Naturita, Colorado

Naturita, Colorado
Town
Town Hall on East Main Street
Location in Montrose County, Colorado
Naturita Location in the United States
Coordinates: 38°13′06″N108°34′00″W / 38.21833°N 108.56667°W / 38.21833; -108.56667 [1]
Country	United States
State	Colorado
County [2]	Montrose
Incorporated (town)	November 30, 1951 [3]
Government
• Type	Statutory town [2]
• State Representative	Marc Catlin [4]
Area [5]
• Total	0.615 sq mi (1.594 km2)
• Land	0.615 sq mi (1.594 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation [1]	5,397 ft (1,645 m)
Population  (2020) [6]
• Total	485
• Density	788.6/sq mi (304.5/km2)
Time zone	UTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP code [7]	81422
Area code	970
FIPS code	08-53120
GNIS feature ID	2413035 [1]
Website	townofnaturita.org/ubweb/

Naturita is a statutory town in Montrose County, Colorado, United States. The population was 485 at the 2020 census, ^[6] down from 546 in 2010. ^[6]

The post office in Naturita was opened on October 21, 1881, under the name "Chipeta"; the name was changed to Naturita September 15, 1882, and has used that name since then. ^{[8] [9]} Naturita is a name derived from Spanish meaning "little nature". ^[10]

Geography

The community is located in southwest Montrose County within the San Miguel River valley. The community is served by Colorado State Highways 97 and 141. ^[11] Telluride is 52 miles (84 km) to the southeast via Highways 141 and 145. Montrose, the Montrose county seat, is 41 miles (66 km) to the northeast in air distance across the Uncompahgre Plateau but 86 miles (138 km) by paved roads.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²), all of it land. ^[5] The San Miguel River flows northwest from Naturita to the Dolores River, which continues northwest to the Colorado River in Utah.

Climate

The average low in January is 16 °F (−9 °C), while the average high in July rises to 96 °F (36 °C). The record low temperature for the town is −23 °F (−31 °C), while the hottest temperature recorded is 115 °F (46 °C) ^[12]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1960	979		—
1970	820		−16.2%
1980	819		−0.1%
1990	434		−47.0%
2000	635		46.3%
2010	546		−14.0%
2020	485		−11.2%
U.S. Decennial Census [13]

As of the census ^[14] of 2000, there were 635 people, 257 households, and 164 families residing in the town. The population density was 865.5 inhabitants per square mile (334.2/km²). There were 314 housing units at an average density of 428.0 units per square mile (165.3 units/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 93.70% White, 2.36% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 1.73% from other races, and 2.05% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.04% of the population.

There were 257 households, out of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.7% were married couples living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.8% were non-families. 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 29.6% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $28,977, and the median income for a family was $37,917. Males had a median income of $33,203 versus $15,625 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,867. About 3.8% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.1% of those under age 18 and 11.8% of those age 65 or over.

Amenities

Naturita has an inn, cafe, gas station, bank, grocery store, cannabis dispensary, and a few motels. To the west along Highway 90 in the community of Bedrock is the historic Bedrock Store, where scenes from movies such as Thelma & Louise were filmed. ^[15]

See also

• Colorado portal

• Montrose County, Colorado
  • Montrose, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Naturita, Colorado
2. "Active Colorado Municipalities". State of Colorado, Department of Local Affairs. Archived from the original on December 12, 2009. Retrieved September 1, 2007.
3. "Colorado Municipal Incorporations". State of Colorado, Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives. December 1, 2004. Retrieved September 2, 2007.
4. "State Representative". State of Colorado. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
5. "2022 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Colorado". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
6. "P1. Race – Naturita CDP, Colorado: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171)". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
7. "ZIP Code Lookup". United States Postal Service. Archived from the original (JavaScript/HTML) on January 1, 2008. Retrieved November 25, 2007.
8. Class I Cultural Resource Overview of the Bureau of Land Management’s Uncompahgre Field Office, Western Colorado, Rand A. Greubel, Jaclyn Mullen, Matthew J. Landt, Jonathon C. Horn, and Alan D. Reed, Alpine Archaeological Consultants, Inc., Montrose, Colorado, 2010, p. 167
9. "Post offices". Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
10. Dawson, John Frank (1954). Place names in Colorado: why 700 communities were so named, 150 of Spanish or Indian origin. Denver, CO: The J. Frank Dawson Publishing Co. p. 37.
11. Naturita, CO., 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1994
12. "Monthly Weather-Naturita, CO". The Weather Channel. 2022. Retrieved August 30, 2022.
13. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
14. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
15. Naturita information from Colorado.com

External links

• Official website
• CDOT map of the Town of Naturita