The San Luis Valley is a region in middle-south Colorado with small, overlapping portions to New Mexico. This is the Rio Grande upstream. It contains 6 districts and 3 other sections. The valley was handed over to the United States by Mexico after the Mexican-American War. Hispanic settlers began to move north and settle in the valley after the United States entered into an agreement with Utes and established a fortress. Before the Mexican war, the Spanish and Mexican governments had reserved the valley to Utes, their allies. During the 19th century Anglo settlers settled in the valley and engaged in irrigated mining and agriculture. Today the valley has a varied Anglo and Hispanic population.
It is a high altitude precipitation deposition of approximately 8,000 square miles (21,000 km 2 ) with an average height of 7,664 feet (2,336 m) above sea level. The valley is part of the Rio Grande Rift and dried to the south by the Rio Grande, which rises in the San Juan Mountains to the west of the valley and flows south to New Mexico. The valley is approximately 122 miles (196 km) wide and 74 miles (119 km) wide, stretching from the Continental Divide on the northwest bank to New Mexico in the south. The San Luis Valley has a cold desert climate but has great water resources from the Rio Grande and groundwater.
Video San Luis Valley
Histori
Utes
Prior to 1868, the band Capote (Kapota) Indian Ute tribe lived in the valley. Utes made a peace treaty with the United States in 1849 shortly after the Mexican War. Shortly after that settlers from New Mexico established several small settlements in what is now Colorado and in 1868, Utes was transferred to a reservation in western Colorado. They continued to play a role in Saguache in the northwest corner of the valley of the Los Pinos Agency to the west of Saguache until they lost their vast reservations as a result of Meeker Massacre in 1879.
Spanish and Mexican Administration
The area was administered as part of Spain, then Mexico, the province of Nuevo Mexico until it was submitted to the United States in 1848 after the Mexican-American War in the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty.
United States Administration
Extensive settlements began in the Valley, mainly by Hispanic farmers and ranchers from New Mexico, in the 1850s after the construction of Fort Massachusetts by the US Army for protection against Utes, which had previously banned the settlers. The history of the postwar US military presence in the Valley was preserved at Fort Garland and other sites in the Valley, which became part of the Colorado Region in 1861. The land in the valley was surveyed by the United States using New Mexico Meridian and Baseline, unlike other Colorados. The valley was one of eight candidate sites to detonate the first atomic bomb when the White Sands Proving Ground was chosen for Trinity (a nuclear test). Today, this Valley has the largest original Hispanic population in Colorado; many families are directly from native New Mexico. The original Ute population was confined to the southern Indian Ute reservation and Ute Mountain in the late 19th century.
The valley is the area passed by villain Felipe Espinosa.
Maps San Luis Valley
Geography
The San Luis Valley is a wide, generally flat valley, upstream of the Rio Grande River in south central Colorado and farther north of central New Mexico. The northern part of the San Luis Valley is an endorheic basin, which says that surface water does not come out of this area, but farming is possible in the area because an average of 100 inches of snow falls around the mountains it receives. The southern part is drained by the Rio Grande.
There is no clear southern boundary but the term is generally used to include San Luis Hills in southern Colorado and Taos Plateau in northern New Mexico. About 50 miles east to west and about 150 miles from north to south, this valley is bordered on the east by the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and on the west by the San Juan Mountains.
In Colorado, the San Luis Valley is generally thought to consist of six counties in Colorado: Saguache, Alamosa, Rio Grande, Conejos, Costilla, and Minerals. The main cities are: Alamosa, Monte Vista, Del Norte, South Fork, Creede, Saguache, Center, Fort Garland, San Luis, Antonito, La Jara, Capulin, Manassa, Sanford, Crestone, Villa Grove, Hooper, Mosca, San Acacio and a number of smaller locations. Some other countries in Colorado have some land in the Rio Grande Valley including Archuleta County, Hinsdale County, and San Juan County.
