Dotsero, Colorado

Dotsero
—  CDP  —
Houses in Dotsero, Colorado along the south side of Interstate 70, along the Eagle River.
Dotsero Location within the state of Colorado
Coordinates: 39°39′0″N 107°3′30″W / 39.65°N 107.05833°W / 39.65; -107.05833Coordinates: 39°39′0″N 107°3′30″W / 39.65°N 107.05833°W / 39.65; -107.05833
Country	United States
State	Colorado
County	Eagle
Time zone	Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
– Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP codes
FIPS code
GNIS feature ID

Dotsero is a census-designated place in western Eagle County, Colorado in the United States. The population as of the 2010 Census was 705.^[1] It is located at the confluence of the Eagle River with the Colorado River, along U.S. Highway 6 and Interstate 70, near the head of Glenwood Canyon, approximately 5 miles (8 km) west of Gypsum. The town consists mostly of a cluster of houses and trailers on both sides of the Eagle River.

Railroad

Dotsero was an important railroad junction point and is located at the southern end of the Dotsero Cutoff of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. The northern end of cutoff was named Orestod (Dotsero spelled backwards) near Bond, Colorado.

Ferdinand Hayden published an extensive survey of Central and Southwest Colorado in 1877,^[2] and used the location of the town of Dotsero as his "Dot Zero" (reference point) for his survey maps.^{[citation needed]} The station name exists from the construction of the Standard Gauge railroad line to Glenwood Springs in the 1890s.^{[citation needed]}

Currently^[when?] the railroad line to the east from this junction point over Tennessee Pass lies dormant.

Dotsero is at the confluence of the Eagle and Colorado Rivers in Eagle County.

Volcano

Dotsero is built at the base of Colorado's most recently active volcano, the Dotsero Crater, which, according to the United States Geological Survey, erupted 4,140 years ago.^[3]

The main industry at Dotsero for years consisted of making cinderblocks from the volcano.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ Colorado Trend Report 2: State and Complete Places (Sub-state 2010 Census Data). Missouri Census Data Center. Accessed 2011-02-25.
2. ^ Atlas of Colorado, http://swcenter.fortlewis.edu/inventory/HaydenMaps.htm 
3. ^ America's Volcanic Past, USGS, http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/LivingWith/VolcanicPast/Places/volcanic_past_colorado.html