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Alamosa, Colorado

Alamosa, Colorado
Home Rule Municipality
Entering from the east
Entering from the east
Nickname(s): Hub of the San Luis Valley
Motto: "Gateway to the Great Sand Dunes"
Location within Alamosa County and Colorado
Location within Alamosa County and Colorado
Coordinates: 37°28′30″N 105°52′31″W / 37.475041°N 105.875314°W / 37.475041; -105.875314Coordinates: 37°28′30″N 105°52′31″W / 37.475041°N 105.875314°W / 37.475041; -105.875314
Country United States
State Colorado
County Alamosa Countyseat
Established May 1878
Incorporated August 12, 1878
Named for The cottonwood trees along the Rio Grande
Government
 • Type Home Rule Municipality
 • Mayor Josef Lucero
Area
 • Total 5.5 sq mi (14.3 km2)
 • Land 5.4 sq mi (14.0 km2)
 • Water 0.1 sq mi (0.3 km2)
Elevation 7,543 ft (2,299 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 8,780
 • Density 1,600/sq mi (610/km2)
 • Demonym Alamosan
Time zone MST (UTC-7)
 • Summer (DST) MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP code 81101, 81102
Area code(s) 719
INCITS place code 0801090
GNIS ID 0203624
Highways

US 160.svg US 160
US 285.svg US 285

Colorado 17.svg SH 17
Website cityofalamosa.org

US 160.svg US 160
US 285.svg US 285

Alamosa is a city under Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Alamosa County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 8,780 at the 2010 United States Census. The city is the commercial center of the San Luis Valley in south-central Colorado, and is the home of Adams State University.

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 and Colorado Gators Reptile Park. The town hosts "Summer Fest on the Rio" which occurs the first weekend in June and the Early Iron car show over the Labor Day weekend. The city takes its name from the Spanish adjective Alamosa, meaning "of cottonwood", for the cottonwood forests which grow along the Rio Grande and throughout town.


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