Alamosa in Huerfano County?

An "alamosa," a cottonwood grove, along Huerfano County Road 613.

In southern Colorado, cottonwood trees grow near streams, for they need a steady source of water to survive. Populus fremontii, the trees' botanical name, are known as alamos in Spanish.

By extension, alamosa means a place where alamos grow: a cottonwood grove.

Huerfano County Road 613 provides an excellent example of a typical southern Colorado alamosa. It is along the south bank of the Huerfano River north of Walsenburg.

The Huerfano River Valley north of Walsenburg.

The Huerfano River Valley is a narrow oasis in an otherwise dry region. It provides water to irrigate crops to those fortunate enough to possess water rights. I mostly see hay as the main crop, hay that feeds cattle, cattle that eventually become nutritious, protein-filled meat that we all consume.