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24-685: The Wet Mountain Valley is nestled beneath the Wet Mountains on the east, and the Sangre de Cristo Range that parallels the valley on the west. Both mountain ranges are in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains system of the Southern Rocky Mountains . The valley is approximately 30 miles (48 km) long from north to south and 12 miles (19 km) wide with elevations of between 7,500 ft (2,300 m) and 9,000 ft (2,700 m). The two towns in

48-516: A Dfb climate (humid continental with warm summers and cold winters) in the Köppen Classification system and DCblo (humid continental with mild summers and cold winters) in the Trewartha climate classification system. At Westcliffe from 1948 to 2005, the warmest month was July with an average temperature of 62.9 °F (17.2 °C) and the coldest month was January with an average temperature

72-584: A combination saloon and gambling house in Walsenburg; his home at 320 West 7th Street still stands. The town is also remembered in sports history due to a famous newspaper gaffe ("Will Overhead") after the 1933 Indianapolis 500 . Walsenburg played a central role in the 1913-1914 Strike of the United Mine Workers of America against the Rockefeller -owned Colorado Fuel and Iron , an event better known as

96-438: A national landmark and have been named one of " Colorado's Seven Wonders " by The Denver Post . The Highway of Legends , connecting Walsenburg with La Veta , other historic mining towns, and Trinidad , is a National Scenic Byway . The Walsenburg Golf Course is a 9-hole public golf course open for play year round. The city opened a $ 2 million water park, "Walsenburg Wild Waters", after efforts by former mayor Maurice Brau and

120-505: A population of more than 1,000 people in 1880. The valley is drained by two major creeks, both of which rise in the Sangre de Cristos. Grape Creek begins in the south of Custer County near Music Pass and flows north into DeWeese Reservoir ; from there it enters a narrow gorge before reaching the Arkansas River . Texas Creek begins northwest of Westcliffe and flows to the northeast meeting

144-569: Is 23.3 °F (−4.8 °C). Precipitation was 14.44 in (367 mm) annually with the majority in the summer. Snowfall averaged 90.4 in (2,300 mm) annually. The highest elevations of the valley may have a Dfc (continental subarctic) climate. The surrounding mountains have an ET (arctic tundra) climate at elevations above about 11,500 ft (3,500 m) in elevation. 38°04′00″N 105°26′32″W  /  38.06666667°N 105.44222222°W  / 38.06666667; -105.44222222 This Colorado state location article

168-479: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Wet Mountains The Wet Mountains are a small mountain range in southern Colorado , named for the amount of snow they receive in the winter as compared to the dry Great Plains to the east. They are a sub-range of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains , in the southern Rocky Mountains System. There are three variant names of mountain range: Cuerno Verde , Greenhorn Mountains , and Sierra Mojada . Most of

192-497: Is known as the Seventh Street Massacre, which saw three miners die in a shooting perpetrated by newly minted Walsenburg deputies. The Battle of Walsenburg (April 28–29, 1914) was the penultimate engagement of National Guard and militia against pro-strikers during the 10-Day War stage of the conflict. Several men on both sides, as well as at least one uninvolved civilian, were killed before strikers withdrew. Walsenburg

216-416: Is located 2 miles (3 km) west of Walsenburg on US 160, opposite the entrance to Lathrop State Park . The building houses a state-operated veterans' retirement home and a community hospital that serves the area. Walsenburg has a humid subtropical climate ( Cfa ) with hot, rainy summers with cool nights and cool snowy winters with chilly nights. Lathrop State Park , located 2 miles (3 km) west of

240-555: Is mentioned in the Woody Guthrie song " Ludlow Massacre" . In 1927 the coal mines in Walsenburg were one of the many shutdown during the statewide strike led by the IWW . On June 19, 2013, Boy Scouts at Spanish Peaks Scout Ranch noticed an uncontrolled fire near East Spanish Peak which rapidly grew over the next few days, growing into the East Peak Fire . The entirety of Walsenburg

264-473: Is now a ghost town after a period of gold and silver mining over the past two centuries. The summit of SH 96 in Hardscrabble Canyon has no official name, but is known locally as Hardscrabble Pass , elevation 9085 ft (2769 m). Its broad saddle is just east of Silver Cliff. The summit of SH 165 is Bigelow Divide , elevation 9403 ft (2866 m), near Ophir Creek Campground. The intersection of

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288-525: The Colorado Coalfield War . The town was the site of a Colorado and Southern Railway stop and location of several gun-battles before and after the April 20, 1914 Ludlow Massacre that killed over a dozen women and children when Colorado National Guard opened fire on a striker encampment at Ludlow , 22 miles south of Walsenburg. Among the first instances of violence in Walsenburg during the coal strikes

