Hartsel is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in and governed by Park County,

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

United States. The population was 38 at the 2020 census. The Hartsel post office has the ZIP Code 80449. The CDP is a part of the

Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area Denver is the central city of a conurbation region in the U.S. state of Colorado. The conurbation includes one continuous region consisting of the six central counties of Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson. The Denver regi ...

History

Founded in 1880, Hartsel is close to the geographic center of the state, and is often referred to as "The Heart of Colorado". The namesake of the community is Samuel Hartsel, a local farmer and cattle rancher who came to Park County in 1860 and left in 1908. He developed the Hartsel hot springs and built a sawmill, blacksmith shop, and a trading post to lay the groundwork for the town.

Geography

The Hartsel CDP has an area of , including of water. Hartsel

Demographics

The

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

defined the for the

Climate

According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Hartsel has a Cold

Semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...

(''BSk''). According to the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and producti ...

, the Plant

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 widely ...

is 3b with an average annual extreme minimum temperature of . Summers are warm with chilly nights in the 30s and 40s (°F) and some thunderstorm activity during the months of July and August. Winters are cold and dry with lows below zero. A climate writeup consisting of interpolated data is below.

Ecology

According to the A. W. Kuchler U.S. Potential natural vegetation Types, Hartsel would have a Wheatgrass / Needlegrass (''66'') vegetation type and a North

Mixed grass prairie A mixed-grass prairie is an ecotone located between the tallgrass prairies and shortgrass prairies. The mixed-grass prairie is richer in botanical diversity than either the tall- or shortgrass prairie. The mixed-grass prairie occurs in the Cen ...

(''7'') vegetation form.

References

External links

Hartsel @ Colorado.com

Hartsel @ UncoverColorado.com

Hartsel Area Historic Sites

Park County website
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Park County, Colorado Unincorporated communities in Colorado Census-designated places in Park County, Colorado