ZIP Code 81301

Durango is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of La Plata County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 19,071 at the 2020 United States Census. The town was organized from September 1880 to April 1881 by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad (D&RG) The city was named by ex-Colorado Governor Alexander C. Hunt, a friend of D&RG President William Jackson Palmer, after Durango, Mexico. Durango is located at 37°16N 107°52W at an elevation of 6,512 ft (1,988 m) At the 2020 U.S. Census, the town had a total area of 10,946 acres (44.296 km²) including 1,533 acres (6.203km²) of water. The average annual precipitation is 19.33 in (491 mm). Its hardiness is 5b (5.22 people, 5,22 km²). The city has a mediterranean continental climate (Dsa) with an average annual rainfall of 19.3 inches (491mm) The town is home to Fort Lewis College, a private liberal arts college. It is also home to Mesa Verde National Park, a World Heritage site, and Chimney Rock National Monument, the most northeastern known outpost of the Ancestral Puebloans. There are significant archaeological sites surrounding the Durango area featured on the State and National historical registers, including: Spring Creek Archeological District, a Basketmaker and Puleo site.

History

The town was organized from September 1880 to April 1881 by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad. The city was named by ex-Colorado Governor Alexander C. Hunt, a friend of D&RG President William Jackson Palmer, after Durango, Mexico. By 1885 Durangos business district had seven hotels and restaurants, eleven saloons, dancehalls and stores, two bakeries and blacksmith shops, and a variety of other businesses, also boosting the town of Silvertons population to 2,000 at the time. The Great Depression and aftermath of World War II hurt the area's railroad industry. The Rio Grande Southern lost its contract to transport mail in 1951, and soon thereafter suspended operations. The Silverton Branch remained in operation until 1981 when it was sold and became the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Once the D&RGW ended up losing its freight traffic in 1968, the tracks from Durango east to Chama, New Mexico, and south to Farmington, New New Mexico were removed. There are significant archaeological sites surrounding theDurango area featured on the State and National historical registers, including: Mesa Verde National Park, a World Heritage site.Chimney Rock National Monument, the most northeastern known outpost of the Ancestral Puebloans.Durango Rock Shelters Archeology Site, a Basketmaker and Puleo culture site.Spring Creek Archeological District, a basketmaker. and Pueblos site.Talus Village, aBasketmaker site.

Geography

Durango is located at 37°16N 107°52W at an elevation of 6,512 ft (1,988 m) At the 2020 United States Census, the town had a total area of 10,946 acres (44.296 km²) The average annual precipitation is 19.33 in (491 mm) According to the Köppen climate classification system, Durango has a mediterranean continental climate (Dsa) The town's hardiness zone is 5b, which means it has a warm, dry, and relatively dry climate. The town has a population of 2,816. It is located in the state of Sinaloa, which is home to the majority of the state's population. Durango's population is 2,715. It has a climate of Dsa, meaning it is warm and dry with a dry and wet climate. It also has a hot and humid climate, with an average annual rainfall of 19.3 inches (491mm). The town is located on the Gulf of Mexico, which has a temperature of 40°C (86°F) and an average daily rainfall of 18.5 inches (508mm) It has an average yearly temperature of 20°F (76°C) and a mean annual precipitation of 17.2 inches (490 mm) It is the second largest town in Southeastern New Mexico, after El Paso. Its population is 1,716. Its area is 44.296km², and it has 1,533 acres of water.

Demographics

As of the 2000 census, there were 13,922 people, 5,492 households, and 2,603 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 86.8% White, 0.5% African American, 5.5%. The city's population was 16.6% under the age of 18, 26.1% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median income for a household in theCity was $34,892, and the median income. for a family was $50,814. The per capita income for the city is $19,352. 11.2%. of those younger than 18 and 8.9% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. The average household size is 2.23 and the average family size was 2.83. The city has a population density of 2,052.4 inhabitants per square mile (792.4/km²). There were 5,819 housing units at an average density of 857.8 per squaremile (331.2/ km²) The city is located on the U.S.-Mexico border. It is the only city in the state of New Mexico that does not have an international airport. It was the site of the World War II Battle of the Bulge, which took place in World War I.

Arts and culture

Durango is known worldwide for the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Main Avenue has historically comprised the center of Durango and is a popular year-round tourist destination. The Animas River Valley begins in the heart of the San Juan Mountains and runs through downtown Durango. Purgatory Resort has 99 trails, 12 lifts, a vertical drop of over 2,000 feet, and more than 1,500 acres of skiable terrain. Snowdown is an annual midwinter event popular for its Parade of Lights and other events. The annual Durango Ragtime & Early Jazz Festival features noted musicians from around the country. The Iron Horse Bicycle Classic is a 61-mile bicycle road race held annually in Durango, CO. It is held in the Strater Hotel, a historic Victorian hotel inDurango. It boasts gold medal fly fishing waters and is popular for whitewater rafting, kayaking and canoeing. On warm summer afternoons a popular diversion is to buy an inflated inner tube and float from Animas City to Schneider Park or below. Music in the Mountains is a classical summer music festival with performances at Purgatory resort, Ft. Lewis College, in downtownDurango, and Cortez, Colorado. As of 2019, the festival is no longer being held at Purgatory Resort, as it has become too expensive to hold the festival there. The festival lasts 5 days, with competitions and costumes, and it is held at the Strater Hotel.

