The Town of Blanca is a

Statutory Town A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by ...

located in

Costilla County Costilla County (Spanish for "rib") is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,499. The county seat is San Luis, the oldest continuously occupied town in Colorado. History On July 8, 1694 ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

, United States. The town population was 322 at the 2020 census. Blanca is located in the enormous

San Luis Valley The San Luis Valley is a region in south-central Colorado with a small portion overlapping into New Mexico. The valley is approximately long and wide, extending from the Continental Divide on the northwest rim into New Mexico on the south. It c ...

History

The town, named for

Blanca Peak Blanca Peak (Navajo: ) is the fourth highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America and the U.S. state of Colorado. The ultra-prominent peak is the highest summit of the Sierra Blanca Massif, the Sangre de Cristo Range, and the Sangr ...

, was founded in August 1908 from a land lottery in the

of south central Colorado. It was incorporated in 1909. In the mid-1990s 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 Bilberries (), or sometimes European blueberries, are a primarily Eurasian species of low-growing shrubs in the genus '' Vaccinium'' (family Ericaceae), bearing edible, dark blue berries. The species most often referred to is ''Vaccinium myrti ...

syrup. Blanca is known for elk hunting and alpine trout fishing.

Geography

Blanca is at (37.440569, -105.509901) in the east of the

and northern Costilla County. At the

2020 United States Census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

, the town had an area of , all of it land. The town lies along U.S. Route 160, east of

Alamosa Alamosa is a home rule municipality and the county seat of Alamosa County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 9,806 at the 2020 United States Census. The city is the commercial center of the San Luis Valley in south-central Colora ...

and west of

Walsenburg The City of Walsenburg is the Statutory City that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Huerfano County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 3,049 at the 2020 census, down from 3,068 in 2010. History Walsenb ...

. The region has a cool, dry climate, with 107 frost-free days each year. Temperatures range from to . Annual rainfall is about . In areas not irrigated, dunes carry sparse vegetation such as

greasewood Greasewood is a common name shared by several plants: * ''Adenostoma fasciculatum'' is a plant with white flowers that is native to Oregon, Nevada, California, and northern Baja California. This shrub is one of the most widespread plants of the ...

, rubber rabbitbrush, salt grass, sandhill muhly and sand dropseed. The dunes are intermingled with depressions and basins of historical playas. The

Blanca Wetlands The Blanca Wetlands Area of Critical Environmental Concern, or Blanca Wildlife Habitat Area, is an area of the San Luis Valley in Colorado, United States, that serves as a refuge for birds, fish and other wildlife. It is about northeast of Ala ...

, an

Area of Critical Environmental Concern Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) is a conservation ecology program in the Western United States, managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The ACEC program was conceived in the 1976 Federal Lands Policy and Management Act ( ...

, lies northwest of the town. The wetlands receive groundwater for irrigation from the

Closed Basin Project The Closed Basin Project is a groundwater extraction project in the San Luis Valley in Colorado, United States, that began in the 1970s, and remains in operation in the 2020s. The project is managed by the United States Bureau of Reclamation. Lo ...

, which delivers groundwater to the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 391 people, 142 households, and 105 families in the town. The population density was . There were 183 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup was 53.45%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 0.77%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 1.28% Native American, 2.81% Asian, 39.64% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 2.05% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 67.01%. There were 142 households, of which 35.2% had children under 1, 63.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

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 Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $10,200. About 19.5% of families and 21.6% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 29.1% of those under 18 and 11.3% of those 65 or over.

References

External links

Town of Blanca websiteCDOT map of the Town of Blanca
{{authority control Towns in Costilla County, Colorado Towns in Colorado

History

Geography

Demographics

See also

References

External links