Saguache County, Colorado

Saguache County, Colorado
Seal
Location in the state of Colorado
Colorado's location in the U.S.
Founded	December 29, 1866
Seat	Saguache
Largest town	Center
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	3,170.25 sq mi (8,211 km²) 3,168.44 sq mi (8,206 km²) 1.82 sq mi (5 km²), 0.06%
Population  - (2000)  - Density	5,917 2/sq mi (1/km²)
Time zone	Mountain: UTC-7/-6
Website	www.saguachecounty.net

Saguache County ( /səˈwætʃ/) is the seventh most extensive of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado of the United States. The county name comes from a Ute language word meaning “blue earth” or “water at blue earth”. The county population was 5,917 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat is Saguache.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 3,170.25 square miles (8,210.9 km²), of which 3,168.44 square miles (8,206.2 km²) (or 99.94%) is land and 1.82 square miles (4.7 km²) (or 0.06%) is water.

Adjacent counties

• Chaffee County, Colorado - north
• Fremont County, Colorado - northeast
• Custer County, Colorado - east
• Huerfano County, Colorado - southeast
• Rio Grande County, Colorado - south
• Alamosa County, Colorado - south
• Mineral County, Colorado - southwest
• Hinsdale County, Colorado - southwest
• Gunnison County, Colorado - northwest

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 5,917 people, 2,300 households, and 1,557 families residing in the county. The population density was 2 people per square mile (1/km²). There were 3,087 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile (0/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 71.29% White, 0.12% Black or African American, 2.06% Native American, 0.46% Asian, 23.00% from other races, and 3.08% from two or more races. 45.26% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,300 households out of which 33.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.70% were married couples living together, 11.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.30% were non-families. 26.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.15.

In the county the population was spread out with 28.40% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 26.00% from 25 to 44, 26.90% from 45 to 64, and 10.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 101.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $25,495, and the median income for a family was $29,405. Males had a median income of $25,158 versus $18,862 for females. The per capita income for the county was $13,121. About 18.70% of families and 22.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.60% of those under age 18 and 12.50% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

• Bonanza
• Center
• Crestone
• La Garita
• Moffat
• Saguache
• Villa Grove
• Sargeants

National park

• Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

National forests

• Gunnison National Forest
• Rio Grande National Forest

National wilderness areas

• Great Sand Dunes Wilderness
• La Garita Wilderness
• Sangre de Cristo Wilderness

Trails

• Colorado Trail
• Continental Divide National Scenic Trail
• Old Spanish National Historic Trail

Trails within the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

• Liberty Road historic mail route open to foot, horse, and bicycle travel between Crestone and the ghost towns of Duncan and Liberty crossing the Baca Mountain Tract Rio Grande National Forest.
• Medano Pass Primitive Road
• Montville Nature Trail
• Mosca Pass Trail
• Sand Ramp Trail, a hiking trail within the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve which skirts the east and north of the dune field.

Bicycle routes

• Great Parks Bicycle Route
• Western Express Bicycle Route

National Register of Historic Places

Saguache County locations listed in the National Register of Historic Places:

	Landmark name	Image	Date listed	Location	City or Town	Summary
1	Capilla de San Juan Bautista		01980-02-08 February 8, 1980	NW of La Garita 37°51′1″N 106°15′46″W	La Garita
2	Carnero Creek Pictographs		01975-06-05 June 5, 1975	Address Restricted	La Garita
3	Crestone School		01986-01-09 January 9, 1986	Cottonwood St. and Carbonate Ave. 37°59′48″N 105°41′57″W	Crestone
4	First Baptist Church of Moffat		02008-07-24 July 24, 2008	401 Lincoln Ave.	Moffat
5	Indian Grove		02000-03-24 March 24, 2000	Address Restricted	Mosca
6	Saguache Flour Mill		01978-09-18 September 18, 1978	W of Saguache 38°4′53″N 106°9′38″W	Saguache
7	Saguache School and Jail Buildings		01975-05-02 May 2, 1975	U.S. 285 and San Juan Ave. 38°5′16″N 106°8′38″W	Saguache

See also

• Colorado census statistical areas
• Colorado counties
• Colorado municipalities
• State of Colorado

Further reading

• Lindsey, D.A. et al. (1985). Mineral resources of the Black Canyon and South Piney Creek Wilderness Study Areas, Saguache County, Colorado [U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 1716-A]. Washington, D.C.: U.S Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.

External links

• Saguache County Government website
• Crestone and Saguache County Visitor's Agency website
• Colorado County Evolution by Don Stanwyck
• Colorado Historical Society