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90-586: The Town of Crestone is a Statutory Town in Saguache County , Colorado . According to the 2020 United States Census , the town's population was 141. Crestone is located at the foot of the western slope of the Sangre de Cristo Range , in the northern part of the San Luis Valley . Crestone was platted in 1880 by George Adams, owner of the neighboring Luis Maria Baca Grant No. 4 . In the 1970s,

180-486: A board of trustees composed of the mayor and four or six additional members elected at large. Colorado statutory cities and towns are limited to exercising powers that are granted by the state and are subject to provisions and limitations imposed by the state and are similar to villages in other states such as the villages of the State of New York . The Town of Georgetown is the only municipality that still operates under

270-453: A 2020 population density of 38 residents per square mile (15/km ) was the least densely populated municipality after Carbonate. Colorado municipalities operate under one of five types of municipal governing authority — consolidated city and county , home rule municipality (which may be either a city or a town), statutory city , statutory town , and territorial charter municipality . State law makes relatively few distinctions between

360-931: A charter granted by the Territory of Colorado . The town operates under Article 14, Section 13 of the Charter & Constitution of the Colorado Territory enacted on January 28, 1868. The town mayor is called the police judge and the town council is called the board of selectmen . Download coordinates as: Select the OpenStreetMap link at the right to view the location of these 273 municipalities. Twenty-one active municipalities currently extend into more than one county . 38°59′50″N 105°32′52″W  /  38.9972°N 105.5478°W  / 38.9972; -105.5478  ( State of Colorado ) San Luis Valley The San Luis Valley

450-560: A city and a town. The charter of a home rule municipality may designate either a city or town municipal title. In general, cities are more populous than towns, although long-term population changes may skew this considerably, as illustrated by the City of Black Hawk and the Town of Castle Rock . Neither village nor civil township is a type of civil division in the State of Colorado. The cities of Cherry Hills Village and Greenwood Village and

540-578: A city council of 11 members composed of the mayor and two members elected from each of five wards. As of 2024, Colorado has 102 cities and towns that are home rule municipalities, which are self-governing under Article 20 of the Constitution of the State of Colorado; Title 31, Article 1, Section 202 of the Colorado Revised Statutes; and the home rule charter of each municipality. The state-authorized home rule charter determines

630-615: A cock’s comb”; “the crest of a helmet”; or, in miners’ jargon , “an outcropping of ore”. The first settlement in the Crestone area occurred after the American Civil War with the granting of the Luis Maria Baca Grant No. 4 in 1860 to the heirs of the original Baca Grant at Las Vegas, New Mexico . Title to the grant at Las Vegas was clouded by a second grant of the same land to the residents of Las Vegas,

720-700: A common feature of the Rio Grande Delta area where the Rio Grande enters the valley are large piles of potato-sized rocks screened from the soil. The area supports a wide variety of wildlife. Sandhill cranes migrate through the valley every spring and fall. The Monte Vista Crane Festival takes place in March, centering on the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge located six miles (9.7 km) south of town. The valley

810-406: A court order requiring the restoration of 400,000 acre-feet of water to the groundwater aquifer, as well as the forecast for reduced Rio Grande flows in future years. Predominantly agricultural in nature, the area is also one of the poorest rural areas of Colorado, with a poverty rate estimated at between 20 and 25% in 2019. The San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center is the largest employer in

900-498: A creek called Rito Seco , was established as a campground in the 1970s. However, it lacked hiking trails. Then in 2022, after more than a decade of planning, Costilla County and an organization called San Luis Valley Great Outdoors built three hiking trails and one single track mountain bike trail in the park. The San Louis Valley is also home to the Colorado Gator Reptile Rescue. The Reptile rescue

990-582: A number of smaller locations. A few other counties of Colorado have some land in the Rio Grande Basin including Archuleta County , Hinsdale County and San Juan County . Blanca Peak is prominent in the Sierra Blanca at the southern end of the northernmost section of the mountains, which is known as the Sangre de Cristo Range . There are several passes, with elevations between 9,000 and 10,000 feet (2,700 and 3,000 m), giving access to

