BlockLas Animas, Colorado
18 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1981. It stands in the Las Animas census division. It lies in ZIP code area 81054. The Survey maps it on the Las Animas quadrangle. 2,300 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 3,898 feet above sea level.
Research this city
On record in Las Animas
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 7 records
Bent County Courthouse and Jaillisted 1976
Bent County High Schoollisted 2010
Boggsvillelisted 1986
Fort Lyonlisted 2004
Fort Lyon National Cemeterylisted 2017
Las Animas Post Officelisted 2008- Boggsville (Boundary Increase)listed 2022
Population over time
2 figuresLas Animas fell from 2,410 to 2,300 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2,410 | |
| 2020 | 2,300 | -110 (-5%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 18 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1891 USGS Las Animas quadrangle1:125000
- 1893 USGS Las Animas quadrangle1:125000, 5 printings
- 1953 USGS Las Animas quadrangle1:24000, 6 printings
- 1954 USGS Lamar quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Lamar quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1981 USGS Las Animas quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
79 since 1994Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 79 fires within 5 miles of Las Animas between 1994 and 2020, burning about 16,761 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 49 |
| Debris and open burning | 23 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 4 |
| Smoking | 3 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 September 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Las Animas-Bent County Fire Department | UNKNOWN |
| 21 July 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Las Animas-Bent County Fire Department | UNKNOWN |
| 18 June 2014 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Las Animas-Bent County Fire Department | UNKNOWN |
| 17 June 2014 | Equipment and vehicle use | 40 acres | Las Animas-Bent County Fire Department | UNKNOWN |
| 17 June 2014 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Las Animas-Bent County Fire Department | UNKNOWN |
| 3 May 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 acres | Colorado State Forest Service-State Headquarters | not named |
| 2 May 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.0 acres | Colorado State Forest Service-State Headquarters | not named |
| 16 May 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Colorado State Forest Service-State Headquarters | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
10 of 19 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 19 workings within 5 miles of Las Animas: 9 occurrences, 9 unknowns, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unk | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Unknown | ||
| Unknown | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Occurrence | Sedimentary | |
| Unknown | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Occurrence | Sedimentary | |
| Bent Builders | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Unk | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unk | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unk | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unk | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unk | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Unk | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown |
Storms near this place
60 of 127 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Las Animas in 127 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 71 hail, 24 thunderstorm wind, 18 tornado, 9 flash flood. The reports record 8 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 1997 | Tornado (F1) | Las Animas | 6 hurt, $200,000 | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Tornado (F1) | Las Animas | 1 hurt, $1,000,000 | A tornado caused severe damage to at least seven buildings at Mountain Prairie Hog Farms. Seven farrowing barns (380 feet x 60 feet) were destroyed. Only one pig was killed. A fire started in one of the structures when a gas line broke. Debris was scattered a few miles east southeast of the Farms. |
| June 2004 | Tornado (F2) | Las Animas | 1 hurt, $100,000 | A tornado struck a ranch destroying the house, and damaging other buildings and two mobile homes. The family of five sought shelter in an interior closet, and the lone injury was the mother, who suffered a minor gash on her forehead. |
| July 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Las Animas | $100,000 | Damaging thunderstorm winds downed 1 1/2 miles of power poles along Highway 101 around 7 miles south of Las Animas in Bent county. It took around 2 to 3 weeks to replace the poles. |
| August 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Las Animas | $75,000 | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Las Animas | $50,000 | Strong rear flank downdraft winds caused damage to horse barns and knocked down around 40 power poles along highway 101. This rear flank downdraft later tightening a circulation which caused a tornado at a ranch in extreme south central Bent county. |
| June 1995 | Tornado (F0) | Las Animas | $50,000 | Tornado downed some power lines in open country in northern part of county, but no other known damage. |
| October 1997 | Hail | Las Animas | $50,000 | no account filed |
| June 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Las Animas | $20,000 | Large cottonwood trees, taller than 25 feet, were uprooted at the Las Animas golf course. |
| October 1997 | Tornado (F1) | Las Animas | $20,000 | A line of thunderstorms moving east through western Bent county merged with a northeast moving supercell thunderstorm just west of Las Animas. The hail quickly grew from one inch in diameter up to 4.50 inches in diameter. A tornado and high winds skipped across the landscape for about 8 miles from about 3 miles west northwest of Las Animas through ranch country of north central Bent county. Windows were broken and roofs were destroyed on houses, outbuilding were damaged and destroyed, and vehicles were damaged and destroyed by both the high winds and hail. |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Las Animas | $7,000 | Damaging thunderstorm winds caused 10 power poles to go down, and knocked a semi-trailer on its side on Highway 101. |
| August 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Las Animas | $3,000 | no account filed |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Las Animas | $1,000 | Two power poles were snapped off. |
| July 1994 | Hail | Las Animas | $500 | Dime-size hail damaged crops near Las Animas. One farmer reported several rain gages were destroyed by the hail. |
| July 2025 | Hail | Las Animas | - | Report from mPING. Hail measured to 1.25 inches occurred in Bent County. |
