fires within 5 miles of Methow between 1992 and 2020, burning about 2,118 acres in total. 40 started naturally. 1 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
Natural40
Debris and open burning8
Missing data/not specified/undetermined5
Recreation and ceremony4
Equipment and vehicle use3
Arson/incendiarism1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1
Smoking1

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 2012Natural211 acresOkanogan-Wenatchee National ForestHUNTER
9 September 2006Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWashington State Department of Natural Resources Headquartersnot named
8 September 2019Naturalunder an acreWashington State Department of Natural Resources HeadquartersSAWTOOTH
8 September 2012Naturalunder an acreWashington State Department of Natural Resources HeadquartersMCFARLAND FALLER
8 September 2005Power generation/transmission/distribution1,097 acresOkanogan-Wenatchee National ForestSQUAW CREEK
3 September 2009Naturalunder an acreOkanogan-Wenatchee National ForestBUTTERS
23 September 1992Naturalunder an acreOkanogan-Wenatchee National Forestnot named
13 September 2008Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresWashington State Department of Natural Resources HeadquartersMORSE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Okanogan County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 56 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 56 workings within 5 miles of Methow: 22 unknowns, 19 past producers, 9 occurrences, 5 prospects. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Gold, Copper, Tungsten, Silver. 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
ChicagoGold, Copper, Zinc, IronPast ProducerChalcopyrite, Gold
ChicagoGold, Copper, Zinc, IronPast ProducerVein
Friday ClaimsGold, Silver, CopperPast ProducerBornite, Chalcopyrite, Malachite, Pyrite
Gray Eagle No. 2Copper, GoldPast Producer
Hidden TreasureSilver, Gold, Copper, Lead, ZincOccurrenceChalcopyrite, Galena, Malachite, Sphalerite
HighlandCopper, Gold, Tungsten, ZincPast ProducerVein
Holden-CampbellGold, Molybdenum, Copper, Tungsten, SilverPast ProducerChalcopyrite, Gold, Molybdenite, Pyrite, Scheelite
Holden-CampbellGold, Copper, Tungsten, Silver, MolybdenumPast ProducerVein
MethowGold, Tungsten, Copper, Silver, MolybdenumPast ProducerChalcopyrite, Gold, Scheelite
Methow MineGold, Copper, Tungsten, Silver, MolybdenumProspect1940, 1941

Every working recorded in Okanogan County

Storms near this place

7 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Methow in 7 storm reports between 2006 and 2018: 3 flash flood, 3 debris flow, 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
October 2016Debris FlowMethow$5,000The Okanogan County Emergency Manager reported a debris flow on Bill Shaw Road outside of Brewster, Washington. It was noted that the time of the debris flow was estimated and the road was still passable.
August 2014Debris FlowMethow$5,000Debris flowed onto Highway 153 out of small drainages between Black Canyon Road and Squaw Creek Road. Squaw Creek Road washed out approximately five miles west of Highway 153. The entire area was part of the Carlton Complex burn scar.
March 2016Debris FlowMethow$3,000The Department of Highways reported that State Route 153 was closed in both directions at mile post 5.5 due to flooding and rock slides coming from Black Canyon. This location is near 5 miles west of Pateros, Washington.
July 2016Flash FloodMethow$1,000A member of the public reported flooding on private land along french creek road 1 mile northeast of Methow, WA.
July 2016Flash FloodMethow$1,000An emergency manager reported water and mud over the roadway near 315 Burma Road which is approximately 1 mile south of Methow, WA.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindMethow-The Douglas Ingram Ridge RAWS station recorded a wind gust of 58 mph as thunderstorms moved through the area.
July 2006Flash FloodMethow-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Okanogan 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
Paradise Hill7.4 miles13
Pateros7.6 miles13
Carlton10.1 miles13
Starr11.4 miles9
Brewster12.1 miles12
Virginia City (historical)12.1 miles12
Thompson (historical)13.5 miles12
Olema15.1 miles12

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 MethowAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q6823896The 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 1523030. 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.