Las Animas County, Colorado

Las Animas County Education, Geography, and History

Las Animas County is one of the 64 counties in the state of Colorado. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 15,507. The county seat is Trinidad. Las Animas County was created on February 9, 1866 from Huerfano County. The county takes its name from the Mexican Spanish name of the Purgatoire River, which means "River of the Lost Souls in Purgatory.

Etymology - Origin of Las Animas County Name

Las Animas County is named for the Spanish language name of the Animas River, "Rio de las Animas Perdidas," meaning "River of the Souls in Purgatory."

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Las Animas County History

Las Animas County was created in 1866 from part of Huerfano County.
In 1870 a bit more of Huerfano was added. In 1889 the eastern part was split off to form Baca County.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 4,775 square miles (12,368 km²), of which, 4,773 square miles (12,361 km²) of it is land and 3 square miles (7 km²) of it (0.06%) is water.

Trinidad, the county seat, is in the southern part of Colorado. The county is located in the Purgatoire River valley.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Northeast: Otero County; Bent County
• East: Baca County
• Southeast: Union County, N.M.
• Southwest: Colfax County, N.M.
• West: Costilla County
• Northwest: Huerfano County; Pueblo County
  

Education

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