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1080-458: A population of at least 2,000 at the time of incorporation or reorganization, although three have lost population since. Statutory cities have an elected mayor and a city council composed of the mayor and two members elected from each ward. A statutory city may petition to reorganize as a Section 200 statutory city with an appointed city manager and a city council with two members elected from each ward and one member elected at large. The mayor may be

1170-526: A proposal by Tessera Solar (affiliated with Stirling Energy Systems ) to install 8,000 parabolic mirrors, 40 feet each, on 1,500 acres (6.1 km ) near Saguache, Colorado . At issue was the noise expected to be generated by the numerous stirling engine generators, and the wisdom of industrial solar facilities in general. The application for a permit was withdrawn on 11 July 2011. There has also been controversy regarding proposed transmission lines over both Poncha and La Veta passes, which would open

1260-766: A regional road network, the Luther Bean Museum at Adams State University . Multiple Hot springs the Sand Dunes Swimming Pool Hot Spring and Joyful Journey Hot Springs. The Firedworks Gallery on Main Street in Alamosa for regional history and art, and regional Mexican food . Also recommended near Alamosa for wildlife viewing are The Alamosa Ranch north of town and the Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge to

1350-459: A shorter growing season and less access to water rights tend to be devoted to alfalfa and grazing . Broad areas, especially in Saguache County, Colorado have a high water table or are even flooded part of the year. Uncultivated land is often covered with "chico", low brush such as rabbitbrush , greasewood and other woody species. Cropland is typically irrigated with large ( 1 ⁄ 4  mile radius) center-pivot irrigation systems, and

1440-451: A third party. The ranch headquarters were on Crestone Creek to the southwest of Crestone. The Baca Grant was one of the first large tracts of land to be fenced in the West and was the home of prize Hereford cattle . In addition to ranching , there was some mining in the area to the east and south of Crestone of small shallow iron oxide copper gold ore deposits . In 1880, the town of Crestone

1530-519: Is a flyway for many migrating birds including avocets , bald eagles , goldfinches , and a plethora of hawk species. Agriculture in the San Luis Valley is enabled by irrigation, since average annual precipitation is just 7–10 inches (18–25 cm) whereas most ag crop production requires at least twice that much water. Surface water rights in the Valley began to be allocated in 1852, with

1620-589: Is a region in south-central Colorado with a small portion overlapping into New Mexico . The valley is approximately 122 miles (196 km) long and 74 miles (119 km) wide, extending from the Continental Divide on the northwest rim into New Mexico on the south. It contains 6 counties and portions of 3 others. It is an extensive high-elevation depositional basin of approximately 8,000 square miles (21,000 km ) with an average elevation of 7,664 feet (2,336 m) above sea level. The valley

1710-718: Is a section of the Rio Grande Rift and is drained to the south by the Rio Grande, which rises in the San Juan Mountains to the west of the valley and flows south into New Mexico. The San Luis Valley has a cold desert climate but has substantial water resources from the Rio Grande and groundwater . The San Luis Valley was ceded to the United States by Mexico following the Mexican–American War . Hispanic settlers began moving north and settling in

1800-724: Is also home to the Monte Arts Council as well as several festivals and an art tour that attracts artists from as far away as California and North Carolina. The arts of the San Luis Valley draw from traditions of the early Utes, Apaches, and Comanches and the later Spanish-speaking immigrants. The San Luis Valley is home to five active live theaters, two at Adams State University, The Creede Repertory Theater, The Old Spanish Trails Theatre Company and Rocky Mountain Stage in Monte Vista. In August there are two major Music Festivals,

1890-525: Is an endorheic basin ; surface water does not exit this area. Irrigated agriculture is possible in the area due to groundwater and streams fed by the average 100 inches of snow the surrounding mountain ranges receive. The southern portion is drained by the Rio Grande . There is no clear southern boundary but the term is generally used to include the San Luis Hills of southern Colorado and

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1980-413: Is generally concentrated around the towns of Alamosa, Monte Vista and Center. Principal crops include potatoes , head lettuce , wheat, and barley . The barley grown here is the main supplier for Coors beer company. In 1982, quinoa was successfully grown for the first time outside of South America in the San Luis Valley of Colorado, and commercial growth has occurred since 1987. Less favored areas with