312-613: The Wet Mountain Valley . The highest point is known as Greenhorn Mountain , which has multiple peaks, the highest of which reaches 12,346 feet (3,763 m). Greenhorn Peak, St. Charles Peak, and North Peak all reach above tree line . Most of the Wet Mountains are within the San Isabel National Forest . To the west the adjacent Wet Mountain Valley contains the small towns of Westcliffe and Silver Cliff . Within

336-683: The Arkansas River at US Highway 50 . A small part of the valley drains southward into the Huerfano River . In 2015, Westcliff and Silver Cliff became an International Dark Sky Community , the first in Colorado, the ninth in the world, and at the highest elevation of all dark sky communities. The designation as a dark sky community requires a local effort to limit light pollution. An observatory in Westcliffe welcomes tourists. The Wet Mountain Valley has

360-528: The City Council, on May 27, 2007. John Mall High School is the local high school. It is the only high school in Huerfano District Re-1. In the 2021–2022 school year, there was a total enrollment of 137 students. 56% of the enrollment was male and 44% was female. There was a student-to-teacher ratio of 27:1, which is higher than the Colorado state average of 15:1. 66% of the student body identified as

384-468: The Walsenburg city limits, is Colorado's first state park and is over 1,600 acres (6.5 km ) in size. Martin Lake and Horseshoe Lake offer fishing stocked by Colorado Parks and Wildlife , water skiing, boating, and jet skiing. Hiking and camping are other activities in the park, and it is the only state park in Colorado with a golf course. The Spanish Peaks , 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Walsenburg are

408-517: The Wet Mountains are within Custer County , stretching into Fremont County to the north, Huerfano County to the south, and Pueblo County to the east. The range runs approximately north to south from U.S. Highway 50 to Walsenburg a distance of more than 40 miles (64 km). The range is up to about 12 miles (19 km) wide and is bordered on the east by the Great Plains and on the west by

432-475: The center of Walsenburg, leading west across North La Veta Pass 72 miles (116 km) to Alamosa and south with I-25 to Trinidad. Colorado State Highway 10 leads northeast from Walsenburg 73 miles (117 km) to La Junta . According to the United States Census Bureau , Walsenburg has a total area of 3.2 square miles (8.2 km ), all of it land. The Spanish Peaks Regional Health Center

456-406: The mountains, Highway 96 weaves its way down to Wetmore by way of Hardscrabble Canyon and is one of only three main exits from the valley. The only other highway in the range is Highway 165 , which travels through the range to Rye and Colorado City , and can also be noted for Lake Isabel and Bishop's Castle . Other towns/communities in the small range include Beulah and Rosita , which

480-458: The southern end and in the northwest. The range lies on the southeast end of the Central Colorado volcanic field and contains Eocene to Oligocene (38–29 Ma) volcanic rocks and carbonatites . Walsenburg Walsenburg is the statutory city that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Huerfano County , Colorado , United States . The city population

504-445: The two highways, between Silver Cliff and Wetmore, is McKenzie Junction, elevation 8359 ft. The gravel road that connects SH 78 from Beulah to SH 165 is known locally as Bathtub Pass, for a discarded roadside clawfoot bathtub . The Wet Mountains are the east flank of an uplifted faulted anticline . The core of the range consists of Precambrian granitic rocks with Paleozoic and Mesozoic strata in fault contact around

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528-589: The valley are Westcliffe and Silver Cliff which are located side by side at an elevation of just under 8,000 feet (2,400 m). According to the U.S. census for 2020, Westcliffe has a population of 435 and Silver Cliff has a population of 609. DeWeese Reservoir is near the two towns. The valley is known for its historic ranches. Conservation easements preserve some of the ranches from sub-division and development. Silver mining attracted early settlers. The sparse remains of two former mining towns, Rosita and Querida , are 7 miles (11 km) east of Westcliffe. Both had

552-426: Was 3,049 at the 2020 census , down from 3,068 in 2010. Walsenburg was originally settled under the name of La Plaza de los Leones in 1859. The settlement was named after settler Don Miguel Antonio de Leon, who came along with others from New Mexico. A post office called Walsenburg has been in operation since 1870. The community was named after Fred Walsen, an early settler. Robert Ford , the famous gunman, operated

576-574: Was placed under a pre-evacuation notice. The fire burned 13,572 acres (54.92 km ) and was contained on July 9. Walsenburg is located in east-central Huerfano County, on the north side of the Cucharas River , at the eastern edge of the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains . Interstate 25 runs along the eastern edge of the city, with access from Exits 49, 50, and 52. I-25 leads north 48 miles (77 km) to Pueblo and south 36 miles (58 km) to Trinidad . U.S. Route 160 passes through

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