Chama

History

Chama was originally part of the Tierra Amarilla Land Grant. In 1880 the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad began construction of its San Juan Extension from Antonito, Colorado westward toward a mining district in the northern San Juan Basin of Colorado. The railroad needed an engine terminal for helper locomotives, near to the western foot of the steep gradient toward Cumbres Pass. It chose a site on the western bank of the Rio Chama where the railroad crossed it, for the terminal and its supporting townsite, naming the village for the river crossing. Train service began on February 1, 1881 and a post office was established that year. The northern valley of the Rio Chama had extensive coniferous forest, with dense stands of Ponderosa pine. Timber harvesting and sawmilling rapidly developed from the early 1880's, and was a major industry into the 1930's. Chama is now the western terminus of the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, a steam-driven, narrow gauge heritage railway which carries visitors to and from Osier, Colorado, and Antonito, Colorado, during the summer months. This is the remaining 64 mile portion of the Denver & Rio Grande's San Juan Extension between Alamosa, and Durango, Colorado. The tracks from Chama westward to Durango were abandoned in September 1967 and torn up soon afterwards.

Geography

Chama is located on the Rio Chama, south of the Colorado border. According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of , all of it land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Black-billed Magpie

  Pica hudsonia (Sabine, 1823) · Aves
  535
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  479
• Northern Flicker

  Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  415
• Steller's Jay

  Cyanocitta stelleri (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  410
• Lewis's Woodpecker

  Melanerpes lewis (G.R.Gray, 1849) · Aves
  402
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  355
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  327
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  273

Largest nearby schools

• CHAMA ELEMENTARY
  Elementary · CHAMA · 75 students · 8.3:1 ratio
• CHAMA MIDDLE
  Middle · CHAMA · 40 students · 20:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.5 — 2026-07-05
  17 km WSW of Los Ojos, New Mexico
• M 2.5 — 2026-07-05
  26 km WSW of Los Ojos, New Mexico
• M 2.6 — 2026-05-04
  26 km WSW of Los Ojos, New Mexico
• M 3.6 — 2025-12-15
  22 km WSW of Los Ojos, New Mexico
• M 2.9 — 2025-12-08
  11 km NNE of Gallina, New Mexico
• M 3.2 — 2025-11-03
  26 km WSW of Los Ojos, New Mexico