Editing Blanca, Colorado

{{short description|A statutory town in Costilla County, Colorado, United States.}}
{{infobox settlement
<!-- Basic info  ---------------->
|name                     = Blanca, Colorado
|settlement_type           = [[List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory town|statutory town]]<ref name=COMun>{{cite web|url=https://dola.colorado.gov/dlg_lgis_ui_pu/publicMunicipalities.jsf|title=Active Colorado Municipalities|publisher=[[Colorado Department of Local Affairs]]|access-date=February 12, 2025}}</ref> |motto                    = 
<!-- images and maps  ----------->
|image_skyline            = Blanca, Colorado.JPG
|imagesize                = 
|image_caption            = Main Street, looking west
|image_flag               = 
|flag_size                = 
|image_seal               = 
|seal_size                = 
|image_shield             = 
|shield_size              = 
|image_blank_emblem       = 
|blank_emblem_type        = 
|blank_emblem_size        = 
|image_map                = File:Costilla County Colorado Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Blanca Highlighted 0807190.svg
|mapsize                  = 
|map_caption              = Location of the Town of Blanca in {{nowrap|[[Costilla County, Colorado]].}}
|image_map1               = 
|mapsize1                 = 
|map_caption1             = 
|image_dot_map            = 
|dot_mapsize              = 
|dot_map_caption          = 
|dot_x                    = 
|dot_y                    = 
<!-- Pushpin map -->
|pushpin_map             = USA#USA Colorado
|pushpin_relief          = 
|pushpin_label           = Blanca
|pushpin_label_position  = top
|pushpin_map_caption     = Location of the Town of Blanca, Colorado.
<!-- Location -->
|coordinates             = {{coord|37.4381|-105.5158|type:city_region:US-CO_source:GNIS-203627|display=it}}
|coordinates_footnotes   = <ref name=GNIS>{{cite gnis|id=203627|name=Blanca, Colorado|access-date=January 27, 2025}}</ref>
|elevation_ft            = 7756
|elevation_footnotes     = <ref name=GNIS/>
|subdivision_type        = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name        = [[United States]]
|subdivision_type1       = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1       = [[Colorado]]
|subdivision_type2       = [[List of counties in Colorado|County]]
|subdivision_name2       = [[Costilla County, Colorado|Costilla]]<ref name=COcounty>{{cite web|url=https://dola.colorado.gov/dlg_lgis_ui_pu/publicCounties.jsf|title=Colorado Counties|publisher=[[Colorado Department of Local Affairs]]|access-date=January 27, 2025}}</ref>
<!-- Politics ----------------->
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = [[List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory town|statutory town]]<ref name=COMun/>
|leader_title             = 
|leader_name              = 
|leader_title1            = <!-- for places with, say, both a mayor and a city manager -->
|leader_name1             = 
|leader_title2            = 
|leader_name2             = 
|leader_title3            = 
|leader_name3             = 
|leader_title4            = 
|leader_name4             = 
|established_title        = <!-- Settled -->
|established_date         = 
|established_title2       = [[Municipal corporation|Incorporated (town)]]
|established_date2        = September 7, 1900<ref name=MuniIncCO>{{cite web | url = http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/muninc.html | title = Colorado Municipal Incorporations | publisher = [[Colorado|State of Colorado]], Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives | date = December 1, 2004 | access-date = September 2, 2007}}</ref>
|established_title3       = <!-- Incorporated (city) -->
|established_date3        = 
<!-- Area --------------------->
|unit_pref                = US
|area_footnotes           = <ref name=2020_Census>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/about/rdo/summary-files.html|title=Decennial Census P.L. 94-171 Redistricting Data|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]], [[United States Department of Commerce]]|date=August 12, 2021|access-date=September 2, 2021}}</ref>
|area_total_km2           = 4.747
|area_land_km2            = 4.747
|area_water_km2           = 0.000
<!-- Population ----------------------->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = <ref name=2020_Census/>
|population_total         = 322
|population_density_sq_mi = 176
<!-- General information ----------------------->
|timezone1                = [[Mountain Time Zone|MST]]
|utc_offset1              = −07:00
|timezone1_DST            = [[Mountain Time Zone|MDT]]
|utc_offset1_DST          = −06:00
<!-- Area/postal codes & others -------->
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 81123<ref name=ZIPcode>{{cite web|url=http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/citytown.jsp |title=ZIP Code Lookup |format=[[JavaScript]]/[[HTML]] |publisher=[[United States Postal Service]] |access-date=September 4, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070903025217/http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/citytown.jsp |archive-date=September 3, 2007 }}</ref>
|area_code               = [[Area code 719|719]]
|blank_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS pop ID]]
|blank_info              = {{GNIS 4|203627}}
|blank1_name             = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS town ID]]
|blank1_info             = {{GNIS 4|2411696}}
|blank2_name             = [[Federal Information Processing Standards|FIPS code]]
|blank2_info             = {{FIPS|08|07190}}
|website                 = [https://www.facebook.com/p/Town-of-Blanca-100067955273292/ Town-of-Blanca]
}}

'''Blanca''' is a [[List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory town|statutory town]] located in [[Costilla County, Colorado|Costilla County]], [[Colorado]], United States.<ref name=COMun/> The town population was 322 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].<ref name=2020_Census/> Blanca is located in the enormous [[San Luis Valley]].