2070-742: Is managed by the Rio Grande National Forest including part of the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness . Public lands at the foot of the mountains including the forested public land surrounding Crestone are managed by the United States Bureau of Land Management . The combined office of the United States Forest Service and the BLM is in Saguache, Colorado , the county seat. The following is derived from

2160-534: Is oil trapped in Dakota Formation sandstones lying beneath Mancos Shale to the west of the Sangre de Cristo fault at the western base of the Sangre de Cristo Range southwest of Crestone. Drilling at the base of the range during gold exploration in the vicinity showed small amounts of oil and evidence of the existence of those formations as well as the underlying Morrison Formation . Prior to this discovery it

2250-592: Is open to the public to view and interact with many different types of reptiles from Gators to Tortoises. The rescue uses thermal hot springs water to maintain the gators through the winter months and is home to Morris the Movie Star Gator There are over 500 known artists living in the San Luis Valley as evidenced by an ongoing directory maintained by Monte Vista artists' group, The Art Thing, The Art Thing's membership boasts several nationally recognized artists working in various media. Monte Vista

2340-681: Is the major industry in Crestone. The town's development as a spiritual and intellectual center was initiated by Maurice Strong, a multimillionaire businessman and United Nations Undersecretary, and his wife, Hanne Marstrand Strong. Using land acquired from the corporations Strong controlled, they established the Manitou Foundation and Manitou Institute. According to its website, the institute "provides grants and some financial support in Crestone/Baca, Colorado to qualified religious and spiritual projects." The foundation granted land in

2430-491: The 2020 United States Census , 4,299,942 of the 5,773,714 Colorado residents (74.47%) lived in one of the 271 municipalities active at the time. Another 714,417 residents (12.37%) lived in one of the 210 census-designated places , while the remaining 759,355 residents (13.15%) lived in the many rural and mountainous areas of the state. In 2020, only 1,968 square miles (5,097 km ) of Colorado's 103,642 square miles (268,431 km ) of land area (1.90%) were incorporated in

2520-707: The Alamosa River and the Conejos River and Culebra Creek from the east. Most of the northern valley is an endorheic basin called the San Luis Closed Basin . Generally, within the Closed Basin the major streams such as Saguache Creek , San Luis Creek , and the streams from the west face of the Sangre de Cristos flow only a short distance onto the valley floor as surface streams. Only in very wet years, perhaps every 20 years, does

2610-601: The Constitution of the State of Colorado ; and Title 30, Article 11, Section 101 of the Colorado Revised Statutes . Denver has an elected mayor and a city council of 13 members with 11 members elected from council districts and two members elected at large. The City and County of Broomfield operates under Article XX, Sections 10–13 of the Constitution of the State of Colorado. Broomfield has an appointed city and county manager , an elected mayor, and

2700-638: The Precambrian basement rock and the Eocene alluvial deposits in the San Luis Valley is considered evidence that much of southern Colorado, including the western portion of the San Luis Valley, was highlands in the period prior to the Eocene Epoch, 56 to 34 million years ago. There were lowlands to the north in central Colorado, the Colorado sag , an east–west basin. It is from those highlands to

2790-708: The Stations of the Cross . From San Luis, the National Geographic road trip suggests traveling west on State Highway 142 through Manassa, Colorado , then south on U.S. Highway 285 past Conejos, Colorado then west on State Highway 17 over Cumbres Pass to Chama, New Mexico paralleling the route of the narrow gauge Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad . Rock climbing and camping are available at Penitente Canyon and other locations. Rito Seco Park, located east of San Luis and named for

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2880-405: The 1,000 or so people who live in the local community. The Annual San Luis Valley Energy Fair is held in Crestone's town parks over Labor Day weekend each year. The fair features ideas and products that relate to environmental sustainability such as solar power and straw bale construction as well as booths offering food and local products. Crestone hosts an annual Artists Open Studio Tour during

2970-424: The 271 active municipalities. The City of Colorado Springs with 195 square miles (506 km ) of land area was the most extensive municipality, while the Town of Sawpit with 19 acres (0.078 km ) of land area was the least extensive. The City of Glendale with a 2020 population density of 8,117 residents per square mile (3,134/km ) was the most densely populated municipality, while the Town of Bonanza with

