Grand Junction/Palisade

Grand Junction is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and largest city of Mesa County, Colorado, United States.^[1] Grand Junction's population was 65,560 at the 2020 United States census, making it the most populous city in western Colorado and the 17th most populous Colorado municipality overall.^[5]

As western Colorado's largest city, Grand Junction is the economic and cultural center of the Western Slope region. The city is a transportation hub, as it is situated at the convergence of Interstate 70 and U.S. Highway 50, and is the largest city between Denver and Salt Lake City. Grand Junction is also home to Colorado Mesa University, enrolling nearly 10,000 students.^[8]

The city is the anchor of the Grand Junction metropolitan area, home to over 150,000 residents as of 2020. It is located in the heart of the Grand Valley, a large Colorado River valley stretching over 30 miles east-to-west and 5 miles north-to-south. This valley comprises the most densely populated area and the only metropolitan area in Colorado outside of the Front Range Urban Corridor.

Grand Junction is 247 miles (398 km) west-southwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. The city has a council–manager form of government.^[9] It is a major commercial and transportation hub within the large area between the Green River and the Continental Divide, and the largest city in Colorado outside of the Front Range Corridor.

The city is along the Colorado River, at its confluence with the Gunnison River, which comes in from the south. "Grand" refers to the historical Grand River, renamed the Upper Colorado River in 1921. "Junction" refers to the confluence of the Colorado and Gunnison rivers. Grand Junction has been nicknamed "River City". It is near the midpoint of a 30-mile (48 km) arcing valley, known as the Grand Valley; since the late 19th century it has been a major fruit-growing region. The valley was long occupied by the Ute people and earlier indigenous cultures. It was not settled by European-American farmers until the 1880s. Since the late 20th century, several wineries have been established in the area.

The Colorado National Monument, a unique series of canyons and mesas, overlooks the city on the west. Most of the area is surrounded by federal public lands managed by the US Bureau of Land Management. Interstate 70 connects the city eastward to Glenwood Springs and Denver and westward to Green River, Utah; Salt Lake City is reached to the west via Interstate 70 and U.S Route 6; and Las Vegas (via Interstate 70 and Interstate 15).

In September 1881, the former Ute Indian Territory was abolished and the Utes were forced into a reservation so that the U.S. government could open the area to settlers. Clinton County, Pennsylvania-born George Addison Crawford (1827–91) soon purchased a plot of land.^[10] On July 22, 1882, he incorporated the town of Grand Junction and planted Colorado's first vineyard near Palisade, Colorado, causing the area to become known as the Colorado Wine Country. Grand Junction also has a storied past with gunfighters, miners, and early settlers of the American Southwest. Prior to its incorporation as the city of Grand Junction, the community was known as Ute, and was also briefly called West Denver.

The narrow gauge Denver and Rio Grande Railroad reached Grand Junction from the southeast, from Pueblo via Gunnison in 1882, followed in 1890 by the standard gauge Rio Grande Junction Railway from the northeast, from New Castle (jointly owned by the D&RG and the Colorado Midland).^[11] These greatly contributed to the expansion and settlement of the area.

Palisade is a statutory town in Mesa County, Colorado, United States. It is part of the Grand Junction Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,565 at the 2020 census,^[5] down from 2,692 in 2010.^[7]

The community was named for the cliffs near the town site.^[8] Palisade is known for its peach orchards and wine vineyards. The climate, a 182-day growing season, and an average 78 percent of sunshine makes Palisade "The Peach Capital of Colorado".^[9]

Palisade lies on the north side of the Colorado River, 11 miles (18 km) east of Grand Junction, the county seat. U.S. Route 6 passes through the town as 8th Street, while Interstate 70 runs along the northern border of the town at the foot of the cliffs to the north, with access to the town from Exit 42.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.2 square miles (3.1 km²), of which 0.006 square miles (0.016 km²), or 0.50%, are water.^[3]