Montrose County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

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 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 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 42,679. 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 ...

is Montrose, for which the county is named. Montrose County comprises the Montrose, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

According to the

U.S. 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 the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.08%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Mesa County - north * Delta County - northeast * Gunnison County - east * Ouray County - southeast * San Miguel County - south * San Juan County,

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

- west

Major Highways

U.S. Highway 50 * US 550

U.S. Highway 550 * Colorado 90

State Highway 90 * Colorado 92

State Highway 92 * Colorado 141

State Highway 141 * Colorado 145

State Highway 145 * Colorado 348

State Highway 348

National protected areas

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is an American national park located in western Colorado and managed by the National Park Service. There are two primary entrances to the park: the south rim entrance is located east of Montrose, while ...

Black Canyon of the Gunnison Wilderness Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is an American national park located in western Colorado and managed by the National Park Service. There are two primary entrances to the park: the south rim entrance is located east of Montrose, while ...

* Curecanti National Recreation Area (part) * Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area (part) * Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area (part) *

Gunnison Gorge Wilderness The Gunnison Gorge Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area located immediately northwest of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. The wilderness area established in 1999 includes of the Gunnison River The Gunnison River is located ...

Gunnison National Forest The Gunnison National Forest is a U.S. National Forest covering 1,672,136 acres (2,612.71 sq mi, or 6,766.89 km²) Manti-La Sal National Forest (part) * Old Spanish National Historic Trail * Uncompahgre National Forest (part)

River

* Dolores River (part) *

Uncompahgre River The Uncompahgre River is a tributary of the Gunnison River, approximately 75 mi (121 km) long, in southwestern Colorado in the United States. Lake Como at 12,215 ft (3723m) in northern San Juan County, in the Uncompahgre Nation ...

(part) * San Miguel River(part) Gunnison River (part)

Trails and byways

Great Parks Bicycle Route The Great Parks Bicycle Route is a two-part bicycle touring route developed and mapped by Adventure Cycling Association. Great Parks North runs 751.5 miles (1209.4 km) from Jasper, Alberta, Canada, to Missoula, Montana, U.S. Great Parks South extend ...

* Unaweep/Tabeguache Scenic and Historic Byway * West Elk Loop Scenic Byway *

Western Express Bicycle Route List of cycleways — for all types of cycleways, bike path, bike route, or bikeway's transportation infrastructure and/or designated route, listed by continents and their countries. Greenways and/or rail trails can include a cycleway−bike pa ...

Historical site

* Hanging Flume *

Uravan, Colorado Uravan (a contraction of uranium/vanadium) is a former uranium mining town in western Montrose County, Colorado, United States, which still appears on some maps. The town was a company town established by U. S. Vanadium Corporation in 1936 to e ...

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 inc ...

of 2010, there were 41,276 people, 16,484 households, and 11,461 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 18 people per square mile (7/km²). There were 18,250 housing units at an average density of 8 per square mile (3/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 86.70%

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 ...

, 0.40%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

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 ...

, 1.10% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.10%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 8.70% from other races, and 2.40% from two or more races. 19.70% of the population were

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 for ...

or Latino of any race. There were 16,484 households, out of which 31.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.10% 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 ...

living together, 9.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.50% were non-families. 25.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.97. The county population was spread out, with 24.70% under the age of 18, 6.40% from 18 to 24, 22.50% from 25 to 44, 28.60% from 45 to 64, and 17.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 96.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.00 males. Also from the

of 2010, the median income for a household in the county was $46,058, and the median income for a family was $52,152. Males had a median income of $41,301 versus $31,659 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 county was $22,413. About 7.30% 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 ...

, including 13.40% of those under age 18 and 9.80% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Montrose is a staunch Republican county. It has not been won by a Democratic Presidential nominee since

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

‘s 1964 landslide – indeed since then, no Democrat has managed forty percent of the county’s vote. The county has leaned Republican ever since 1920; although before this, it did tend to vote Democratic between 1896 and 1916 except during the landslide loss of Alton B. Parker in 1904. In other offices, Montrose also is strongly Republican. The last Democratic Senatorial candidate it backed was Ben “Nighthorse” Campbell, who was later to shift to the Republican Party, in the 1992 election, and since then no Democratic Senatorial candidate has passed forty percent either. Montrose County did back Constitution Party nominee

Tom Tancredo Thomas Gerard Tancredo (; born December 20, 1945) is an American politician from Colorado, who represented the state's sixth congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2009 as a Republican. He ran for Pres ...

in the 2010 gubernatorial election, and

Bill Ritter August William Ritter Jr. (born September 6, 1956) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 41st Governor of Colorado from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the district attorney for Denver before his ele ...

did win 46 percent in 2006, but Roy Romer in 1990 remains the last Democratic candidate for governor to win Montrose County.Dave Leip’s U.S. Election Atlas
1990 Gubernatorial General Election Results
/ref>

Culture

* Ute Indian State History Museum

Communities

City

* Montrose

Towns

* Naturita * Nucla * Olathe

Census-designated place

* Redvale

Other unincorporated places

Bedrock In geology, bedrock is solid rock that lies under loose material ( regolith) within the crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface material. An exposed portion of be ...

* Cimarron *

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

* Maher * Mountain View * Oak Grove *

Paradox A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation. It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictory or a logically u ...

* Pea Green Corner * Pinon * Uravan * Ute

Notes

References

External links

Montrose County Government websiteColorado Historical Society
{{authority control Colorado counties 1883 establishments in Colorado Populated places established in 1883