3060-741: The Alamosa Basin, which lies at the north end of the Rio Grande rift . Deposits include the deeper alluvial strata, overlying Precambrian basement rock, Eocene alluvial deposits from a shallow Laramide depression, the Blanco Basin Formation; and Oligocene ash and lava flows associated with the Conejos Formation, is the Santa Fe formation, mixed alluvium and lava outflows from the San Juan volcanic field to

3150-709: The Baca Grande are provided by the Crestone Volunteer Fire Dept. and the Baca-Crestone Ambulance Service. The Crestone End of Life Project Archived August 5, 2013, at the Wayback Machine provides open-air cremation and end of life support. CEOLP is a non-denominational community-based group promoting informed end-of-life choices and supporting their fulfillment. Cost is modest but is available only to

3240-422: The Baca Grande contained no provision for business uses, Crestone became the business center of the community and, having enacted a sales tax, was in a position to finance further improvements. Crestone is located near the 38th parallel, in the San Luis Valley in south-central Colorado . It is platted on a quarter section of land, or 160 acres (0.65 km), on the alluvial fan of North Crestone Creek. Much of

3330-480: The Baca Grande land development was established on the lands of the Baca Grant to the south and west. Several hundred homes have been built there . The Crestone area, which includes the Baca Grande and Moffat, Colorado , is a spiritual center for several religions, including a Hindu temple, a Zen center, several Tibetan Buddhist centers, and various New Age activities. Much of this spiritual development

3420-547: The Bacas having abandoned their grant after the deaths of the founder to a Mexican soldier in 1827 and of his oldest son at the hands of the Navajo in 1835. The Baca heirs were offered alternative lands from the public lands of the United States. The square tract selected is 12.5 miles (20.1 km) on a side south of Saguache County Road T south of Crestone. The Bacas deeded the land to their attorney, but it soon passed by tax sale to

3510-619: The Capote (Kapota) band of Ute Indians lived in the valley. The Utes made a treaty of peace with the United States in 1849 after the Mexican War. Shortly thereafter settlers from New Mexico established several small settlements in what is now Colorado and in 1868 the Utes were removed to a reservation in western Colorado. They continued to play a role in Saguache in the northwestern corner of

3600-464: The City and County of Denver with a 2020 population of 715,522, to the Town of Carbonate , which has had no year-round population since the 1890 Census due to its severe winter weather and difficult access. The City of Black Hawk with a 2020 population of 127 is the least populous Colorado city, while the Town of Castle Rock with a 2020 population of 73,158 is the most populous Colorado town. At

3690-480: The Crestone Charter School in Crestone. As of the census of 2000, there were 73 people, 45 households, and 18 families residing in the town. The population density was 290.8 inhabitants per square mile (112.3/km). There were 79 housing units at an average density of 314.7 units per square mile (121.5 units/km). The racial makeup of the town was 95.9% White , 4.1% from other races . 1.4% of

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3780-462: The Grant, a nickname for the Baca Grant. Many of the old cabins were used as vacation homes. By 1971, the Baca Grant came into the ownership of a corporation that subdivided a portion of the Grant, creating the Baca Grande, a subdivision originally platted for about 10,000 lots. At great expense, underground utilities were installed, and roads were built. However, sales lagged and by 1979 the development

3870-458: The People's Ditch, near San Luis. In the 1870s, some 50,000 acres (78 sq mi; 200 km ) of the San Luis Valley were irrigated, which rose to 800,000 acres (1,200 sq mi; 3,200 km ) in the 1880s. By the early 1900s, demand for surface water had outstripped the available supply and farmers began to use subsurface wells to supply water. Over 5,000 groundwater wells existed by

3960-673: The San Luis Valley are generally part of the Rio Grande National Forest and are managed by the United States Forest Service . Large areas of private lands have either been subdivided into small "ranch" lots or have been sold or donated to the Federal government and make up portions of the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve , other wildlife preserves, and various state wildlife sites. The San Luis Valley contains an alluvial basin ,

