Colorado Web Cam

Carbondale, Colorado

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Carbondale (elevation 6,172 feet / 1,881 meters) is in Garfield County, Colorado, and is approximately 30 miles northwest of Aspen along CO-82. The town's population was 6,434 at the 2020 U. S. Census. Carbondale is in the Roaring Fork Valley and known as a premier outdoor recreation hub, a Certified Colorado Creative District, and a "down-to-earth" alternative to Aspen. Situated at the base of Mt. Sopris, it is famous for mountain biking (Red Hill), fly fishing, the 42-mile Rio Grande Trail, and the annual Carbondale Mountain Fair. Nearby Penny Hot Springs offers natural soaking opportunities.

The Roaring Fork and Crystal Valleys historically were a seasonal home and hunting ground of the Parianuche and Yampa bands of the Ute people. In the 1870s, white prospectors and settlers defied U.S. treaties with the Utes and entered the area in significant numbers and after a another phony agreement was signed that stole the Utes land, the Ute People were totally removed from the area. Then the State of Colorado created Garfield County on February 10, 1883, and the Carbondale post office opened on January 6, 1887.

Carbondale took its name from Carbondale, Pennsylvania, hometown of some of Carbondale's early white settlers. Carbondale's economy was initially agriculturally based. Despite the non-geologic origins of the town's name, the Carbondale area does in fact possess significant coal resources. Until the late 1980s Carbondale's economy was primarily based on coal operations up the Crystal River Valley. The coal mined from the area was favored for its high burning temperature, low sulfur content, and density. However, the coal deposits also contained significant amounts of methane gas. In 1981, a methane gas explosion killed 15 miners and by 1991 the mines closed down permanently. Today, Carbondale partly serves as a bedroom community to Aspen.

Carbondale, features an alpine-influenced, semi-arid mountain climate. Summer is warm and mostly dry. Daytime highs peak in the mid-80s°F in July, its warmest month. In the winter, its freezing and snowy. Average winter highs hover in the 30s°F, with overnight lows dipping into the 10s°F. Carbondale receives around 45.5 inches of seasonal snowfall (115.5 cm) per season, but those living at the higher elevations see much more, upwards of more than 100 inches (254 cm) of snowfall.

Coryell Ranch, Carbondale, CO
(from Coloradowebcam.net)

Hwy 82, Up Valley, Carbondale, CO
(from Coloradowebcam.net)

Down Valley, Carbondale, CO
(from Coloradowebcam.net)

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