The Blanca Peak stands out in the Sierra Blanca at the southern end of the northernmost part of the mountains, known as the Sangre de Cristo Range. There are several tracks, with altitudes between 9,000 and 10,000 feet (2,700 and 3,000 m), giving access to the valley. North La Veta Pass, via Sangre de Cristo Mountains, is used by US Highway 160 and by San Luis and Rio Grande Railroad (formerly a branch of the Denver & Rio Grande Western line). Other passes used historically are Medano, Mosca, and Sangre de Cristo Passes.
The Great Sand Dunes is a well known feature in the valley. They are located just west of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The dunes can reach a height of 750 feet (230 m). The Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preservation is now in place to protect the dunes and the many archaeological sites found in the area. The natural valley aquifer is close to the surface in this part of the valley, and helps maintain the water level at San Luis Lakes, just west of the dunes.
The altitude increases as you go north in the valley to Poncha Pass, which is used now by US Highway 285 and historically by narrow gauges from the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad. Otto Mears, later from Saguache, built and operated the historic highway above the Poncha Pass at the northern end of the valley to the San Luis Valley during the 19th-century Colorado mining era when the valley was the gateway to the country of San Juan and Gunnison and the Ute Institution was at mountains to the west of Saguache.
Cumbres Pass is a 10,015 ft pass between Antonito, Colorado and Chama, New Mexico. This pass is traversed by State Highway 17 and Cumbres and the Toltec Scenic Railroad (originally built as the San Juan Extension of Denver and the Rio Grande Railroad running into Durango, Colorado). From upstream the Rio Grande Wolf Creek Pass is the US Highway 160 route between Del Norte, Colorado, and Pagosa Springs, Colorado, while the Slumgullion Pass is the State Highway 149 route between US Highway 160 and Lake City, Colorado. The Stony Pass, sometimes spelled Stoney Pass, the historic cart to the San Juans mining camps, is now a jeep path. At the northern end of the valley, the North Pass is the State Highway 114 route between Saguache, Colorado and Gunnison, Colorado, passing the original route through Cochetopa Pass, now a county road.
Rio Grande follows the course through the southern valley of Del Norte to the southeast through Alamosa to New Mexico. South Alamosa is joined by several streams from the west including the Alamosa River and the Conejos River and Culebra Creek from the east. Most of the northern valley is an endorheic basin called the San Luis Closed Basin. In general, inside the Closed Basin, large rivers like Saguache Creek, San Luis Creek, and rivers from the western side of Sangre de Cristos flow only short distances to the valley floor as surface runoff. Only in very wet years, perhaps every 20 years, whether the flow system in the Closed Basin flows as a unit connected to Lake San Luis at the low point of the Closed Basin to the west of the Great Sand.
Ownership and land management
About 50% of 2,000,000 acres (810,000 ha) in San Luis Valley are privately owned. Much of the land in the southern part of the Valley, in Conejos and the Costilla district, was originally part of a Mexican land grant and was a private land.
500,000 hectares (200,000 ha) on the border of the valley (generally adjacent to the National Forest Land) is managed by the Land Management Bureau, BLM, a division of the US Department of the Interior. This land is usually rented to a neighboring farm for grazing at a nominal cost. Part of the value of a farm is the continuing BLM or National Forest land.
Public land in the mountains surrounding the San Luis Valley is generally part of the Rio Grande National Forest and is managed by the US Forest Service.
The area of ​​private land has been divided into subdivisions of many small "farms" or has been sold or donated to the Federal government and is part of the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Conservation, other wildlife sanctuaries and state wildlife sites..
Geology
The San Luis Valley, containing alluvial basins, the Alamosa Valley, is located at the northern end of the Rio Grande Pass. A deeper alluvial strain, above it Precambrian basement rock, Eocene alluvial deposits of shallow Laramide depression, Blanco Basin Formation; and Oligocene ash and lava flows associated with the Conejos Formation, are the Santa Fe formations, alluvium blends and lava flows from the San Juan volcanic fields to the west; then the strata consists of Alamosa formations, layers of sand, gravel, and clay alternately. The clay layer is relatively watertight trapping ground in "finite aquifer" which, if tapped, supplies artesian wells. Surface water, including the Rio Grande and other rivers, is hydrologically connected to the "free aquifer" of a shallow groundwater formation underlying many valleys. The deeper enclosed aquifers also have adequate hydrological connections with the valley water surfaces that they are not considered for "nontributary" Colorado water waters that are legally mined. The flow that flows into the valleys, especially the Rio Grande, has placed alluvial fans where they emerge from the higher plains to the bottom of the valley.