4050-484: The San Luis Valley has the largest native Hispanic population in Colorado; many families are directly descended from the original New Mexican settlers. The surge of immigration followed the construction by the U.S. Army of Fort Massachusetts for protection against the Utes , who had previously barred settlers. The history of the U.S. military presence in the valley is preserved at Fort Garland and other historic preserves in

4140-619: The San Luis Valley lay on the shore of or beneath the Western Interior Seaway , a shallow sea which divided North America into two parts. As the sea deepened and expanded sand and gravel eroded from mountains in the west was deposited in the Dakota Formation ; later, when the sea was deeper mud and sand were deposited in the Mancos Shale . The Lexam oil play near Crestone is based on the hypothesis that there

4230-509: The Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The dunes can reach 750 feet (230 m) high. The Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is now in place to protect both the dunes and the numerous archeological sites found in the area. The natural valley aquifer is close to the surface in this part of the valley, and helps with maintenance of water levels in the San Luis Lakes, just to the west of the sand dunes. Elevation rises as you go north in

4320-723: The Spanish Trails Music Festival and Mexican Rodeo, and Rhythms on the Rio. Music in the valley is sponsored by the South Fork Music Association and the Alamosa Live Music Association. The San Luis Valley is an alpine desert environment which is conducive to solar energy production. It has the highest per capita concentration of home-based solar energy systems in the United States. Colorado law requires that 30% of

4410-796: The Taos Plateau of northern New Mexico. About 50 miles from east to west and about 150 miles from north to south, the valley is bounded on the east by the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and on the west by the San Juan Mountains . Within Colorado the San Luis Valley is generally considered to comprise six Colorado counties: Saguache , Alamosa , Rio Grande , Conejos , Costilla and Mineral . The principal towns are: Alamosa , Monte Vista , Del Norte , South Fork , Creede , Saguache , Center , Fort Garland , San Luis , Antonito , La Jara , Capulin , Manassa , Sanford , Crestone , Villa Grove , Hooper , Mosca , San Acacio and

4500-527: The US census and covers only the town itself, thus giving only a partial picture of the area. About half of the homes in Crestone itself are used only on a seasonal basis. The Crestone community is much larger, consisting also of several hundred homes in the Baca Grande subdivision, the surrounding rural area, and the small town of Moffat, Colorado . The Moffat School District No. 2 operates a public school in Moffat and

4590-656: The Ute agency was in the mountains west of Saguache. Mount Otto on the east side of the valley is named after him. Cumbres Pass is a 10,015 ft. pass between Antonito, Colorado and Chama, New Mexico . The pass is traversed by State Highway 17 and the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad (originally built as the San Juan Extension of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad that ran to Durango, Colorado ). From

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4680-437: The Valley. It is supplemented by a campus of Trinidad State College in Alamosa. San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center is a full service Acute-Care hospital and specialty physician clinic. A locally conducted survey of public health statistics showed a considerable deficiency with respect to most measures of public health. There is a deficiency of medical providers, for example, 106 physicians per 100,000 compared to

4770-404: The area to several spiritual and intellectual centers. Crestone is one of only a handful of places in the United States where open-air funeral pyres are legally permitted. Since 1998, over 75 individuals have been cremated on an open-air pyre in Crestone. Spiritual centers in Crestone: Intellectual and spiritual centers of historical interest: Emergency services for the town of Crestone and

4860-400: The borders of the valley (generally adjacent to National Forest Lands) are managed by the Bureau of Land Management , BLM, a division of the United States Department of the Interior . This land is usually leased to neighboring ranches for grazing for a nominal fee. Part of the value of a ranch is its continuing lease of BLM or National Forest lands. Public lands in the mountains surrounding

4950-464: The city council member elected at large or the city council may appoint a mayor. Colorado has 157 statutory towns that operate under Title 31, Article 1, Section 203 and Article 4, Part 3 of the Colorado Revised Statutes. The statutory town of Creede uses the official title "City of Creede". Garden City , Lake City , Orchard City , and Sugar City are statutory towns but use city at the end of their names. Statutory towns have an elected mayor and

5040-484: The door to much more industrial solar development. Opposition to a proposed transmission line has resulted in possible delays in development of solar facilities by Xcel Energy which together with Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association serves the valley. In 2012, the United States Department of Interior designated several Solar Energy Zones on BLM lands in the valley, although no projects have yet been announced to be in development. A significant portion of

