Gypsum, Colorado

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Town of Gypsum, Colorado
Home Rule Municipality
Location in Eagle County and the state of Colorado
Location in Eagle County and the state of Colorado
Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Country  United States
State  Colorado
County[1] Eagle
Incorporated (town) November 25, 1911[2]
Government
 • Type Home Rule Municipality[1]
 • Mayor Steve Carver[3]
Area
 • Total 3.7 sq mi (9.5 km2)
 • Land 3.7 sq mi (9.5 km2)
 • Water 0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation[4] 6,312 ft (1,924 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 6,477
 • Density 1,750.5/sq mi (681.8/km2)
Time zone MST (UTC-7)
 • Summer (DST) MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP code[5] 81637
Area code(s) 970
FIPS code 08-33695
GNIS feature ID 0175853
Website Town of Gypsum
Gypsum, Colorado from the hills north of town.

The Town of Gypsum is the Home Rule Municipality that is the most populous municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population was 6,477 at the 2010 census. Gypsum is the home of an American Gypsum drywall plant and mine.

History

The town was named for nearby gypsum deposits,[6] and was incorporated in 1911.[7]

Geography

Map pointer
Map of Eagle County
Gypsum is on I-70 in western Eagle County.

Gypsum is located at Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (39.644499, -106.940232).[8]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.7 square miles (9.6 km2), all of it land.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1920 164
1930 165 0.6%
1940 245 48.5%
1950 345 40.8%
1960 358 3.8%
1970 420 17.3%
1980 743 76.9%
1990 1,750 135.5%
2000 3,654 108.8%
2010 6,477 77.3%
Est. 2014 6,797 [9] 4.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[10]

As of the census[11] of 2000, there were 3,654 people, 1,150 households, and 917 families residing in the town. The population density was 992.8 people per square mile (383.4/km²). There were 1,210 housing units at an average density of 328.8 per square mile (127.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 81.28% White, 0.16% African American, 1.31% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 15.00% from other races, and 1.97% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 31.31% of the population.

There were 1,150 households out of which 51.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.8% were married couples living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.2% were non-families. 12.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.17 and the average family size was 3.47.

In the town the population was spread out with 33.1% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 38.7% from 25 to 44, 17.2% from 45 to 64, and 2.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 110.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $59,671, and the median income for a family was $62,384. Males had a median income of $40,139 versus $29,764 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,790. About 4.4% of families and 5.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.4% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Gypsum is the location of the Eagle County Regional Airport (EGE), a popular regional airport used in the winter to transport skiers to nearby Vail.

Education

Eagle Valley High School is located in Gypsum.

American Gypsum

The old mine in 2006, looking east from the haul road.

The largest industry in the town is American Gypsum (formerly CENTEX and before that, Eagle Gypsum Limited)'s drywall plant. The facility produces a variety of wallboard products, which is shipped by both rail and truck.
The company also operates an open pit gypsum mine in the hills north of town. The mine currently in operation is the second to have been located in the area. Its grade is quickly dropping, and the company intends to close and reclaim it soon. A new mine, roughly a mile away, has been permitted, and is currently in the development stage. Unlike most surface mines, which utilize drill and blast methods to recover material, the Eagle mine uses machines similar to pavement mills (Wirtgen 2200 SM Surface Miners) to cut 6-inch-deep (150 mm) swaths through the relatively soft rock. Front-end loaders then sort the material by color (white is gypsum, brown is waste) and load it into trucks to be hauled either to the plant or to waste piles (although recently, some of the waste has been used to construct the haul-road to the new mine.)

See also

Climate

This climate type is dominated by the winter season, a long, bitterly cold period with short, clear days, relatively little precipitation mostly in the form of snow, and low humidity. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Gypsum has a subarctic climate, abbreviated "Dfc" on climate maps.[12]

Climate data for Gypsum, Colorado
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 1
(33)
4
(39)
8
(46)
14
(57)
20
(68)
26
(78)
30
(86)
28
(82)
24
(75)
17
(62)
8
(46)
1
(33)
15.1
(58.8)
Average low °C (°F) −16
(3)
−13
(8)
−7
(19)
−3
(26)
0
(32)
3
(37)
7
(44)
6
(42)
1
(33)
−3
(26)
−9
(15)
−15
(5)
−4.1
(24.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 23
(0.9)
15
(0.6)
20
(0.8)
20
(0.8)
20
(0.8)
23
(0.9)
30
(1.2)
28
(1.1)
30
(1)
23
(0.9)
18
(0.7)
23
(0.9)
273
(10.6)
Source: Weatherbase [13]

References

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  12. Climate Summary for Gypsum, Colorado
  13. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Retrieved on October 2, 2013.

External links