SAN LUIS VALLEY

Millions of years ago, eruptions and massive earthquakes formed the largest alpine valley in the world, in which the floor lies 7,500 feet above sea level. The length of the San Luis Valley from north to south is approximately 122 miles long and about 74 miles wide. The size of the San Luis Valley is 8,194 square miles, which is larger than the State of Massachusetts but with only 4.9 persons per square mile compared to 767.6 in Massachusetts. Saguache County alone is larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined.

Nestled high in the Colorado Rockies, protected by 14,000 foot peaks, the San Luis Valley offers breathtaking scenery year round. The San Juan Range on the west is the continental divide. The spiny Sangre de Cristo Range on the east is one of Colorado's tallest mountain ranges. Mt. Blanca, the fourth tallest peak in Colorado, at 14,345 feet, towers over the San Luis Valley.

The San Luis Valley consists of Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Mineral, Rio Grande, and Saguache Counties in south-central Colorado, with a combined 1990 population of 40,207.

The Rio Grande and Conejos River are the major source of water and the agricultural life-blood of the area. The San Luis Valley is the State's leading producer of potatoes and brewing-grade barley, and also has extensive irrigated farming of alfalfa, cereal grains, spinach, lettuce, carrots, and livestock including cattle, sheep, and bison. Other major resources include timber from the foothills and mountains, mineral deposits, and geothermal wells and ponds.

The San Luis Valley floor is a semi-arid vista receiving approximately eight inches of moisture a year. Except for areas along streams, farmsteads, and cities, the Valley floor is more or less treeless and dominated by sagebrush ground cover, sandy soil or hardpan, a high water table, and alkali leaching in some locations.