5130-435: The dumpsters at the cafes and stores in downtown Crestone. In 2011 a bear with two cubs was frequently seen during the day. This bear, which was generally well-behaved other than raiding trash, was killed by the Colorado Department of Natural Resources following a bear attack on a tethered goat. Local sympathizers complained bitterly the wrong bear had been killed, receiving extensive coverage through Channel 9 in Denver which

5220-433: The family of Carlos Beaubien . The area was ceded to the United States in 1848 after the Mexican–American War in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo . Extensive settlement began in the San Luis Valley, primarily by Hispanic farmers and ranchers from New Mexico, in the 1850s. Early settlers built a church in the village that is now called San Luis and dedicated it on the Feast of Saint Louis , 21 June 1851. At present,

5310-521: The first weekend in October, allowing for visits to the many artist's studios in the area. Food and local products are offered regularly at the Saturday Market which happens in the middle of town in Little Pearl Park every Saturday during the summer. Crestone has a free box which is enthusiastically supported by the community. Crestone has historically been a deer park; Mule deer are commonly seen grazing in yards in town. Black bears are also common, but usually only at night when they raid apple trees and

5400-413: The form of government. Home rule gives local municipalities the power to make legislation relevant to their areas, exercising control over issues of local concern while minimizing state intervention in municipal affairs. Colorado has 11 statutory cities that operate under Title 31, Article 1, Section 203 and Article 4, Section 100 or Section 200 of the Colorado Revised Statutes. A statutory city must have

5490-412: The headwaters of the Rio Grande Wolf Creek Pass is the route of U.S. Highway 160 between Del Norte, Colorado and Pagosa Springs, Colorado , while Spring Creek Pass is the route of State Highway 149 between U.S. Highway 160 and Lake City, Colorado . Stony Pass, sometimes spelled Stoney Pass, a historic wagon road to the mining camps of the San Juans , is now a jeep trail . At

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5580-471: The land near the creek where the main part of the city sits, is well watered in normal times, but during a prolonged drought the creek may dry up and underground water levels may fall. At the 2020 United States Census , the town had a total area of 246 acres (0.996 km), all of it land. Saguache County Road T is the main road into Crestone. It is a county road. It is "T" in a series of alphabetically named east–west roads that begin at State Highway 112 ,

5670-399: The north end of the valley, North Pass is the route of State Highway 114 between Saguache, Colorado and Gunnison, Colorado , bypassing the original route over Cochetopa Pass , now a county road. The Rio Grande follows a course through the southern valley from Del Norte southeastward via Alamosa to New Mexico. South of Alamosa it is joined by several streams from the west including

5760-448: The population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 45 households, out of which 8.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.9% were married couples living together, 4.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 60.0% don't fit into the above categories. 48.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size

5850-482: The power used in the state be generated from renewable sources by 2020. It also requires that 3% of the power generated be used at or near where it is generated; i.e. distributed generation . There are also a number of utility-scale photovoltaic power stations in the valley, and an active market in selling or leasing land to be used for solar facilities. In 2007, SunEdison constructed the 7.7 megawatt Alamosa Photovoltaic Power Plant on about 80 acres near

5940-469: The residents of the San Luis Valley are Hispanic with historic populations in Costilla and Conejos counties which were settled by early migrants from New Mexico. There are a few Native Americans in the valley. There are small Amish communities which were recently established. Much of the grazing land on the floor of the valley is of little value. In Costilla County, large tracts of land have been subdivided into 5 acre plots. 35 acre plots are also common in

6030-439: The south boundary of Saguache County, which would be Road A, if it were not a state highway. Road T is a through road across the valley, crossing U.S. Highway 285 at Swede's Corners about 6 miles south of Saguache, Colorado but is paved only from Moffat, Colorado east 12.5 miles to Crestone, Colorado. The eastern portion of Road T forms the north boundary of the Baca National Wildlife Refuge . Mountain terrain east of Crestone

