Las Animas, Colorado
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Las Animas, Colorado The City of Souls |
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|---|---|
| Statutory City | |
Las Animas City Hall
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 Location in Bent County and the state of Colorado |
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| Coordinates: 38°4′1″N 103°13′33″W / 38.06694°N 103.22583°WCoordinates: 38°4′1″N 103°13′33″W / 38.06694°N 103.22583°W | |
| Country |
 United States
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| State |
 State of Colorado
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| County | Bent County Seat |
| Incorporated | May 15, 1886 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Statutory City |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1.7 sq mi (4.3 km2) |
| • Land | 1.6 sq mi (4.2 km2) |
| • Water | 0.04 sq mi (0.1 km2) |
| Elevation | 3,898 ft (1,188 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 2,410 |
| • Density | 1,488/sq mi (574.4/km2) |
| Time zone | Mountain (MST) (UTC-7) |
| • Summer (DST) | MDT (UTC-6) |
| ZIP code | 81054 |
| Area code(s) | 719 |
| FIPS code | 08-43660 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0195526 |
Las Animas is the Statutory City that is the county seat and the only incorporated municipality in Bent County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 2,410 at the 2010 United States Census. Las Animas is located in southeast Colorado east of Pueblo, near the historic Bent's Fort.
Las Animas is located on the Arkansas River, just west of its confluence with the Purgatoire River (or "Purgatory River").
A famous legend says that the town and the Purgatoire River were named for a group of conquistadors, probably part of Coronado's expedition, who died without the last rites sacrament of a priest. According to Catholic belief, their souls would go to Purgatory as a result. The original Spanish name for Las Animas ("The Souls," in Spanish) was purported to beLa Ciudad de Las Animas Perdidos en Purgatorio, "The city of lost souls in Purgatory."
According to the book Trinidad, Colorado Territory by Morris F. Taylor, this explanation is not consistent with Spanish Catholic belief. Souls in purgatory are not lost; they are in limbo for a short time of purification before ascending to heaven. According to Taylor, the French developed the connotation of souls in Purgatory.
The Spanish version, El Rio de las Animas Perdidas en Purgatorio, was considered an embellishment of the French version. No 19th-century map shows this full Spanish name or any translation of it. Existing maps have different names for the river: Rio de Las Animas, Purgatory River, and "Picatoire", a corruption of Purgatoire (which today is anglicized as Picketwire). French fur traders of the 19th century referred to the river as the Purgatoire. Another anglicization was Pick of Ware.
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