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Rico, Colorado
Rico Town Hall, listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Rico Town Hall, listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Motto(s): 
"A Slice of Paradise"
Location of Rico in Dolores County, Colorado.
Location of Rico in Dolores County, Colorado.
Country  United States
State  State of Colorado
County Dolores County
Incorporated (town) February 25, 1880
Government
 • Type Home rule municipality
Area
 • Total 0.68 sq mi (1.76 km2)
 • Land 0.68 sq mi (1.76 km2)
 • Water 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
8,773 ft (2,674 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 288
 • Density 424/sq mi (163.6/km2)
Time zone UTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP code
81332
Area code(s) 970
FIPS code 08-64090
GNIS feature ID 2412550

Rico is a town in Dolores County, Colorado, United States. It was settled in 1879 as a silver mining center in the Pioneer Mining District; today it functions as a historic and tourism site. The population was 288 at the 2020 census. Its current form of government is that of a home rule municipality.

Rico is a name derived from Spanish meaning "rich".

Geography

Rico is located in eastern Dolores County in the valley of the Dolores River. Colorado State Highway 145 passes through the town as it follows the river, leading southwest 48 miles (77 km) to Cortez and northeast over Lizard Head Pass 27 miles (43 km) to Telluride.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town of Rico has an area of 0.8 square miles (2.0 km2), all of it land.

Climate

Rico experiences an alpine subarctic climate (Köppen climate classification Dfc) with long, cold, very snowy winters and short, cool summers due to the high altitude and high precipitation year-round due to orographic lift.

Climate data for Rico, Colorado
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 38.2
(3.4)
39.9
(4.4)
43.4
(6.3)
50.5
(10.3)
60.7
(15.9)
70.6
(21.4)
75.4
(24.1)
73.2
(22.9)
66.6
(19.2)
58.2
(14.6)
45.8
(7.7)
39.5
(4.2)
55.2
(12.9)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 5.2
(−14.9)
7.6
(−13.6)
13.4
(−10.3)
20.9
(−6.2)
28.2
(−2.1)
33.7
(0.9)
40.3
(4.6)
39.6
(4.2)
32.7
(0.4)
24.8
(−4.0)
14.8
(−9.6)
7.2
(−13.8)
22.4
(−5.4)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 2.48
(63)
2.15
(55)
2.44
(62)
1.81
(46)
1.65
(42)
1.31
(33)
2.78
(71)
2.91
(74)
2.31
(59)
2.13
(54)
2.01
(51)
2.27
(58)
26.27
(667)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 32.1
(82)
26.5
(67)
30.8
(78)
18.5
(47)
6.0
(15)
0.1
(0.25)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0.5
(1.3)
7.6
(19)
21.5
(55)
26.2
(67)
171
(430)
Source: The Western Regional Climate Center

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1880 894
1890 1,134 26.8%
1900 811 −28.5%
1910 368 −54.6%
1920 326 −11.4%
1930 447 37.1%
1940 388 −13.2%
1950 212 −45.4%
1960 353 66.5%
1970 275 −22.1%
1980 76 −72.4%
1990 92 21.1%
2000 205 122.8%
2010 265 29.3%
2020 288 8.7%
Dey Building Rico CO
Dey Building, built in 1892 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places

Transportation

Rico is part of Colorado's Bustang network. It is on the Durango-Grand Junction Outrider line. Rico was a water stop on the Rio Grande Southern Railroad, the storied narrow gauge line running from Ridgway to Durango until the railroad was abandoned in 1952. The water tank used to refill the tenders of the steam locomotives still stands on the west side of the former grade, 73 years since it was last used.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Rico (Colorado) para niños

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