6120-427: The southeast. To the northeast of Alamosa lie the San Luis Lakes State Wildlife Area , the San Luis Lakes and the Great Sand Dunes National Park At Fort Garland, Colorado south of the Great Sand Dunes on U.S. Highway 160 the Fort Garland Museum is recommended and further south on State Highway 159 at San Luis, Colorado , the oldest town in Colorado, the bronze sculptures by Huberto Maestas, depicting

6210-436: The stream system in the Closed Basin flow as a contiguous unit into San Luis Lake at the low point of the Closed Basin west of the Great Sand Dunes. About 50% of the 2,000,000 acres (810,000 ha) in the San Luis Valley is privately owned. Much of the land in the south part of the Valley, in Conejos and Costilla counties, was originally part of large Mexican land grants and is private land. 500,000 acres (200,000 ha) on

6300-441: The time of World War I . By the early 1970s, water availability began to be limited, with the State enforcing a moratorium on new wells in much of the valley in 1972, and then completely ending new appropriations of water throughout the valley in 1981. The 1980s and 90s saw relatively bountiful water years in the valley, with drought conditions becoming the norm in the 2010s. As of 2021 , water use cutbacks are anticipated due to

6390-550: The town of Mosca, Colorado . It was the largest grid-connected solar electric facility in the United States at that time. It was followed in 2010 by the 19 megawatt Greater Sandhill Solar Plant , in 2011 by the 30 megawatt San Luis Valley Solar Ranch , in 2012 by the 30 megawatt Alamosa Solar Generating Project , and in 2015 by the 50 megawatt Hooper Solar PV Power Plant . All are located on previously developed agricultural lands near Mosca. On 11 December 2009, more than 125 people gathered to respond to

6480-497: The town was $ 31,250, and the median income for a family was $ 40,000. Males had a median income of $ 22,813 versus $ 27,917 for females. The per capita income for the town was $ 22,291. There were 18.8% of families and 19.7% of the population living below the poverty line , including no under eighteens and none of those over 64. Crestone has become internationally known as a locus for a diverse range of religious and spiritual traditions. Accommodating of spiritual pilgrims and eco-tourists

6570-504: The towns of Log Lane Village , Mountain Village , and Snowmass Village have the word "village" at the end of their names. Nineteen Colorado municipalities extend into two counties, while two cities – Aurora and Littleton – extend into three counties. In the State of Colorado, only Denver and Broomfield have consolidated city and county governments. The City and County of Denver operates under Article XX, Section 4 of

6660-528: The valley after the United States made a treaty with the Utes and established a fort in the early 1850s. Prior to the Mexican war the Spanish and Mexican governments had reserved the valley to the Utes . Later in the 19th century Anglo settlers began to settle in the valley and engaged in mining, ranching, and irrigated agriculture. Today the valley has a diverse Anglo and Hispanic population. Prior to 1868

6750-401: The valley as a 35-acre plot allows drilling a well to water a garden and livestock. These have been sold to homesteaders who often live off-the-grid . La Puente, headquartered in Alamosa offers social services to the homeless and others in the valley. Adams State University , a four-year state college at Alamosa, with approximately 3,500 students, is the major educational institution in

6840-532: The valley from the Los Pinos Agency to the west of Saguache until they lost their extensive reservation as the result of the Meeker Massacre in 1879. The area was administered as part of the Spanish, later Mexican, province of Nuevo Mexico . In 1843, the government of New Mexico created the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant consisting of 1,000,000 acres (4,000 km ) of the valley and granted

6930-471: The valley to Poncha Pass , used now by U.S. Highway 285 and historically by the narrow gauge tracks of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad . Otto Mears , then of Saguache, built and operated a historic toll road over Poncha Pass at the north end of the valley into the San Luis Valley during Colorado's 19th century mining era when the valley was the gateway to the San Juan and Gunnison country and

7020-499: The valley, with over 600 employees. Tourism has become a more important part of the economy in recent years, coupled with attempts to develop the area as a retirement destination. The arts are becoming an increasing force in expanding the economy of the San Luis Valley. Tourist attractions suggested by National Geographic Traveler include the Monte Vista Crane Festival in March, Los Caminos Antiguos,