Ancestral Rockies, Central Colorado Cross, and San Luis-Uncompahgre Plateau
The gap between the Precambrian bedrock and the Eocene alluvial deposits in the San Luis Valley is seen as evidence that most of southern Colorado, including the western part of the San Luis Valley, was a plateau in the period before Eocene Eocene, 56 to 34 millions of years ago. There is a lowland to the north in central Colorado, the Colorado valley, east-west valley. From the highlands to the west, in Paleozoic, Pennsylvanian, and Permian times that rough alluvial deposits of the Sangre de Cristo Formation like the Crestone Conglomerate originated. The Minturn Formation, an exemplified limestone formation on Marble Mountain at the top of Sangre de Cristos, is a testament to the ocean at Central Colorado Trough during the Ancestral Rockies era.
Parts of Northwest Interior
In the Middle and Late Cretaceous era, about 100 million years ago, the San Luis Valley lies on the coast or below the Western Interior Section, the shallow sea that divides North America into two parts. As the sea deepens and the sand and gravel expands from the mountains in the west that settle in the Dakota Formation; then, when the deeper sea of ​​mud and sand was deposited in the Mancos Shale. The Lexam oil that plays near Crestone is based on the hypothesis that oil is trapped in the Dakota Formation rocks located beneath Mancos Shale west of the Sangre de Cristo fault at the western base of Sangre de Cristo Range to the southwest of Crestone. Drilling at the bottom of the range during the exploration of the surrounding gold shows a small amount of oil and evidence of the existence of the formation as well as the underlying Morrison Formation. Prior to this invention it is assumed that this formation has been eroded during the Laramide orogeny.
Laramide orogeny
The construction of the Rocky Mountains by folding during the Laramide orogeny 80 to 55 million years ago created the plateau, the appointment of San Luis-Brazos, in the San Luis Valley area. This process of more than 30 million years resulted in high and very eroded peneplain where the San Luis Valley is today. There is a hollow in the west that may have been dried in the west through a historical path followed by the San Juan River. The sediment deposition formed in the basin during the Eocene remained beneath the western part of the San Luis Valley.
External links and further reading
- Geological History of the Park and Conservation of the Great Sand Dunes
- "2007 Rocky Mountain Section Friends of the Pleistocene Field Trip - Quarter Geology of the Basin of San Luis Colorado and New Mexico, 7-9 September 2007"
Agriculture and wildlife
Much of the land in the San Luis Valley is used for grazing. Agriculture is generally concentrated in Conejos County and in the vicinity of Alamosa, Monte Vista and the Center. The main plants include potatoes, head lettuce, oats, and barley. The barley grown here is the main supplier for Coors beer company. In 1982, quinoa was successfully grown for the first time outside South America in the San Luis Valley of Colorado, and commercial growth has taken place since 1987. Less favored areas with shorter growing seasons and fewer access to water rights tend to be devoted to alfalfa and grazing. Large areas, especially in Saguache County, Colorado have high water levels or even flood parts of the year. Uncapped fields are often covered with "chico", low brushes such as rabbit brushes, greasewood and other wood species. Plants are usually irrigated with large central (1/4-mile) pivot irrigation systems, and a common feature of the Rio Grande Delta area where the Rio Grande enters the valley is a large pile of potato-sized rocks filtered from the ground.
This area supports a wide range of wildlife. Sandhill cranes migrate through the valleys every spring and fall. The Monte Vista Crane Festival takes place in March, centering on wildlife protection located six miles (10 km) south of the city. The valley is a flying path for many migratory birds including avocets, bald eagles, goldfinches, and a large number of hawk varieties.
