| La Junta, Colorado | |
| Settlement Type: | Home rule municipality[1] |
| Pushpin Map: | USA |
| Pushpin Label Position: | right |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of the City of La Junta in the |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Colorado |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Otero County[2] |
| Subdivision Type3: | City |
| Subdivision Name3: | La Junta |
| Government Type: | Home Rule Municipality |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Jenny May |
| Leader Title1: | City Manager |
| Leader Name1: | Chief Keef |
| Leader Title2: | City Council |
| Leader Title3: | City Attorney |
| Leader Name3: | Phil Malouff |
| Leader Title4: | Police Chief |
| Leader Name4: | G. Todd Quick |
| Established Title2: | Incorporated |
| Established Date2: | April 23, 1881[3] |
| Unit Pref: | US |
| Area Footnotes: | [4] |
| Area Total Km2: | 8.24 |
| Area Land Km2: | 8.23 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.01 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 3.18 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 3.18 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.01 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Footnotes: | [5] |
| Population Total: | 7322 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | auto |
| Timezone: | Mountain (MST) |
| Utc Offset: | -7 |
| Timezone Dst: | MDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -6 |
| Coordinates: | 37.9814°N -103.5475°W |
| Elevation Footnotes: | [6] |
| Elevation M: | 1243 |
| Elevation Ft: | 4078 |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code[7] |
| Postal Code: | 81050 |
| Area Code: | 719 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 08-42110 |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 0204829 |
La Junta is a home rule municipality in, the county seat of, and the most populous municipality of Otero County, Colorado, United States.[8] The city population was 7,322 at the 2020 United States Census. La Junta is located on the Arkansas River in southeastern Colorado east of Pueblo. The city is home to Otero College.
La Junta (Spanish for)[9] was named for the fact it rested at the intersection of the Santa Fe Trail and a pioneer road to Pueblo.[10] The town developed near Bent's Fort, a fur trading post of the 19th century.
During World War II, La Junta had an Army Air Force Training Base outside town. An Air Force detachment of the Strategic Air Command remained there until modern flight simulators developed in the 1980s rendered live flight unnecessary for pilot training maneuvers. At least one military aircraft crashed close by during such training maneuvers.[11]
The area is high plains terrain, dry with short grass prairie and sagebrush, and is part of the Southwestern Tablelands ecological region. This area of Colorado is often the warmest. Summer brings numerous days above 100F. The hottest temperature recorded in La Junta was 110F on June 28, 1990, and June 24, 2012, while the coldest temperature recorded was -23F on January 20, 1948.
There were 7,568 people, 2,977 households, and 1,964 families residing in the city. The population density was 2652sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 3,277 housing units at an average density of 1148.3sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of the city was 74.22% White, 1.22% African American, 1.77% Native American, 0.86% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 18.33% from other races, and 3.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 43.60% of the population.
There were 2,977 households, out of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were married couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.06.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.1% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $29,002, and the median income for a family was $36,398. Males had a median income of $26,325 versus $21,324 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,928. About 16.8% of families and 21.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.4% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.
Tourists come to see tarantulas who are looking for mates during the cooler weather in September and into October each year.[12] Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site, an important trading post along the Santa Fe Trail, is northeast of La Junta. The Koshare Indian Museum, housed at Otero College, holds a collection of Native American artifacts. The Koshare Indian museum hosts a unique Boy Scout/Explorer program which trains the Scouts in both Native American dance and building traditional outfits. The Scouts give dance performances during the summer and also host Scout troops from other areas. Purgatoire River track site, one of the largest dinosaur track sites in North America, is south of La Junta.
The Caboose is the drive-through for the State Bank, which was established in 1893. The bank has been remodeled with antiques, including a teller line from the late 1890s.
The city is served by the daily newspaper The Tribune-Democrat.The city is also served by a local radio station that broadcasts in AM and FM. They are KBLJ 1400 AM and KTHN 92.1 FM.[13]
See also: La Junta (Amtrak station). La Junta, until recently, had a railroad yard for assembling freight trains for the climb over Raton Pass. BNSF runs freight trains between Denver and Kansas/Texas via La Junta. The sole remaining major train crossing Raton Pass today is the daily Southwest Chief, in both directions, between Los Angeles and Chicago.
U.S. Highway 50 travels through La Junta, approaching from Pueblo to the northwest and continuing eastward towards Lamar and into Kansas. U.S. Highway 350 begins at La Junta and travels southwest before reaching Trinidad. State Highway 10 also begins at La Junta and travels west-southwest before reaching Walsenburg.
The city operates a public bus system with one route that circles the city.[14] Intercity transportation is provided by Bustang. La Junta is part of the Lamar-Pueblo-Colorado Springs Outrider line.[15]
The former military airport, located 5miles north of La Junta, has 77acres of tarmac and two runways. One runway (east-west) is 6851feet long and the other is 5800feet. http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/la-junta.htm.
The city and region are served by the Arkansas Valley Regional Medical Center, located in La Junta.
See main article: List of people from La Junta, Colorado. Notable individuals who were born in La Junta include rodeo cowboy legend Lane Frost, novelists William Charles Anderson[16] and Ken Kesey,[17] baseball pitcher Tippy Martinez[18] and U.S. Army Col. Wendell Fertig, who led a guerrilla force against the Japanese in the Philippines during World War II.[19]