7110-585: The valley. The San Luis Valley became part of the Territory of Colorado in 1861. The original Ute population was confined to the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Indian reservations in the late 19th century. The San Luis Valley is the broad, generally flat, valley at the headwaters of the Rio Grande in south central Colorado and far north central New Mexico. The northern portion of the San Luis Valley

7200-492: The valley. North La Veta Pass , through the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, is used by U.S. Highway 160 and by the Colorado Pacific Rio Grande Railroad (formerly a branch of the Denver & Rio Grande Western ) tracks. Other passes used historically were Medano, Mosca and Sangre de Cristo Passes. The Great Sand Dunes are a famous feature of the valley. They lie directly to the west of

7290-419: The valley. The deeper confined aquifers have sufficient hydrological connection with the surface waters of the valley that they are not considered for the purposes of Colorado water law "nontributary" waters which could legally be mined. Streams which flow into the valley, particularly the Rio Grande, have deposited alluvial fans where they emerge from higher terrain onto the valley floor. The gap between

7380-744: The west, in Paleozoic , Pennsylvanian , and Permian times that the coarse alluvial deposits of the Sangre de Cristo Formation such as the Crestone Conglomerate originated. The Minturn Formation, a limestone formation exemplified at Marble Mountain on the crest of the Sangre de Cristos, is evidence of a sea in the Central Colorado Trough during the era of the Ancestral Rockies . In the middle and late Cretaceous Period , about 100 million years ago,

7470-404: The west; later strata comprise the Alamosa formation, alternating layers of sand, gravel, and clay. The relatively impermeable clay layers trap ground water in the "confined aquifer " which, if tapped, supplies artesian wells . Surface waters, including the Rio Grande and other streams, are hydrologically connected to the "unconfined aquifer" a shallow ground water formation which underlies much of

7560-407: Was 1.62 and the average family size was 2.22. In the town, the population was spread out, with 8.2% under the age of 18, 4.1% from 18 to 24, 23.3% from 25 to 44, 45.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 52 years. For every 100 females there were 102.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.0 males. The median income for a household in

7650-536: Was a basin in its western portion which may have drained west through the course historically followed by the San Juan River . Sedimentary deposits formed in that basin during Eocene times remain in place beneath the western portion of the San Luis Valley. During the Pleistocene , parts of the valley were occupied by Lake Alamosa . Much of the land in the San Luis Valley is used for grazing. Farming

7740-594: Was assumed that these formations had eroded away during the Laramide orogeny . Building of the Rocky Mountains by folding during the Laramide orogeny 80 to 55 million years ago created a highland, the San Luis-Brazos uplift, in the area of the San Luis Valley. This process over 30 million years resulted in an elevated and highly eroded peneplain where the San Luis Valley is today. There

7830-466: Was catalyzed by the couple Hanne and Maurice Strong in the 1970s, who set out to make it an interfaith center. Crestone is named for the 14,000-foot peaks that lie just east of the town: Crestone Peak and Crestone Needle . The Crestones, as they are known collectively, in turn, took their name from the Spanish word crestón , which, according to Walter Borneman and Lyndon Lampert's book A Climbing Guide to Colorado’s Fourteeners , means: “the top of

7920-465: Was considered a liability by the corporation. Maurice Strong , owner of a controlling interest, and his fiancée, Hanne Marstrand, visited the development and "fell in love with it". They were inspired to create a world spiritual center and began granting parcels of land to traditional spiritual organizations. The population gradually began to increase and by 2006 several hundred homes had been built and small spiritual communities had become established. As

8010-659: Was distributed nationally by the Associated Press , prompting an investigation of the incident by the Division of Parks and Wildlife and possible re-evaluation of management of bears in mixed rural-urban communities such as Crestone. An internal investigation by the Division of Parks and Wildlife came to the conclusion that the right bear had been shot. List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory town Colorado municipalities range in population from

8100-519: Was platted by George Adams, the owner of the Baca Grant. In 1900, with the help of Eastern investors, George Adams ignited a minor boom, reopening one of the more promising gold mines and building a railroad spur to the town and the mines along the Range south of town. However, lacking good ore, the boom was short-lived. A long period of decline followed. By 1948, Crestone had declined to its post-war population of 40, mostly retirees and cowboys who worked on

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