Rangely

History

The land is what makes the town of Rangely interesting. The land is the base from which all human events unfold, whether it is the geology that brought the miners and oil men, or the water that brought the Fremonts, the Utes, the explorers, the ranchers. To tell the story we must start back in the earlier history of the earth when a shallow sea encompassed most of the area around, 300 million years ago in what is labeled as the Pennsylvanian Period. and Permian geologic periods. During this time marine creatures would become fossils and can actually still be discovered around Rangely. Huge dunes were formed on the edges of this sea and became porous rock that is now known as the Weber Formation. This formed what is called an "anticline." An anticline is a ridge-shaped fold of stratified rock in which the strata slope downward from the crest. Then, as the sea receded, dinosaurs left bones and the extensive plant growth became oil and coal. The innumerable canyons, draws, and gullies of the area held creeks, rivers and streams which attracted the early Fremont and Ute peoples. The Fremont people migrated to the Rangely area from the Great Basin in south-central Utah between 400 B.C. and 650 A.D. What we know about the Fremont comes from the artifacts they left in the area and from their homes and campsites which we find in the nearby canyons. Evidence of the Fremont people is plentiful in and around Rangely; for example, the rock art on Colorado 139 and Dragon Trail are both examples of Fremont Art. A Fremont dwelling in Texas Creek Overlook was an atypical dwelling for the Fremont people. In many places around Rangely the art echoes images from other sites in the southwest. The art of the historical Utes records their history of conflict with the white settlers who…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land. The terrain is mountain desert and is dry for most of the year. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Rangely has a cold semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Rangely was on June 21, 1974, while the coldest temperature recorded was on February 15, 1895, and January 2, 1952. |source 2 = National Weather Service }}

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  239
• Black-billed Magpie

  Pica hudsonia (Sabine, 1823) · Aves
  154
• Spotted Towhee

  Pipilo maculatus Swainson, 1827 · Aves
  143
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  113
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  112
• Northern Flicker

  Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  111
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  108
• Yellow Warbler

  Setophaga petechia (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  100

Most recent

• M 3.1 — 2026-07-29
  24 km NNE of Maeser, Utah
• M 3.1 — 2026-06-01
  18 km NNE of Maeser, Utah
• M 3.3 — 2026-05-20
  16 km NNE of Maeser, Utah
• M 3 — 2026-04-09
  21 km NNE of Maeser, Utah
• M 2.8 — 2026-03-23
  29 km WNW of De Beque, Colorado
• M 3.1 — 2026-03-19
  20 km NNE of Maeser, Utah