Colorado State Forest Service

About forestry service, 80820, Guffey, CO, US, Colorado

Salida ( sə-LY-də; Spanish language: [saˈliða], "exit") is the statutory city that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Chaffee County, Colorado, United States. The population was 5,666 at the 2020 census. == History == The Arkansas, Colorado, post office opened on June 16, 1880, but was renamed Salida on March 28, 1881. Salida, meaning "exit" in Spanish, was named on account of its location near the point where the Arkansas River flows out of the valley and into Bighorn Sheep Canyon, upstream from the Royal Gorge. The Town of Salida was incorporated on March 23, 1891. The Denver & Rio Grande Railroad built a station at Salida, known at the time as "South Arkansas", bypassing the nearby community of Cleora. Rather than risk their settlement withering away from lack of rail service, it is said that the population of Cleora moved to Salida en masse. == Geography == According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.77 square miles (7.2 km2), and the Arkansas River, which runs through the town, is the major source of water for local agriculture. The Sawatch Range runs north and south and is located roughly 10 miles (16 km) west of Salida. The Mosquito Range parallels the Sawatch Range to the east, forming the Upper Arkansas Valley, and the southern terminus of the range, just east of Salida, is known locally as the Arkansas Hills.