==History==
The Blanca, Colorado, post office opened on October 5, 1894.<ref name=CPO>{{cite book|title=Colorado Post Offices 1859–1989|first1=William H.|last1=Bauer|first2=James L.|last2=Ozment|first3=John H.|last3=Willard|date=1990|publisher=[[Colorado Railroad Museum|Colorado Railroad Historical Foundation]]|location=[[Golden, Colorado]]|isbn=0-918654-42-4}}</ref> Blanca is named for [[Blanca Peak]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Dawson|first=John Frank|title=Place names in Colorado: why 700 communities were so named, 150 of Spanish or Indian origin|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015051116740;view=1up;seq=16|year=1954|publisher=The J. Frank Dawson Publishing Co.|location=Denver, CO|page=10}}</ref> A land lottery in August 1908 spurred growth.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://users.gojade.org/blancaco/| title= Town of Blanca, Colorado
| publisher= Town of Blanca, Colorado |access-date=May 7, 2012}}</ref> The Town of Blanca was incorporated on May 18, 1910.<ref name=MuniIncCO/>

In the mid-1990s [[Polish American|Polish]] settlers set up shop at the Red Rocks General Store selling liquor, beer, polish sausages, and other eastern European goods. Blanca is the region's main supplier of [[bilberry]] syrup.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://users.gojade.org/blancaco/Business.htm |title= Profile for Blanca, Colorado, CO|publisher= Town of Blanca, Colorado |access-date=September 7, 2012}}</ref> Blanca is known for elk hunting and alpine trout fishing.

==Geography==
Blanca is located in the east of the [[San Luis Valley]] and northern Costilla County. The town lies along [[U.S. Route 160]], {{convert|20|mi}} east of [[Alamosa, Colorado|Alamosa]] and {{convert|52|mi}} west of [[Walsenburg, Colorado|Walsenburg]].

At the [[2020 United States census]], the town had an area of {{convert|4.747|km2|acre|order=flip}}, all of it land.<ref name=2020_Census/>

The region has a cool, dry climate, with 107 frost-free days each year. Temperatures range from {{convert|-30|°F}} to {{convert|85|°F}}. Annual rainfall is about {{convert|7|in}}.

In areas not irrigated, dunes carry sparse vegetation such as  [[Sarcobatus|greasewood]], [[rubber rabbitbrush]], [[salt grass]], [[sandhill muhly]] and [[sand dropseed]]. The dunes are intermingled with depressions and basins of historical [[dry lake|playas]]. The [[Blanca Wetlands]], an [[Area of Critical Environmental Concern]], lies northwest of the town. The wetlands receive groundwater for irrigation from the [[Closed Basin Project]], which delivers groundwater to the [[Rio Grande]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wildlife.state.co.us/SiteCollectionDocuments/DOW/LandWater/WetlandsProgram/stratplan-SLV9-00.pdf |author=Wetlands Focus Area Committee |date=September 2000 |title=THE SAN LUIS VALLEY COMMUNITY WETLANDS STRATEGY |page=24 |access-date=October 9, 2012 }}{{dead link|date=July 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|align=left
|1920= 380
|1930= 252
|1940= 407
|1950= 376
|1960= 233
|1970= 212
|1980= 252
|1990= 272
|2000= 391
|2010= 385
|2020= 322
|footnote=[[United States census|U.S. Decennial Census]]
}}
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref> of 2000, there were 391 people, 142 households, and 105 families in the town. The population density was {{convert|219.6|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 183 housing units at an average density of {{convert|102.8|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units&nbsp;|units|}}. The racial makeup was 53.45% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.77% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 1.28% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 2.81% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 39.64% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 2.05% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 67.01%.

There were 142 households, of which 35.2% had children under 1, 63.4% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 7.7% a female householder with no husband present, and 25.4% were non-families. 21.1% of households were of individuals and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size 3.26.

In the town, the population was 27.9% under 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% 65 or older. The median age was 37. For every 100 females, there were 106.9 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 102.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $22,875, and the median income for a family $22,411. Males had a median income of $20,125 versus $15,833 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $10,200. About 19.5% of families and 21.6% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 29.1% of those under 18 and 11.3% of those 65 or over.
{{clear}}

==See also==
{{portal|Geography|History|United States|Colorado}}
*[[Blanca Peak]]
*[[List of municipalities in Colorado]]
*[[List of populated places in Colorado]]
*[[List of post offices in Colorado]]
*[[San Luis Valley]]
{{clear}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{sister project links|auto=yes}}
*[https://www.facebook.com/p/Town-of-Blanca-100067955273292/ Town of Blanca]
*[https://www.colorado.gov/ State of Colorado]
**[http://dtdapps.coloradodot.info/staticdata/Downloads/CityMaps/Blanca.pdf CDOT map of the Town of Blanca]
**[https://www.historycolorado.org/ History Colorado]
{{Costilla County, Colorado|collapse_state=expanded}}
{{Colorado}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Towns in Costilla County, Colorado]]
[[Category:Towns in Colorado]]