Alamosa, Colorado
City of Alamosa, Colorado | |
|---|---|
| Nickname: Hub of the San Luis Valley | |
 Location in Alamosa County and the State of Colorado | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  State of Colorado |
| County[1] | Alamosa County - seat[2] |
| Established | May 1878 |
| Incorporated | August 12, 1878[3] |
| Named for | the Alamosa River[4] |
| Government | |
| • Type | Home Rule Municipality[1] |
| • Mayor | Farris J. Bervig[5] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 4 sq mi (10.3 km2) |
| • Land | 4 sq mi (10.3 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) |
| Elevation | 7,543 ft (2,299 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| • Total | 7,960 |
| • Density | 1,990/sq mi (772.8/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-7 (MST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-6 (MDT) |
| ZIP code | 81101, 81102[6] |
| Area code | 719 |
| Highways |  US 160 SH 17 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0203624 |
| Website | City of Alamosa |
The City of Alamosa is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Alamosa County, Colorado, United States.Template:GR[2] The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 8,682 in 2005.[7] The city is the commercial center of the San Luis Valley in south-central Colorado.
Alamosa was established in May 1878 by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad and quickly became an important rail center. The railroad had an extensive construction, repair and shipping facility in Alamosa for many years and headquartered its remaining narrow gauge service here with trackage reaching many points throughout southwest Colorado and northern New Mexico. Alamosa is now a notable tourist town with many nearby attractions including the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. The town hosts a Sunshine Summerfest on the Rio Festival which occurs the first weekend in June. The city takes its name from the Alamosa River. The name "Alamosa" means "shaded with cottonwoods" in Spanish.[4]
Facilities
Alamosa is the shopping center for the San Luis Valley and boasts a WalMart Supercenter and two supermarkets, Safeway and City Market. There are a number of fast food restaurants, two medical clinics, and a regional hospital, San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center.
Adams State College is located in Alamosa. ASC is a four year, state supported college founded in 1921 and offering degrees in several fields including business and education. ASC's track team is internationally recognized.
Geography
Alamosa is located at 37°28′8″N 105°52′25″W / 37.46889°N 105.87361°WInvalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (37.468835, -105.873686)Template:GR, at the junction of U.S. Routes 160 and 285. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.0 square miles (10.3 km²). Alamosa is located in the San Luis Valley, in the highest general agricultural land in the United States. The San Luis Valley is the largest intermountain valley in the world and features a dry climate with long cold winters and short cool summers. Local farmers specialize in growing cool weather crops. Elevation is about 7,500 feet (2,300 m) in Alamosa with peaks over 14,000 feet (4,300 m) within 23 miles (37 km) of town in the Sangre de Cristo range.
Transportation
Alamosa is on the Rio Grande river, which is crossed by two auto bridges, one pedestrian bridge and one rail bridge in town. Auto traffic is served by U.S. Highway 160 running east and west and U.S. Highway 285 and State Highway 17 running north and south. Alamosa is served by the San Luis and Rio Grande Railroad. Great Lakes Airlines makes three daily flights between Denver and Alamosa.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 7,960 people, 2,974 households, and 1,769 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,995.0 people per square mile (770.3/km²). There were 3,215 housing units at an average density of 805.8/sq mi (311.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 68.53% White, 1.41% Black or African American, 2.20% Native American, 0.95% Asian, 0.26% Pacific Islander, 22.36% from other races, and 4.28% from two or more races. 46.80% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 2,974 households out of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.5% were married couples living together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.5% were non-families. 33.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.4% under the age of 18, 21.8% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,453, and the median income for a family was $33,017. Males had a median income of $27,100 versus $22,671 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,405. About 18.1% of families and 25.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.4% of those under age 18 and 17.0% of those age 65 or over.
Notable Alamosans
- Carlos F. Lucero, Judge, United States District Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit
- Ken Salazar, Democratic U.S. Senator of Colorado
- Michael Johnson, Singer, Guitarist, Recording Artist
- Garrey Carruthers Former New Mexico Governor (1987-1991)
Government
The City of Alamosa is a Home Rule Municipality like many other Colorado towns. The City Council has 6 members, 4 members elected from wards and two at large. City Council votes against or for laws. City Council has authority to make ordinaces, change ordinances, and repeal ordinances. The city elects a mayor-at-large on a non-partisan ballot. The current mayor of Alamosa is Farris J. Bervig.
