La Junta, Colorado

La Junta is the Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Otero County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,077 at the 2010 United States Census. La Junta is located on the Arkansas River in southeastern Colorado east of Pueblo.

History

La Junta (Spanish for "the junction") rests at the intersection of the Santa Fe Trail with the Arkansas River. The town developed near Bent's Post, a fur trading post of the 19th century.

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 close by during such training maneuvers.

The airport, located 5 miles (8.0 km) north of La Junta, has 77 acres (31 ha) of tarmac and two runways which are still in use. One runway (east-west) is 6,851 feet (2,088 m) long and the other is 5,800 feet (1,800 m). .

La Junta (Amtrak station)

The La Junta Amtrak station is a train station in La Junta, Colorado, United States served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system. The Southwest Chief trains 3 & 4 stop here for 10–15 minutes. Westbound trains are scheduled to arrive at 8:15 AM and depart at 8:30 AM, while the eastbound trains arrive at 7:30 PM and depart at 7:41 PM (all times Mountain Time Zone). There are no facilities at the station itself beyond a toilet and beverage vending machine. La Junta was a major point along the Santa Fe Railroad, as a branch line to Pueblo and Denver started from here.

La Junta Station was originally built in 1955 as a replacement for the former Harvey House. The freight house, which was part of the previous station was spared from being demolished and now serves as a Purina feed mill.

References

External links

Media related to La Junta (Amtrak station) at Wikimedia Commons

La Junta (disambiguation)

La Junta may refer to:

Places in the United States:

Other uses: