The worst flood in the history of Pueblo, and one of the worst in Colorado history, struck on June 3–5, 1921. Between 150 and 250 people died in the deluge along the Arkansas River. The flood caused more than $25 million in damage, leading the entire…

In the early and mid-nineteenth century, when the western United States was in a seemingly unending state of flux as people competed for dominance over the land and its resources, three men moved to what would eventually become southeastern Colorado and…

On February 19, 2015, President Obama designated 21,586 acres of scenic canyons, rivers, and backcountry forest in Chaffee County, Colorado, as the Browns Canyon National Monument. Browns Canyon is the eighth national monument designation within the…

One of the most ecologically and culturally significant trees in Colorado, the plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides monilifera) thrives near rivers and riparian areas throughout the state. It is one of the only tree species to grow on Colorado’s Great…

Formed in 1911, Crowley County covers 800 square miles on Colorado’s southeastern Great Plains near the Arkansas River. It is bordered to the north by Lincoln County, to the east by Kiowa County, to the south by Otero County, and to the west by Pueblo…

Established in 1842, El Pueblo (301 N Union Ave, Pueblo, CO 81003) was an independent adobe trading post that operated at the site of the present-day city of Pueblo and was used by a diverse, multi-ethnic group of trappers, traders, women, and mountain…

Coloradans have maintained a complex relationship with the natural process of flooding. On one hand, inhabitants of the arid West—from early indigenous communities to current metropolitan populations—have been attracted to the many resources floodplains…

Fremont County is located in south-central Colorado, bordered by Park and Teller Counties to the north, El Paso County to the east, Pueblo County to the southeast, Custer County to the south, and Saguache and Chaffee Counties to the north. Fremont County…

The beautiful and imposing mountain scenery of Colorado’s Great Divide has led to the common belief that the state is home to a singular “Continental Divide.” The divide in Colorado, however, is only a piece of the larger Great Divide, a geologic crest…

Prowers County covers 1,644 square miles of the Great Plains and Arkansas River valley in southeastern Colorado. The rectangular county is bordered to the north by Kiowa County, to the east by the state of Kansas, to the south by Baca County, and to the…

Pueblo County covers 2,398 square miles in southeast Colorado, from the southern Front Range and Wet Mountains in the west to the Arkansas River valley and Great Plains in the east. It is bordered by El Paso County to the north, Crowley and Otero…

Salida is a city of about 6,000 in the Upper Arkansas River valley, surrounded by Colorado’s central Rocky Mountains. It is the county seat of Chaffee County. Salida is named for the Spanish word for “exit,” as it is located near the mouth of a canyon of…