Toponas is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
in
Routt County
Routt County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,829. The county seat is Steamboat Springs. Routt County comprises the Steamboat Springs, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area.
History
P ...
,
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 t ...
, United States.
Description
The community took its name from nearby Toponas Rock.
The population in 2010 was 48; in 2017 it is estimated at 26, all in ages ranging from 55 years upwards.
As of 2015, the village consists of a large general store with gas pumps, and a few ranch houses and attendant outbuildings. Just west of the village is a
post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...
, currently serving
ZIP Code 80479,
which has been in operation since 1888.
The community took its name from nearby Toponas Rock.
Geography
Toponas is located at (40.057841,-106.801357). Despite the small size of the town, this is a strategic location, lying in a broad mountain pass on the divide between the
Yampa River
The Yampa River flows through northwestern Colorado in the United States. Rising in the Rocky Mountains, it is a tributary of the Green River (Colorado River), Green River and a major part of the Colorado River system. The Yampa is one of the f ...
to the north and 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 drainage basin, watershed that encompasses parts of ...
to the south. As a result, the town is traversed by not only
State Highway 131, but also the former
Craig branch of the
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad
The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to ''Rio Grande'', D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow-gauge line running south from De ...
. Toponas also lies at the west end of
State Highway 134 and thus at the bottom of the climb to
Gore Pass, on one of the two highway routes between the Yampa Valley and
Middle Park.
See also
References
External links
{{authority control
Unincorporated communities in Routt County, Colorado
Unincorporated communities in Colorado