Rico, Colorado
{{short description|Town in Colorado, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Rico, Colorado
| nickname =
| settlement_type = Town
| motto = "A Slice of Paradise"
| image_skyline = Rico Town Hall sm973.jpg
| imagesize =
| image_caption = Rico Town Hall, listed on the National Register of Historic Places
| image_flag =
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| image_map = File:Dolores County Colorado Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Rico Highlighted 0864090.svg
| mapsize = 250px
| map_caption = Location of Rico in Dolores County, Colorado.
| image_dot_map =
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| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{USA}}
| subdivision_type1 = State
| subdivision_name1 = {{flag|Colorado|name=State of Colorado}}
| subdivision_type2 = County{{cite web|url=http://www.dola.state.co.us/dlg/local_governments/municipalities.html |title=Active Colorado Municipalities |publisher=State of Colorado, Department of Local Affairs |accessdate=September 1, 2007 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070202163712/http://www.dola.state.co.us/dlg/local_governments/municipalities.html |archivedate=February 2, 2007 }}
| subdivision_name2 = Dolores County
| subdivision_type3 =
| subdivision_name3 =
| government_footnotes =
| government_type = Home rule municipality
| leader_title = Mayor
| leader_name = Nicole Pieterse{{cite web | url = http://50.87.249.190/~ricocolo/town-hall/ | title = Town Hall | publisher = Rico Colorado | accessdate = December 12, 2018}}
| leader_title1 =
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| established_title =
| established_date =
| established_title2 = Incorporated (town)
| established_date2 = February 25, 1880{{cite web | url = http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/muninc.html | title = Colorado Municipal Incorporations | publisher = State of Colorado, Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives | date = December 1, 2004 | accessdate = September 2, 2007}}
| established_title3 =
| established_date3 =
| unit_pref = Imperial
| area_total_km2 = 1.76
| area_land_km2 = 1.76
| area_water_km2 = 0.00
| area_total_sq_mi = 0.68
| area_land_sq_mi = 0.68
| area_water_sq_mi = 0.00
| population_as_of = 2020
| population_footnotes = {{cite web |url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Rico_town,_Colorado?g=160XX00US0864090 |title=Rico town, Colorado |author=United States Census Bureau|date= |website= |publisher= |access-date=April 5, 2023 |quote=}}
| population_note =
| population_total = 288
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_density_sq_mi = auto
| pop_est_as_of =
| pop_est_footnotes =
| population_est =
| timezone = Mountain (MST)
| utc_offset = -7
| timezone_DST = MDT
| utc_offset_DST = -6
| coordinates = {{coord|37|41|21|N|108|01|54|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| elevation_ft = 8773
| postal_code_type = ZIP code{{cite web|url=http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/citytown.jsp |title=ZIP Code Lookup |format=JavaScript/HTML |publisher=United States Postal Service |accessdate=December 24, 2007 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061214101437/http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/citytown.jsp |archivedate=December 14, 2006 }}
| postal_code = 81332
| area_code = 970
| blank_name = FIPS code
| blank_info = 08-64090
| blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
| blank1_info = 2412550{{GNIS|2412550}}
| website = {{URL|https://townofrico.colorado.gov/}}
}}
Rico is a town in Dolores County, Colorado, United States. It was settled in 1879 as a silver mining center in the Pioneer Mining District; today it functions as a historic and tourism site. The population was 288 at the 2020 census. Its current form of government is that of a home rule municipality.
Rico is a name derived from Spanish meaning "rich".{{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=49|publisher=The J. Frank Dawson Publishing Co.|location=Denver, CO|page=43}}
Geography
Rico is located in eastern Dolores County in the valley of the Dolores River. Colorado State Highway 145 passes through the town as it follows the river, leading southwest {{convert|48|mi}} to Cortez and northeast over Lizard Head Pass {{convert|27|mi}} to Telluride.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town of Rico has an area of {{convert|2.0|sqkm|order=flip|1}}, all of it land.{{cite web| url=http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US0864090| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Rico town, Colorado| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder| accessdate=October 15, 2015}}{{dead link|bot=medic|date=April 2020}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
=Climate=
Rico experiences an alpine subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification Dfc) with long, cold, very snowy winters and short, cool summers due to the high altitude and high precipitation year-round due to orographic lift.
{{Weather box
|location = Rico, Colorado
|single line = y
|precipitation colour = green
|collapsed = Yes
|Jan high F = 38.2
|Feb high F = 39.9
|Mar high F = 43.4
|Apr high F = 50.5
|May high F = 60.7
|Jun high F = 70.6
|Jul high F = 75.4
|Aug high F = 73.2
|Sep high F = 66.6
|Oct high F = 58.2
|Nov high F = 45.8
|Dec high F = 39.5
|year high F=
|Jan low F = 5.2
|Feb low F = 7.6
|Mar low F = 13.4
|Apr low F = 20.9
|May low F = 28.2
|Jun low F = 33.7
|Jul low F = 40.3
|Aug low F = 39.6
|Sep low F = 32.7
|Oct low F = 24.8
|Nov low F = 14.8
|Dec low F = 7.2
|year low F=
|Jan precipitation inch = 2.48
|Feb precipitation inch = 2.15
|Mar precipitation inch = 2.44
|Apr precipitation inch = 1.81
|May precipitation inch = 1.65
|Jun precipitation inch = 1.31
|Jul precipitation inch = 2.78
|Aug precipitation inch =2.91
|Sep precipitation inch = 2.31
|Oct precipitation inch = 2.13
|Nov precipitation inch = 2.01
|Dec precipitation inch = 2.27
|year precipitation inch= 26.27
|Jan snow inch = 32.1
|Feb snow inch = 26.5
|Mar snow inch = 30.8
|Apr snow inch = 18.5
|May snow inch = 6.0
|Jun snow inch = 0.1
|Jul snow inch = 0
|Aug snow inch = 0
|Sep snow inch = 0.5
|Oct snow inch = 7.6
|Nov snow inch = 21.5
|Dec snow inch = 26.2
|year snow inch = 171
|source = The Western Regional Climate Center {{cite web
|url = http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?corico
|title = RICO, COLORADO (057017)
|accessdate = December 18, 2015}}
}}
Demographics
{{US Census population
|align=left
|1880= 894
|1890= 1134
|1900= 811
|1910= 368
|1920= 326
|1930= 447
|1940= 388
|1950= 212
|1960= 353
|1970= 275
|1980= 76
|1990= 92
|2000= 205
|2010= 265
|2020= 288
}}
File:Dey Building Rico CO.jpg, built in 1892 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places]]
{{clear}}
Transportation
Rico is part of Colorado's Bustang network. It is on the Durango-Grand Junction Outrider line.{{cite web |title=Bustang Schedule |url=https://ridebustang.com/schedules/ |website=RideBustang |publisher=CDOT}} Rico was a water stop on the Rio Grande Southern Railroad, the storied narrow gauge line running from Ridgway to Durango until the railroad was abandoned in 1952. The water tank used to refill the tenders of the steam locomotives still stands on the west side of the former grade, {{Years ago|1951}} years since it was last used.
See also
{{Portal|Colorado}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons}}
- [https://townofrico.colorado.gov/ Town of Rico official website]
- [http://dtdapps.coloradodot.info/staticdata/Downloads/CityMaps/Rico.pdf CDOT map of the Town of Rico]
- Marty Durlin, [http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=17519 "A Rico Renaissance"], High Country News, February 18, 2008
{{Dolores County, Colorado}}
{{Colorado|collapse_state=collapsed}}
{{authority control}}