Infrastructure

Durango is served by U.S. highways 160 and 550. La Plata County Airport is a major regional airport for southwestern Colorado. Greyhound Lines formerly served Durango, but after budget cuts, the service was discontinued. Since 2014, Road Runner Transit has restored daily bus service between Grand Junction and Durango. Durango Transit provides several loop bus routes in the community, including Fort Lewis College. Ignacio Road Runner provides bus service to the nearby towns of Ignacio, Colorado and Bayfield, Colorado, with four trips daily on weekdays and one on Saturdays. Both services share the Durango transit center as a hub. The city is located on the Colorado River, which runs through the center of the city. It is also part of the San Juan Skyway, which is a scenic mountain road that runs north-south. The town is located near the border with New Mexico, where it is connected to the state by a series of roads. It also is near the town of Pueblo, which has a population of around 2,000 people. The Durango area is home to a number of tourist attractions, including the Old Spanish Trail and the Painted Desert. The San Juan River flows through the city, and is a popular tourist destination. It was also the site of the Battle of the Alamo, which took place in 1858 and 1859. It's also home to the National Park Service, which was established in 1859 to protect the area from attack by Native Americans.

Colleges

Fort Lewis College is on a 350 foot (110 m) mesa overlooking downtown Durango. As of 2014, 4,028 students were enrolled at FLC. FLC is a public 4-year liberal arts college. Southwest Colorado Community College, a branch of Pueblo Community College is in the Durango Highschool building on North Main Ave. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It is located on the mesa above the city of Durango, Colorado. The school is a part of the Colorado State University system. It was founded in 1872. The campus is located in Durango's historic downtown area. It has a campus of 4,000 acres (1.2 million hectares) and is home to the University of Colorado at Durango and the Colorado Institute of Arts and Sciences. It also has a satellite campus in Colorado Springs, where it is a member of the College of Science and Technology. It offers a variety of degree programs, including business, nursing, and music. The College is a four-year, public college with a liberal arts program. The student body is made up of about 4,300 students. It's located on a mesa on the city's outskirts. The university is a 4,200 acre (1,200 square mile) campus. In 2014, there were 4,027 students enrolled at Fort Lewis College, which is a private, 4 year, liberal arts, college. There are also two satellite campuses in Colorado, in Denver and Colorado Springs.

Sister cities

Durango has two sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International. The sister cities are Durango, Mexico and Durango in Spain. Durango is the capital of the state of Sinaloa in Mexico. The city has a population of 1.2 million. Durangos are also known as the "Sinalos" in Spanish and the "Ciclón de Durango" in Catalan. The town is located on the Caribbean coast of the Gulf of Mexico. It is located in the province of Puebla, in the north of the country. It also has a sister city in the Spanish city of Zaragoza, on the island of El Hierro in the south of the same province. It has two other sister cities in Spain and one in the Canary Islands, as well as one in Argentina and Bolivia. The mayor of Durango has a long-standing relationship with the city's Spanish counterpart, the city of San Felipe, which he helped to create in the 1980s. The two cities are sister cities of the Sister Cities of Spain and Argentina, which have a total of seven sister cities. The Durango-San Felipe relationship dates back to the 1970s and 1980s, when Durango was part of the Spanish-Argentine province of San Sebastián. It was the first sister city to be established in the region. The twin cities are now sister cities for both Spain and Sinalo, and for both countries, Durango and San Sebastian.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Durango, La Plata County, Colorado = 94.9. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 60. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 100. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Durango = 6.2 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 19,071 individuals with a median age of 32.9 age the population grows by 10.29% in Durango, La Plata County, Colorado population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 1,297 residents per square mile of area (501/km²). There are average 2.16 people per household in the 6,304 households with an average household income of $45,301 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 4.60% of the available work force and has dropped -7.78% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 19.84%. The number of physicians in Durango per 100,000 population = 356.5.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Durango = 19.1 inches and the annual snowfall = 68.8 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 86. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 266. 85 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 10.2 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 73, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Durango, La Plata County, Colorado which are owned by the occupant = 48.18%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 36 years with median home cost = $318,480 and home appreciation of -6.13%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $3.97 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $4,618 per student. There are 15.8 students for each teacher in the school, 251 students for each Librarian and 207 students for each Counselor. 5.32% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 28.12% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 14.61% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).