Salmonella outbreak
On March 19, 2008, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment put Alamosa on a "bottled water only" restriction following an outbreak of salmonella sickness. City water customers were told not to drink tap water, and to drink only bottled water. Town spokeswoman Connie Ricci said the number of confirmed salmonella cases rose to 47 from 33 on March 20, and that 76 other cases were under investigation. Health officials said the tap water tested positive for bacteria that are believed to be salmonella, but they were still awaiting final test results.[8]
On March 25 the city was placed on Stage 1 (Red Alert Notification) as the Water Department began decontaminating the water system with chlorine at 25ppm. Residents have been notified that this level of chlorine allows the water to be used only for the flushing of toilets. Sites for recycling water bottles have been established. The Salvation Army provided vouchers for non-water essentials and the National Guard joined local volunteers in distributing water to those who have transportation or medical difficulties. Residents were warned of a scam to solicit funds from citizens to reimburse the State of Colorado for its help in the crisis. The city website is posting new information daily.
On March 29 the Water Department implemented Stage 2 (Yellow Alert Notification), which allows use of the water for purposes other than drinking, as the water system is flushed to remove the strong chlorination. Stage 2 is expected to last at least 10 days with water use restricted to the flushing of toilets and short showers. Residents are asked to run water through all taps to clear the lines of the heavy chlorination. The use of reverse 911 calls and door-to-door delivery of alert flyers was expected to last until the morning of March 30. The National Guard and Red Cross water stations in the city reported that 16,000 gallons of water are being supplied daily to residents from the three stations in Alamosa.
The source of the contamination has yet to be verified although the Alamosa Water Department is being assisted by several departments from the Front Range. The deep wells that supply Alamosa have all tested negative for salmonella. The number of cases of salmonella has risen to 315 with 12 hospitalized. Health officials have noted that a much larger number of cases has probably occurred but went unreported as many of those with salmonella chose to let the disease run its course, usually 2-7 days. The city wedsite releases daily updates.
On April 2, 2008 the Alamosa Crisis Center announced that Stage 2 (Yellow Alert Notification) would last at least into next week with residents advised to continue using bottled water for drinking and cooking. Brief showers, clothes washing, and the washing of dishes (in dishwashers) is permitted. City water is not to be used for watering lawns or houseplants as the chlorine level is still too high. Fresh water is being distributed at 2 locations in town. City officials have asked residents to save and refill containers to limit the flow of plastic to the landfill and about 65% of those receiving water have complied. Over 800 citizens have volunteered to distribute flyers and dispense water. There have been 343 cases of salmonella reported with 91 confirmed and 13 remaining hospitalized. The cause of the outbreak has yet to be determined. The Department of Public Health continues to test for salmonella at a number of residences in the city and reports that no salmonella has been detected in the water for several days. Most restaurants have reopened as have all public schools (3 elementary, 1 middle and 1 high school) as well as Adams State College and Trinidad State Junior College (Valley Campus). On April 11, 2008, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment approved the Alamosa water supply to be safe for general use even though the source of the salmonella outbreak had not been found. On April 18 the Valley Courier reported, on their website, that one death has been linked to the salmonella outbreak. The victim, described as an elderly city resident, was not named due to privacy issues. {13}
References
- ^ a b "Active Colorado Municipalities" (HTML). State of Colorado, Department of Local Affairs. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
- ^ a b "Colorado County Seats" (HTML). State of Colorado, Department of Public Health and Environment. Retrieved 2007-12-31.
- ^ "Colorado Municipal Incorporations" (HTML). State of Colorado, Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives. 2004-12-01. Retrieved 2007-08-18.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States (PDF). p. 19.
- ^ "Alamosa City Council Members". City of Alamosa. Retrieved 2007-08-18.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "ZIP Code Lookup" (JavaScript/HTML). United States Postal Service. August 18, 2007. Retrieved August 18.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "Annual Estimates of the Population for All Incorporated Places in Colorado" (CSV). 2005 Population Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division. June 21, 2006.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|accessmonthday=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ News report on salmonella outbreak
External links
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Municipalities and communities of Alamosa County, Colorado, United States | ||
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| Town | ||
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| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
