Chama is a village in

Rio Arriba County, New Mexico Rio Arriba County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 40,246. Its county seat is Tierra Amarilla. Its northern border is the Colorado state line. Rio Arriba County comprises the Española, N ...

, United States. The population was 1,022 at the 2010 census. The village is located in the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

about south of the

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 ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

border.

Geography

Chama is located at (36.894777, -106.584406), on the Rio Chama, south of the

border. 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 t ...

, the village has a total area of , all of it land.

History

Chama is the western terminus of the

Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad The Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, often abbreviated as the C&TSRR, is a narrow-gauge heritage railroad that operates on of track between Antonito, Colorado, and Chama, New Mexico, in the United States. The railroad is named for two geogr ...

, a steam-driven,

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

heritage railway which carries visitors to and from

Osier, Colorado Osier is a populated place in Conejos County, Colorado, USA. It is an old railroad settlement and train stop approximately halfway along the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad where trains from both ends of the line meet and stop for lunch, makin ...

, and

Antonito, Colorado Antonito is a Statutory Town located in Conejos County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 647 at the 2020 United States Census. History Antonito began life as a sheep herding camp known as San Antonio Junction, referring to its ...

, during the summer months. It is the remaining 64 mile portion of the

Denver & Rio Grande 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 ...

's San Juan Extension built in the 1880s between Alamosa, Colorado, and Durango, Colorado. The route was abandoned in the late 1960s and the tracks from Chama westward to Durango were torn up soon afterwards. File:C&TS Chama Depot 2012-10-24.JPG, The Chama train depot File:DRGW 483 and 484 Chama June 1967xRP - Flickr - drewj1946.jpg, Two DRGW locomotives waiting to be serviced at the Chama engine house, 1967. File:487 at water.jpg, Cumbres & Toltec train in downtown Chama. File:NRCSNM02046 - New Mexico (5377)(NRCS Photo Gallery).jpg, Northwest Field Team Leader Norm Vigil (red) and Soil Conservationist Jill Jensen (blue) provide grazing recommendations for a ranch that specializes in raising elk for hunting. Chama, New Mexico; 2011.

Demographics

At the 2000 census, there were 1,199 people, 467 households and 312 families residing in the village. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 467.9 per square mile (180.8/km). There were 601 housing units at an average density of 234.5 per square mile (90.6/km). The racial makeup of the village was 67.56%

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 o ...

, 1.58%

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 ...

, 2.67% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 25.10% 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 3.00% 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 forme ...

or Latino of any race were 71.23% of the population. There were 467 households, of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.5% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.13. 26.6% of the population were under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 28.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.1 males. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways o ...

was $30,513, and the median family income was $31,983. Males had a median income of $27,167 compared with $20,054 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 village was $16,670. About 11.9% of families and 17.9% 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 28.6% of those under age 18 and 13.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

It is within the Chama Valley Independent Schools school district. Chama has a

K-8 school K8 or K-8 may refer to: * K-8 (Kansas highway), two highways in Kansas, one in northern Kansas, one in southern Kansas * K-8 school, a type of school that includes kindergarten and grades one through eight * AMD K8, the internal designation for the ...

, Chama Middle/Elementary School, while Chama's 9-12 students would by default attend the district's only high school, a part of Escalante Middle/High School.

Pop culture

Chama has been featured in numerous films, including '' The Good Guys and the Bad Guys'' (1969) ''

The Cowboys ''The Cowboys'' is a 1972 American Western film starring John Wayne, Roscoe Lee Browne, and Bruce Dern, and featuring Colleen Dewhurst and Slim Pickens. It was the feature film debut of Robert Carradine. Based on the 1971 novel of the same name ...

'' (1972), '' Bite the Bullett'' (1975), ''

The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez ''The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez'' is a 1982 American Western film directed by Robert M. Young and starring Edward James Olmos as Gregorio Cortez. It is based on the book ''With His Pistol in His Hand'' by Americo Paredes. In 2022, the film ...

'' (1982), '' Butch and Sundance: The Early Days'' (1989), '' Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' (1989), ''Wyatt Earp'' (1994), ''

Wild Wild West ''Wild Wild West'' is a 1999 American steampunk Western film co-produced and directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by S. S. Wilson and Brent Maddock alongside Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, from a story penned by brothers Jim and John ...

'' (1999), ''All the Pretty Horses'', (2000), ''Appaloosa'' (2008), '' A Million Ways to Die in the West'' (2014), ''Godless'' (2016), and ''Hostiles'' (2017). An episode of '' Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations'' was filmed around the Rio Chama. A 2014 episode of the Discovery Channel miniseries ''Klondike'' was also filmed around Chama.

Climate

This

climatic Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorological ...

region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with short, cool-to-warm summers and long, cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Chama has a subarctic continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Chama, New Mexico
/ref>

References

External links

Village website

Chama Valley Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Villages in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico Villages in New Mexico Railway stations in New Mexico