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.
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 14 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.
- 1923 USGS Viroqua quadrangle1:62500
- 1926 USGS Viroqua quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1958 USGS La Crosse quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1961 USGS La Crosse quadrangle1:250000
- 1965 USGS La Crosse quadrangle1:250000
- 1965 USGS Viroqua quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1976 USGS La Crosse quadrangle1:250000
- 1983 USGS Avalanche quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1985 USGS Sparta quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
In the county-history sources
2,112 words on this townshipHistory 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 2018Regional 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/undetermined | 2 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 2 |
| Debris and open burning | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 May 2019 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 1900016 |
| 29 April 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 2.0 acres | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 1800011 |
| 28 April 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 acres | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 18054 |
| 20 April 2019 | Arson/incendiarism | 5.0 acres | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 1900012 |
| 7 October 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources | 20162 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
6 within 5 milesRegional 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ray Allen Deposit | Copper | Occurrence | ||
| Ray Allen Deposit | Copper, Nickel | Prospect | ||
| Clockmaker Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Dell Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Melvin Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Rumdee Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
3 since 2016Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2019 | Heavy Rain | Avalanche | - | Southeast of Westby, four inches of rain fell. |
| August 2018 | Flood | Avalanche | - | Flood waters from the West Fork of the Kickapoo River covered roads near Avalanche. |
| September 2016 | Flash Flood | Avalanche | - | A boulder came down a bluff side and onto County Highway S near Avalanche. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bloomingdale | 2.8 miles | 14 | |
| Ross | 4.5 miles | 14 | |
| Westby | 5.4 miles | 14 | |
| Liberty | 6.4 miles | 12 | |
| Viroqua | 6.5 miles | 14 | |
| Brookville | 7.4 miles | 14 | |
| La Farge | 7.7 miles | 12 | |
| Newry | 7.8 miles | 14 |
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 Avalanche | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q14714407 | 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 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.








