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Avalanche, Wisconsin

14 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1923 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Webster town. It lies in ZIP code area 54665. It stands on Seas Branch. The Survey maps it on the Avalanche quadrangle. It stands 853 feet above sea level.

Avalanche within Vernon County

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 14 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.

In the county-history sources

2,112 words on this township

History of Vernon County, Wisconsin .., published 1884 names this settlement in its chapter on Webster Town. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

Mount Zion Church, located on section SO, was organized in 1869 by Rev. D. K. Young, with a membership of forty persons. Soon after the organization the congregation went to work and secured the funds necessary to the erection of a neat frame structure, 20x.30 feet in size, and at a cost of about $300. In is79 a rather serious misunderstanding took j]lace among the different members on some subject pertaining to Church matters, and a large portion of the congregation withdrew from the j Church. In addition to this regretful affair, a j great many of the members have removed to other climes, and the present membership nuini bers only ten.

Passage source: History of Vernon County, Wisconsin .., published 1884.

The Advent Church was organized in 18 67, on section IS, by Rev. Huff. The congregation first met for vforship at the school house in the village cf Avalanche, and continued their services there until 1875, when they erected a substantial frame structure, 24x40 feet in size, at a cost of ^1,000. The organization was disbanded in 1881 for want of funds to meet expenses.

Passage source: History of Vernon County, Wisconsin .., published 1884.

The first postoffice in the town of Webster was established at the village of Avalanche, in 1868, and Robert Welch was duly commissioned by "Uncle Sam" as its first postmaster. He was succeeded by Daniel Busbee, E. Enochson, August Sweger and the present postmistress, Mary Sweger.

Passage source: History of Vernon County, Wisconsin .., published 1884.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Webster Town - it names this place 6 more 6 times.

Fires near this place

5 since 2018

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 5 fires within 5 miles of Avalanche between 2018 and 2020, burning about 27 acres in total. None started naturally. 2 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/undetermined2
Arson/incendiarism2
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
13 May 2019Debris and open burningunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources1900016
29 April 2018Arson/incendiarism2.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resources1800011
28 April 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined20 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resources18054
20 April 2019Arson/incendiarism5.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resources1900012
7 October 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources20162

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Vernon County

Mines and quarries near this place

6 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Avalanche: 4 past producers, 1 occurrence, 1 prospect. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Copper, Copper, Nickel. 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
Ray Allen DepositCopperOccurrence
Ray Allen DepositCopper, NickelProspect
Clockmaker QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Dell QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Melvin QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Rumdee QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer

Every working recorded in Vernon County

Storms near this place

3 since 2016

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Avalanche in 3 storm reports between 2016 and 2019: 1 flash flood, 1 flood, 1 heavy rain. 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
July 2019Heavy RainAvalanche-Southeast of Westby, four inches of rain fell.
August 2018FloodAvalanche-Flood waters from the West Fork of the Kickapoo River covered roads near Avalanche.
September 2016Flash FloodAvalanche-A boulder came down a bluff side and onto County Highway S near Avalanche.

Every storm recorded in Vernon 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
Bloomingdale2.8 miles14
Ross4.5 miles14
Westby5.4 miles14
Liberty6.4 miles12
Viroqua6.5 miles14
Brookville7.4 miles14
La Farge7.7 miles12
Newry7.8 miles14

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 AvalancheAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q14714407The 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 1561029. 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.