| May 2024 | Hail | Las Animas | - | A trained spotter reported hail of 1.5 inches in diameter. |
| May 2024 | Hail | Las Animas | - | A trained spotter reported quarter size hail, with a few bigger stones estimated at 1.5 inches in diameter. |
| May 2024 | Hail | Las Animas | - | A public source reported hail of 1 inch in diameter. |
| May 2024 | Hail | Las Animas | - | A NWS employee reported hail the size of 1.25 inches in diameter. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Las Animas | - | Estimated Winds. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Las Animas | - | Window on northside of the house blew out due to wind and hail. |
| July 2023 | Flash Flood | Las Animas | - | Reports of flooding reaching to the doors of homes. Some roads were impassable due to high water. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Las Animas | - | Small limb damage also reported. |
| August 2022 | Flash Flood | Las Animas | - | Colorado DOT reports flooding on Highway 50 near mile marker 394 (between county road 5.5 and county road 6.25). |
| July 2022 | Heavy Rain | Las Animas | - | Heavy rainfall of 1.5 inches. |
| June 2022 | Tornado (EFU) | Las Animas | - | Storm Chaser showed pictures of tornado via social media. |
| June 2022 | Hail | Las Animas | - | Spotter reported one-inch hail. |
| June 2022 | Hail | Las Animas | - | Local Law Enforcement reported one-inch hail. |
| June 2022 | Tornado (EFU) | Las Animas | - | Initial updrafts of developing thunderstorms interacted with an outflow boundary and produced a landspout tornado, which was on the ground for approximately 10-15 mins. Numerous photos on social media showed a dusty landspout. This preceded the development of a mesocyclonic tornado farther east. |
| July 2020 | Tornado (EFU) | Las Animas | - | Multiple spotters and public reported a tornado moving through Bent County towards the City of Las Animas. No damage reported. |
| July 2017 | Flash Flood | Las Animas | - | Very heavy rain from a thunderstorm produced water in excess of 6 inches on streets in Las Animas and briefly flooded county roads near and south of John Martin Reservoir. |
| July 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Las Animas | - | A few trees and many tree limbs were downed in Las Animas. |
| July 2016 | Flash Flood | Las Animas | - | A storm produced flash flooding of arroyos and roadways in a rural area of southwest Bent County. |
| July 2014 | Flood | Las Animas | - | The Purgatoire River briefly went above flood stage east of Las Animas, causing minor agricultural flooding. |
| July 2014 | Flood | Las Animas | - | The Purgatoire River near Las Animas went above flood stage, causing minor agricultural flooding. |
| July 2014 | Flood | Las Animas | - | The Purgatoire River briefly went above flood stage east of Las Animas, causing minor agricultural flooding. |
| July 2014 | Flood | Las Animas | - | The Purgatoire River near Las Animas briefly went above flood stage causing minor agricultural flooding. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Las Animas | - | No known damage. |
| April 2010 | Tornado (EF0) | Las Animas | - | Tornado occurred over open country and caused no damage. |
| April 2010 | Tornado (EF0) | Las Animas | - | Tornado occurred over open country and caused no damage. |
| May 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Las Animas | - | Thunderstorm winds downed several tree branches...some as large as 6 inches in diameter. |
| July 2007 | Tornado (EF0) | Las Animas | - | Bent County sheriff's deputy reported a brief tornado in open country. There was no known damage. |
| June 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Las Animas | - | Strong thunderstorm winds caused 12 inch diameter tree limbs to be stripped off trees. |
| June 2004 | Tornado (F0) | Las Animas | - | A tornado occurred over open country with no known damage. |
| June 2004 | Tornado (F0) | Las Animas | - | A tornado occurred over open country with no known damage. |
| August 2004 | Flash Flood | Las Animas | - | Slow moving thunderstorms caused heavy rain which brought flash flooding to highway 194 just east of the Bent-Otero County line. |
| August 2004 | Flash Flood | Las Animas | - | Very heavy rain from a slow moving thunderstorm resulted in water over 6 inches deep to flow over highway 50 on the Bent-Otero County line. |
| August 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Las Animas | - | Strong thunderstorm winds knocked power poles down...caused large branches to be broken off trees...and caused a railroad crossing gate to be broken off. |
| August 2002 | Flash Flood | Las Animas | - | Heavy rain from severe thunderstorms flooded areas from extreme northeast Bent county to Mud Creek and Caddoa Creek south of highway 50. |
| June 2001 | Tornado (F0) | Las Animas | - | A tornado occurred over open country for a brief time and caused no known damage. |
| July 2000 | Tornado (F0) | Las Animas | - | A short-lived tornado moved through open country causing no known damage. |
| August 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Las Animas | - | A brief damaging wind lifted a 9-foot camper and threw it about 30 feet. |
| October 1997 | Tornado (F0) | Las Animas | - | The same supercell thunderstorm which spawned a tornado in southeast Otero county in the Higbee Valley dropped a brief, weak tornado west southwest of Las Animas in a ranch land area. Grass was laid down, but there was no known property or crop damage. Knowledge of this and other supercell tornadic thunderstorms moving east of La Junta prompted law enforcement to stop an eastbound Amtrak train and evacuate the 300 passengers around 9:00 p.m. The train was allowed to travel on to Chicago around 11:00 p.m. |
| May 1995 | Tornado (F0) | Las Animas | - | Brief touchdown at John Martin Reservoir over land and water, no damage. |
| June 1995 | Thunderstorm Wind | Las Animas | - | Thunderstorm winds of unknown intensity moved through the Las Animas vicinity. Six inch diameter limbs downed. |
| June 1995 | Hail | Las Animas | - | Brief tornado touchdown in open country with no known damage. |
| July 2023 | Hail | Las Animas | - | no account filed |
| June 2022 | Hail | Las Animas | - | no account filed |
| June 2022 | Hail | Las Animas | - | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Las Animas | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boggsville | 1.8 miles | 18 | |
| Las Animas Junction | 2.6 miles | 18 | |
| Melina | 3.0 miles | 18 | |
| Cornelia | 3.9 miles | 15 | |
| Keller | 4.1 miles | 18 | |
| Fort Lyon | 4.1 miles | 18 | |
| Riverdale | 5.0 miles | 15 | |
| Marlman | 7.0 miles | 15 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Las Animas | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q1987894 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 195526. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.