Cotopaxi

History

The Cotopaxi, Colorado, post office opened on May 25, 1880. The town was named after Cotopaxi Volcano, one of the highest active volcanoes in the world, located in Ecuador. These colonists, most of whom were related, traveled to Colorado in hopes of starting a successful farming community and to reap the benefits of the new Homestead Act, which would grant each head male of a family of land. When the colonists arrived in Cotopaxi, they discovered that only half of the houses that were promised to be built upon their arrival had actually been erected; this forced many of the families to live out of small makeshift canvas houses during the first winter. In addition to the housing problems, the colonists faced an extreme shortage of supplies that were needed to support them through the first winter and to plant their crops.

Geography

Cotopaxi is lies on both sides of the Arkansas River, west of Cañon City, the county seat, and southeast of Salida. The Cotopaxi CDP has an area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Cotopaxi Junior-Senior High School
  High · COTOPAXI · 102 students · 11.3:1 ratio
• Cotopaxi Elementary School
  Elementary · COTOPAXI · 88 students · 11:1 ratio