Artistic community
There are more than 500 famous artists living in the San Luis Valley as evidenced by the onging directory run by the Monte Vista art group The Art Thing The Art Thing's membership offers several nationally-recognized artists working in various media. Monte Vista is also home to the Monte Arts Council as well as several festivals and art tours that draw artists from as far back as California and North Carolina.
San Luis Valley is home to five live, active theaters, two at Adams State University, The Creede Repertory Theater, The Old Spanish Trails Theater Company and Rocky Mountain Stage in Monte Vista. In August there are two major Music festivals, the Crestone Music Festival and the Spanish Trail Music Festival and the Mexican Rodeo. Music in the valley has two well-known sponsors at the South Fork Music Association and Live Music Association Alamosa.
Demographics
Most of the inhabitants of the San Luis Valley are Hispanics with historic populations in the Costilla and Conejos region inhabited by early migrants from New Mexico. There is a small Amish community recently established.
Economy
Especially agriculture in nature, this area is also one of the poorest rural areas in Colorado. Tourism has become a more important part of the economy in recent years, coupled with efforts to establish the area as a retired community. Adams State University, a four-year state college in Alamosa, with approximately 2,500 students, is the primary educational institution in the Valley. It is equipped with the Trinidad State Junior College campus in Alamosa. San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center, acute care hospital and specialist clinic is the largest company in the Valley with more than 600 employees. Art became an increasing force in developing the economy of San Luis Valley.
Tourist attractions
Suggested sights by National Geographic Traveler include Monte Vista Crane Festival in March, Los Caminos Antiguos, regional road network, Luther Bean Museum at Adams State University, Sand Dunes Swimming Pool Swimming and Gallery Firedworks on Main Street in Alamosa for the history and art of the area, and regional Mexican food. Also recommended near Alamosa for wildlife viewing is The Alamosa Ranch north of the city and Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge in the southeast. To the northeast of Alamosa is located in San Luis State Park and San Luis Lakes and Great Sand Dunes National Park (turn east on Mosca, Colorado from State Highway 17 to State Highway 150, after you see or visit the Great Sand Dunes, south to Ft. Garland.) Near Great Sand Dunes, where only camping is available, Great Sand Dunes Lodge and Nature Conservancy's Zapata Ranch are recommended for lodging.
In Fort Garland, southern Colorado of the Great Sand Dunes on US Highway 160, the Fort Garland Museum is recommended and further south on State Highway 159 in San Luis, Colorado, the oldest city in Colorado, a bronze statue by Huberto Maestas, depicting the Crusaders Station. From San Luis, the National Geographic travel journey west on State Highway 142 via Manassa, Colorado, then south on US Highway 285 past Conejos, Colorado then west on State Highway 17 via Cumbres Pass to Chama, New Mexico aligning the route from narrow gauge Cumbres & amp; Toltec Scenic Railroad.
Rock climbing and camping are available at Penitente Canyon and other locations.
Solar energy
The San Luis Valley is an alpine desert environment that is conducive to solar energy production. It has the highest concentration per capita home-based solar energy system in the United States. There are a number of industrial scale solar power plants that have been built or are being considered. Colorado Law requires that 30% of the power used in the country be produced from renewable sources by 2020. It also requires that 3% of the power generated be used on or near where generated, distributed generations. There is an active market in selling or renting land that will be used for solar facilities. In 2007 when SunEdison, an 8.2 megawatt solar photovoltaic plant near the city of Mosca, Colorado, built it is the largest solar electric facility in the United States. On December 11, 2009, more than 125 people gathered to respond to a proposal by Tessera Solar affiliated with Stirling Energy Systems to install 8,000 40-foot parabolic mirrors on an area of ​​1,500 hectares (6.1 km 2 ) close Saguache, Colorado. The problem is the expected noise generated by the widely used stirrer engine to position the collector and the wisdom of the industrial solar facility. Applications for permits were withdrawn on July 11, 2011. There is also controversy over the proposed transmission lines through both Poncha and La Veta lines, which will open the door for industrial solar development. Opposition to the proposed transmission line has resulted in possible delays in the development of solar facilities by Xcel Energy which together with the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association serve the valley.
Note
External links
- NPS.gov: Great Sand Dunes National Park Geology Fieldnotes
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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