Palisade is a statutory town in Mesa County,

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. It is part of the

Grand Junction Metropolitan Statistical Area Mesa County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 155,703. The county seat is Grand Junction, Colorado, Grand Junction. The county was named for the many large mes ...

. The population was 2,565 at the 2020 census, down from 2,692 in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. The community was named for the cliffs near the town site. Palisade is known for its

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, n ...

orchards and wine

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyard ...

s. The climate, a 182-day growing season, and an average 78 percent of sunshine makes Palisade "The Peach Capital of Colorado".

Geography

Palisade is located at (39.109335, -108.354277). It lies on the north side of the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...

, east of Grand Junction, 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 ...

. U.S. Route 6 passes through the town as 8th Street, while

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the co ...

runs along the northern border of the town at the foot of the cliffs to the north, with access to the town from Exit 42 . According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the town has a total area of , of which , or 0.50%, are water.

Climate

Palisade's climate is relatively mild by Colorado standards. The town sees of snow each year and of precipitation on average. Palisade falls within the

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of comme ...

hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most wide ...

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 incl ...

of 2000, there were 2,579 people, 1,051 households, and 689 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,117 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 93.91%

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 on ...

, 0.19%

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 ...

, 1.05% Native American, 0.50%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.27%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 1.36% 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 2.71% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 6.24% of the population. There were 1,051 households, out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.8% 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 t ...

living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.91. In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.3% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 20.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $27,739, and the median income for a family was $31,797. Males had a median income of $28,231 versus $21,875 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 $15,539. About 11.0% of families and 14.0% 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 21.2% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Palisade has one high school,

Palisade High School Palisade Senior High School is a high school located in Palisade, Colorado, United States. It is part of the Mesa County Valley School District 51. It is situated on the western edge of Palisade, on the "old highway" ( US Highway 6). The town ...

. It also has one elementary school, Taylor Elementary. Mount Garfield Middle School is located on the border of

Clifton Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) *Clifton (given name) Places Australia * Clifton, Queensland, a town **Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong *Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Scotia ...

and Palisade.

Notable people

* Clair Finch, Wisconsin state legislator and lawyer, was born in Palisade.'Wisconsin Blue Book 1950,' Biographical Sketch of Clair L. Finch, pg. 52

References

External links

*
CDOT map of the Town of Palisade

Palisade Tourism website

Retrieved August 10, 2012 {{authority control Towns in Mesa County, Colorado Towns in Colorado