Cuchara 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 Huerfano County,

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 ...

, United States. It is located near a former ski resort in the mountains south of the town of La Veta."Cuchara, Colorado"
Sangres.com. Retrieved 23 July 2009. Its altitude is 8,468 feet (2,581 m). State Highway 12 travels through Cuchara as it approaches

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

to the southeast.

Description

Cuchara is situated on the eastern slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in south-central Colorado. It is west of the

Spanish Peaks The Spanish Peaks are a pair of prominent mountains located in southwestern Huerfano County, Colorado. The Comanche people call them Huajatolla ( ) or Wa-to-yah meaning "double mountain". The two peaks, East Spanish Peak at elevation and Wes ...

. Cucharas Pass, at almost 10,000 feet, is a few miles south of the town of Cuchara. The

Cucharas River Cucharas River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 31, 2011 tributary of the Huerfano River that flows from a source in Huerfano County, Colorado, southwest of ...

flows on the outskirts of town. The

San Isabel National Forest San Isabel National Forest is located in central Colorado. The forest contains 19 of the state's 53 fourteeners, peaks over high, including Mount Elbert, the highest point in Colorado. It is one of eleven national forests in the state of Color ...

surrounds the town. In

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

, " cuchara" means "spoon," reflecting the area's valley being so shaped. A large number of locations are listed as having the name of "Cuchara" or some derivation there of in Huerfano County, including Cuchara Junction northeast 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 Walsenbur ...

and the Cuchara Formation. This small town has a few small businesses such as restaurants and small hotels or lodges. This is a midpoint for stopping along the scenic State Highway 12.

History

In the summer of 2018, Cuchara was evacuated due to a

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...

that threatened the town in the middle of their peak season. The evacuation caused local businesses to suffer financially.

References

External links

Unincorporated communities in Huerfano County, Colorado Unincorporated communities in Colorado {{Colorado-geo-stub