Las Animas County, Colorado

Las Animas County, Colorado
Las Animas County Courthouse in Trinidad, Colorado

Location in the state of Colorado

Colorado's location in the U.S.
Founded February 9, 1866
Named for Animas River
Seat Trinidad
Largest city Trinidad
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

4,775.42 sq mi (12,368 km²)
4,772.63 sq mi (12,361 km²)
2.79 sq mi (7 km²), 0.06%
Population
 - (2000)
 - Density

15,207
2/sq mi (1/km²)
Time zone Mountain: UTC-7/-6
Website www.ccionline.org/counties/lasanima.html
Footnotes:
Most extensive Colorado county

Las Animas County has the largest area of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. Las Animas County takes its name from the Mexican Spanish name of the Purgatoire River, originally called El Río de las Ánimas Perdidas en Purgatorio, which means "River of the Lost Souls in Purgatory." The county's population was 15,207 at the 2000 census.[1] The county seat is Trinidad.

Contents

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 4,775.42 square miles (12,368.3 km2), of which 4,772.63 square miles (12,361.1 km2) (or 99.94%) is land and 2.79 square miles (7.2 km2) (or 0.06%) is water.[2]

Adjacent counties

See also: List of counties bordering eight or more counties

Demographics

As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 15,207 people, 6,173 households, and 4,092 families residing in the county. The population density was 3 people per square mile (1/km²). There were 7,629 housing units at an average density of 2 per square mile (1/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 82.63% White, 0.39% Black or African American, 2.54% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.20% Pacific Islander, 10.03% from other races, and 3.83% from two or more races. 41.45% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 6,173 households out of which 28.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.90% were married couples living together, 11.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.70% were non-families. 29.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.20% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 24.00% from 25 to 44, 25.90% from 45 to 64, and 18.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 95.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $28,273, and the median income for a family was $34,072. Males had a median income of $27,182 versus $20,891 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,829. About 14.00% of families and 17.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.00% of those under age 18 and 17.20% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Protected areas

Historic trails and landmarks

Scenic byways

See also

References

External links