Rangely, Colorado
town in Rio Blanco County, Colorado, United States
Rangely is a statutory town in Rio Blanco County, Colorado, United States. The population was 2,299 at the 2020 census. Rangely is the home of Colorado Northwestern Community College.
Description
The town is home to one of two campuses of the Colorado Northwestern Community College.
A post office called Rangely was established in 1884. The community was named after Rangeley, Maine, the native home of a local businessperson.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.0 square miles (10 km2), all of it land.
The terrain is mountain desert and is dry for most of the year.
Climate
According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Rangely has a cold semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Rangely was 108 °F (42.2 °C) on June 21, 1974, while the coldest temperature recorded was −37 °F (−38.3 °C) on February 15, 1895, and January 2, 1952.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Rangely, Colorado” is town in Rio Blanco County, Colorado, United States. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Rangely, Colorado and town, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “town in Rio Blanco County, Colorado, United States” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2019434. VIAF identifies the subject as 141904320. The Library of Congress control number is n81087523. Authority coordinates are 40.086, -108.798. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1884, 1974 and 1895.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Rangely, Colorado”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Rangely, Colorado primary sources, Rangely, Colorado archive and Rangely research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Rangely, Colorado”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Rangely, Colorado” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.