Mineral County is a county located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, 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 wes ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 865, making it the third-least populous county in Colorado, behind San Juan County and Hinsdale County. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

and only incorporated municipality in the county is Creede. The county was named for the many valuable minerals found in the mountains and streams of the area.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Saguache County - northeast * Rio Grande County - east * Archuleta County - south * Hinsdale County - west

Major Highways

U.S. Highway 160 * Colorado 149

State Highway 149

National protected areas

Rio Grande National Forest Rio Grande National Forest is a 1.86 million-acre (7,530 km²) U.S. National Forest located in southwestern Colorado. The forest encompasses the San Luis Valley, which is the world's largest agricultural alpine valley, as well as one of the ...

San Juan National Forest The San Juan National Forest is a U.S. National Forest covering over 1,878,846 acres (2,935.7 sq mi, or 7,603.42 km²) in western Colorado. The forest occupies land in Archuleta, Conejos, Dolores, Hinsdale, La Plata, Mineral, Montezu ...

* La Garita Wilderness *

Weminuche Wilderness The Weminuche Wilderness is a wilderness area in southwest Colorado managed by the United States Forest Service as part of the San Juan National Forest on the west side of the Continental Divide and the Rio Grande National Forest on the east side ...

Trails and byways

* Colorado Trail * Continental Divide National Scenic Trail * Lake Fork National Recreation Trail * Silver Thread Scenic Byway

Demographics

At the 2000 census, there were 831 people in 377 households, including 251 families, in the county. The population density was 1 people per square mile (0/km²). There were 1,119 housing units at an average density of 1 per square mile (0/km²). The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the county was 96.87% White, 0.84% Native American, 0.12% from other races, and 2.17% from two or more races. 2.05% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 377 households 22.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.00% were married couples living together, 5.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.40% were non-families. 28.10% of households were one person and 9.80% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.70. The age distribution was 20.50% under the age of 18, 4.70% from 18 to 24, 24.80% from 25 to 44, 32.70% from 45 to 64, and 17.30% 65 or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 104.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.10 males. The median household income was $34,844 and the median family income was $40,833. Males had a median income of $28,750 versus $19,375 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,475. About 9.30% of families and 10.20% 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 t ...

, including 18.70% of those under age 18 and 10.60% of those age 65 or over. Mineral County has an extremely high proportion of land under federal ownership, with 96% of the county under the management of the federal government (It houses an office of, and is surrounded by, the Rio Grande National Forest).

2015

As of 2015 the largest self-reported ancestry groups in Mineral County, Colorado are:

Politics

Communities

Town

* Creede

Unincorporated Communities

* Spar City *Wagon Wheel Gap

Ghost Towns

*Bachelor City *Weaver

References

External links

*
Creede and Mineral County informationColorado Historical Society
{{authority control Colorado counties 1893 establishments in Colorado Populated places established in 1893