Naturita is a

statutory town In India, the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), also called municipalities, are self-government institutions responsible for the administration of cities, towns, and transitional areas within a state or Union Territory. The 74th amendment to the Const ...

in Montrose 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 485 at the 2020 census, down from 546 in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. The post office in Naturita was opened on October 21, 1881, under the name "Chipeta"; the name was changed to Naturita September 15, 1882, and has used that name since then. Naturita is a name derived from Spanish meaning "little nature".

Geography

The community is located in southwest Montrose County within the San Miguel River valley. The community is served by Colorado State Highways 97 and 141. Telluride is to the southeast via Highways 141 and 145. Montrose, the Montrose

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

, is to the northeast in air distance across the Uncompahgre Plateau but by paved roads. According to 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 ...

, the town has a total area of , all of it land. The San Miguel River flows northwest from Naturita to the

Dolores River The Dolores River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately long, in the U.S. states of Colorado and Utah. The river drains a rugged and arid region of the Colorado Plateau west of the San Juan Mountains. Its name derives from the Spa ...

, which continues northwest to the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

in Utah.

Climate

The average low in January is , while the average high in July rises to . The record low temperature for the town is , while the hottest temperature recorded is

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 635 people, 257 households, and 164 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 314 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 93.70%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 2.36% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 1.73% from other races, and 2.05% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 5.04% of the population. There were 257 households, out of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 12.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.8% were non-families. 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.06. In the town, the population was spread out, with 29.6% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 21.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.0 males. The median income for a household in the town was $28,977, and the median income for a family was $37,917. Males had a median income of $33,203 versus $15,625 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $13,867. About 3.8% of families and 10.0% 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 6.1% of those under age 18 and 11.8% of those age 65 or over.

Amenities

Naturita has an inn, cafe, gas station, bank, grocery store, cannabis dispensary, and a few motels. To the west along Highway 90 in the community of

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 bed ...

is the historic Bedrock Store, where scenes from movies such as ''

Thelma & Louise ''Thelma & Louise'' is a 1991 American crime drama film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Callie Khouri. The film stars Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis as Louise and Thelma, two friends who embark on a road trip that ends up in unforese ...

'' were filmed.Naturita information
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References

External links

*
CDOT map of the Town of Naturita
{{authority control Towns in Montrose County, Colorado Towns in Colorado