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.
Population over time
3 figuresMethow 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 262 | |
| 2010 | 68 | -194 (-74%) |
| 2020 | 92 | +24 (+35%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 13 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.
- 1899 USGS Methow quadrangle1:125000
- 1901 USGS Methow quadrangle1:125000, 6 printings
- 1955 USGS Concrete quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Concrete quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1962 USGS Concrete quadrangle1:250000
- 1968 USGS Methow quadrangle1:24000
- 2001 USGS Methow quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
63 since 1992Regional 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 |
|---|---|
| Natural | 40 |
| Debris and open burning | 8 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 4 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 3 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 1 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
| Smoking | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2012 | Natural | 211 acres | Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest | HUNTER |
| 9 September 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters | not named |
| 8 September 2019 | Natural | under an acre | Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters | SAWTOOTH |
| 8 September 2012 | Natural | under an acre | Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters | MCFARLAND FALLER |
| 8 September 2005 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,097 acres | Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest | SQUAW CREEK |
| 3 September 2009 | Natural | under an acre | Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest | BUTTERS |
| 23 September 1992 | Natural | under an acre | Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest | not named |
| 13 September 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.0 acres | Washington State Department of Natural Resources Headquarters | MORSE |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 56 shownRegional 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago | Gold, Copper, Zinc, Iron | Past Producer | Chalcopyrite, Gold | |
| Chicago | Gold, Copper, Zinc, Iron | Past Producer | Vein | |
| Friday Claims | Gold, Silver, Copper | Past Producer | Bornite, Chalcopyrite, Malachite, Pyrite | |
| Gray Eagle No. 2 | Copper, Gold | Past Producer | ||
| Hidden Treasure | Silver, Gold, Copper, Lead, Zinc | Occurrence | Chalcopyrite, Galena, Malachite, Sphalerite | |
| Highland | Copper, Gold, Tungsten, Zinc | Past Producer | Vein | |
| Holden-Campbell | Gold, Molybdenum, Copper, Tungsten, Silver | Past Producer | Chalcopyrite, Gold, Molybdenite, Pyrite, Scheelite | |
| Holden-Campbell | Gold, Copper, Tungsten, Silver, Molybdenum | Past Producer | Vein | |
| Methow | Gold, Tungsten, Copper, Silver, Molybdenum | Past Producer | Chalcopyrite, Gold, Scheelite | |
| Methow Mine | Gold, Copper, Tungsten, Silver, Molybdenum | Prospect | 1940, 1941 |
Storms near this place
7 since 2006Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2016 | Debris Flow | Methow | $5,000 | The 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 2014 | Debris Flow | Methow | $5,000 | Debris 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 2016 | Debris Flow | Methow | $3,000 | The 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 2016 | Flash Flood | Methow | $1,000 | A member of the public reported flooding on private land along french creek road 1 mile northeast of Methow, WA. |
| July 2016 | Flash Flood | Methow | $1,000 | An emergency manager reported water and mud over the roadway near 315 Burma Road which is approximately 1 mile south of Methow, WA. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Methow | - | The Douglas Ingram Ridge RAWS station recorded a wind gust of 58 mph as thunderstorms moved through the area. |
| July 2006 | Flash Flood | Methow | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paradise Hill | 7.4 miles | 13 | |
| Pateros | 7.6 miles | 13 | |
| Carlton | 10.1 miles | 13 | |
| Starr | 11.4 miles | 9 | |
| Brewster | 12.1 miles | 12 | |
| Virginia City (historical) | 12.1 miles | 12 | |
| Thompson (historical) | 13.5 miles | 12 | |
| Olema | 15.1 miles | 12 |
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 Methow | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q6823896 | 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 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.






