Rico, Colorado

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Rico, Colorado
Town
Rico Town Hall sm973.jpg
Rico Town Hall, listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Motto: 
"A Slice of Paradise"
Dolores County Colorado Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Rico Highlighted 0864090.svg
Location of Rico in Dolores County, Colorado.
Coordinates: 37°41′21″N108°01′54″W / 37.68917°N 108.03167°W / 37.68917; -108.03167
Country Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
State Flag of Colorado.svg  State of Colorado
County [1] Dolores County
Incorporated (town) February 25, 1880 [2]
Government
 • Type Home rule municipality [1]
 •  Mayor Nicole Pieterse [3]
Area
[4]
 • Total
0.68 sq mi (1.76 km2)
 • Land0.68 sq mi (1.76 km2)
 • Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
[5]
8,773 ft (2,674 m)
Population
 (2020) [6]
 • Total
288
 • Density420/sq mi (160/km2)
Time zone UTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP code [7]
81332
Area code 970
FIPS code 08-64090
GNIS feature ID2412550 [5]
Website townofrico.colorado.gov

Rico is a town in Dolores County, Colorado, United States. It was settled in 1879 as a silver mining center in the Pioneer Mining District; today it functions as a historic and tourism site. The population was 288 at the 2020 census. [6] Its current form of government is that of a home rule municipality.

Contents

Rico is a name derived from Spanish meaning "rich". [8]

Geography

Rico is located in eastern Dolores County in the valley of the Dolores River. Colorado State Highway 145 passes through the town as it follows the river, leading southwest 48 miles (77 km) to Cortez and northeast over Lizard Head Pass 27 miles (43 km) to Telluride.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town of Rico has an area of 0.8 square miles (2.0 km2), all of it land. [9]

Climate

Rico experiences an alpine subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification Dfc) with long, cold, very snowy winters and short, cool summers due to the high altitude and high precipitation year-round due to orographic lift.

Climate data for Rico, Colorado
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)38.2
(3.4)		39.9
(4.4)		43.4
(6.3)		50.5
(10.3)		60.7
(15.9)		70.6
(21.4)		75.4
(24.1)		73.2
(22.9)		66.6
(19.2)		58.2
(14.6)		45.8
(7.7)		39.5
(4.2)		55.2
(12.9)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)5.2
(−14.9)		7.6
(−13.6)		13.4
(−10.3)		20.9
(−6.2)		28.2
(−2.1)		33.7
(0.9)		40.3
(4.6)		39.6
(4.2)		32.7
(0.4)		24.8
(−4.0)		14.8
(−9.6)		7.2
(−13.8)		22.4
(−5.4)
Average precipitation inches (mm)2.48
(63)		2.15
(55)		2.44
(62)		1.81
(46)		1.65
(42)		1.31
(33)		2.78
(71)		2.91
(74)		2.31
(59)		2.13
(54)		2.01
(51)		2.27
(58)		26.27
(667)
Average snowfall inches (cm)32.1
(82)		26.5
(67)		30.8
(78)		18.5
(47)		6.0
(15)		0.1
(0.25)		0
(0)		0
(0)		0.5
(1.3)		7.6
(19)		21.5
(55)		26.2
(67)		171
(430)
Source: The Western Regional Climate Center [10]

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1880 894—
1890 1,13426.8%
1900 811−28.5%
1910 368−54.6%
1920 326−11.4%
1930 44737.1%
1940 388−13.2%
1950 212−45.4%
1960 35366.5%
1970 275−22.1%
1980 76−72.4%
1990 9221.1%
2000 205122.8%
2010 26529.3%
2020 2888.7%
Dey Building, built in 1892 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places Dey Building Rico CO.jpg
Dey Building, built in 1892 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places

Transportation

Rico is part of Colorado's Bustang network. It is on the Durango-Grand Junction Outrider line. [11] Rico was a water stop on the Rio Grande Southern Railroad, the storied narrow gauge line running from Ridgway to Durango until the railroad was abandoned in 1952. The water tank used to refill the tenders of the steam locomotives still stands on the west side of the former grade, 74 years since it was last used.

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. 1 2 "Active Colorado Municipalities". State of Colorado, Department of Local Affairs. Archived from the original on February 2, 2007. Retrieved September 1, 2007.
  2. ↑ "Colorado Municipal Incorporations". State of Colorado, Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives. December 1, 2004. Retrieved September 2, 2007.
  3. ↑ "Town Hall". Rico Colorado. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  4. ↑ "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  5. 1 2 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Rico, Colorado
  6. 1 2 United States Census Bureau. "Rico town, Colorado" . Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  7. ↑ "ZIP Code Lookup". United States Postal Service. Archived from the original (JavaScript/HTML) on December 14, 2006. Retrieved December 24, 2007.
  8. ↑ Dawson, John Frank. 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. 43.
  9. ↑ "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Rico town, Colorado". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Retrieved October 15, 2015.[ dead link ]
  10. ↑ "RICO, COLORADO (057017)" . Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Bustang Schedule". RideBustang. CDOT.
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