La Junta, Colorado

La JuntaHOON-tə^[8] is a home rule municipality in, the county seat of, and the most populous municipality in Otero County, Colorado, United States.^[9] The city population was 7,322 at the 2020 United States census. La Junta is located on the Arkansas River in southeastern Colorado 68 miles (109 km) east of Pueblo. The city is the home of Otero College and hosts the annual Tarantula Fest.

La Junta (Spanish for 'the junction')^[10] was named for the fact it rested at the intersection of the Santa Fe Trail and a pioneer road to Pueblo.^[11] The town developed near Bent's Fort, a fur trading post of the 19th century. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway passed through La Junta, with a branch line to Denver separating here.

During World War II, La Junta had an Army Air Force Training Base outside town. An Air Force detachment of the Strategic Air Command remained there until modern flight simulators developed in the 1980s rendered live flight unnecessary for pilot training maneuvers. At least one military aircraft crashed closeby during such training maneuvers.^[12]

The area is high plains terrain, dry with short grass prairie and sagebrush, and is part of the Southwestern Tablelands ecological region. This area of Colorado is often the warmest. Summer brings numerous days above 100 °F (37.8 °C). The hottest temperature recorded in La Junta was 110 °F (43.3 °C) on June 28, 1990, and June 24, 2012, while the coldest temperature recorded was −23 °F (−30.6 °C) on January 20, 1948.^[13]

There were 7,568 people, 2,977 households, and 1,964 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,652.0 inhabitants per square mile (1,023.9/km²). There were 3,277 housing units at an average density of 1,148.3 per square mile (443.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 74.22% White, 1.22% African American, 1.77% Native American, 0.86% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 18.33% from other races, and 3.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 43.60% of the population.

There were 2,977 households, out of which 33.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were married couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.1% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,002, and the median income for a family was $36,398. Males had a median income of $26,325 versus $21,324 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,928. About 16.8% of families and 21.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.4% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.

Los turistas vienen a ver tarántulas que buscan pareja durante el clima más fresco en septiembre y hasta octubre de cada año, en particular durante el Festival de la Tarántula . ^{[ 16 ]} El Sitio Histórico Nacional Bent's Old Fort , un importante puesto comercial a lo largo del Camino de Santa Fe , está al noreste de La Junta. El Museo Indio Koshare , ubicado en Otero College , alberga una colección de artefactos nativos americanos . El museo indio Koshare alberga un programa único de Boy Scouts / Exploradores que entrena a los Scouts tanto en danza nativa americana como en la confección de trajes tradicionales. Los Scouts ofrecen presentaciones de danza durante el verano y también reciben tropas Scout de otras áreas. El sitio de huellas del río Purgatoire , uno de los sitios de huellas de dinosaurios más grandes de América del Norte, está al sur de La Junta.

El Caboose es el autoservicio del State Bank, que se fundó en 1893. El banco ha sido remodelado con antigüedades, incluyendo una fila de cajeros de finales de la década de 1890.

La ciudad cuenta con el periódico diario The Tribune-Democrat . También cuenta con una emisora ​​de radio local que transmite en AM y FM. Estas son KBLJ 1400 AM y KTHN 92.1 FM. ^{[ 17 ]}

• La película Malas tierras (1973) de Terrence Malick , protagonizada por Martin Sheen y Sissy Spacek, filmó escenas en La Junta y sus alrededores.
• La película Mr. Majestyk (1974), de Richard Fleischer , protagonizada por Charles Bronson , utilizó varios exteriores e interiores de La Junta, incluyendo el hospital y la comisaría, así como la calle principal para el tiroteo en el centro de la ciudad y varias calles del pueblo para partes de la persecución automovilística.
• Las escenas de la miniserie de televisión Centennial , de 1978-79 , se filmaron en el Sitio Histórico Nacional Bent's Old Fort , justo al este de La Junta.
• En la película The Net (1995), el personaje de Sandra Bullock , Angela Bennett, es de La Junta.
• En la película de 1946 Sin reservas , protagonizada por John Wayne y Claudette Colbert, quedan varados en la estación de tren de La Junta. El personaje de Wayne es un piloto de la Infantería de Marina y se dirigen al aeródromo del Ejército para intentar tomar un vuelo a California.
• En la película de 1952, The Narrow Margin, uno de los mafiosos que busca asesinar a la esposa de un jefe de la mafia cuando esta se dirige a Los Ángeles para testificar, sube al tren Southwest Chief durante una parada en La Junta.

• Lista de municipios en Colorado

• Sitio web oficial