Montezuma County, Colorado

Montezuma County is the southwesternmost of the of the  of the. The county population was 23,830 at. The is.

,, , and preserve hundreds of ancient AmerIndian structures, including the famous cliff-dwellings, found in the county. Montezuma County is also home to most of the, home of the Weeminuche Band of the Ute Nation, known as the , with its headquarters at.

History
Montezuma County has been settled since approximately AD 600, and had an estimated population of approximately 100,000, four times its current population, in the 1100s. However, a series of events caused virtually all permanent settlements to be abandoned between 1200 and 1300, and the area was contested between nomadic Ute and Navajo bands until resettlement occurred in the 1870s. Montezuma County was created out of the western portion of La Plata County by the Colorado Legislature in April, 1889. It was named in honor of a famous chief of the Indians in Mexico,. The building ruins in Mesa Verde National Park were thought to be of Aztec origin at the time.



Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 5,284 (2,040 ). 5,275 km² (2,037 sq mi) of it is land and 9 km² (3 sq mi) of it (0.16%) is water.

Today, there are three incorporated municipalities in Montezuma County:, , and , and a large number of unincorporated communities, including Towaoc, Lewis, Arriola, Mesa Verde, Lebanon, Stoner, Weber, and Battle Rock.

A large county, roughly 1/3 is tribal land, 1/3 is federal land (administered by the, the and the ), and 1/3 private or state/county land. It is also varied topographically, ranging in elevation from about 6000 feet to more than 14,000 feet, and from high Colorado Plateau Desert to Alpine Tundra, and has the second largest reservoir in Colorado, McPhee Reservoir, many other large reservoirs, and hundreds of private lakes and ponds. Much of the county is irrigated cropland, and it produces fruit, large numbers of cattle and sheep, and beans. It is served by US Highways 160 and 491 (formerly the infamous US Highway 666), and by a Municipal Airport at Cortez. It has no rail service, although both Mancos and Dolores were established as railroad towns in the 1890s.

Adjacent Counties

 * - north
 * - northeast
 * - east
 * - south
 * - southwest
 * - west

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 23,830 people, 9,201 households, and 6,514 families residing in the county. The was 5/km² (12/sq mi). There were 10,497 housing units at an average density of 2/km² (5/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 81.72%, 0.14% or , 11.23% , 0.20% , 0.06% , 4.26% from , and 2.38% from two or more races. 9.50% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 9,201 households out of which 33.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.40% were living together, 10.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.20% were non-families. 24.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the county the population was spread out with 27.50% under the age of 18, 7.10% from 18 to 24, 26.30% from 25 to 44, 25.30% from 45 to 64, and 13.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 96.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,083, and the median income for a family was $38,071. Males had a median income of $30,666 versus $21,181 for females. The for the county was $17,003. About 13.10% of families and 16.40% of the population were below the, including 23.20% of those under age 18 and 14.40% of those age 65 or over.

National parks

 * administered by Bureau of Land Management
 * and
 * and

Other protected areas

 * now part of Canyons of the Ancients National Monument