Twin Lakes, Lake County, Colorado facts for kids
Twin Lakes is a beautiful area in Colorado, known for its two large, connected lakes. These lakes were carved out by ancient glaciers, which are like huge, slow-moving rivers of ice. They are located about 15 miles south of a historic town called Leadville, Colorado.
The water in Twin Lakes comes from Lake Creek, a smaller river that flows into the Arkansas River. The lakes are very important because they act like a giant storage tank, holding water for people to use in the Front Range area of Colorado. Both the east and west lakes are popular spots for fun activities like boating and fishing.
Twin Lakes is also the name of a small community nearby. This community is called a census-designated place (CDP), which means it's an area identified by the government for counting people, but it's not an officially organized town with its own local government. It's located in Lake County, and about 204 people lived there in 2020.
Quick facts for kids
Twin Lakes, Lake County, Colorado
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Mount Hope from Twin Lakes.
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Location of the Twin Lakes CDP in Lake County, Colorado.
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 Twin Lakes, Lake County, Colorado
Location in the United States
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| Country |  United States |
| State |  Colorado |
| County | Lake County |
| Government | |
| • Type | unincorporated town |
| Area | |
| • Total | 4.302 km2 (1.661 sq mi) |
| • Land | 4.258 km2 (1.644 sq mi) |
| • Water | 0.044 km2 (0.017 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 2,900 m (9,600 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 204 |
| • Density | 47.42/km2 (122.82/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC-7 (MST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-6 (MDT) |
| ZIP Code |
81251
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| Area code(s) | 719 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2583308 |
Contents
History of Twin Lakes
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The area around Twin Lakes has a long history. Lake County, where Twin Lakes is located, was one of the very first counties created in Colorado back in 1861. It was even named after the Twin Lakes!
The Twin Lakes area is so special that a part of it, called the Twin Lakes District, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. This means it's recognized as an important historical site.
Geography of the Twin Lakes Area
The Twin Lakes and the community of Twin Lakes are about 15 miles south of Leadville, which is the main town in Lake County. The community is bordered by major roads: U.S. Route 24 (US 24) to the east and Colorado State Highway 82 (SH 82) to the south.
About 4 miles west of the community is the original settlement of Twin Lakes. The large Twin Lakes Reservoir is located south of SH 82. SH 82 goes west over Independence Pass for about 40 miles, leading to Aspen. US 24 goes north to Leadville and south about 20 miles to Buena Vista.
The Twin Lakes area is quite high up, ranging from about 9,200 feet to over 9,800 feet above sea level. This is a bit lower than Leadville, which is even higher. Mount Elbert, the tallest mountain in Colorado, stands directly west of the community, reaching a height of 14,433 feet. It's only about 6 miles west of the center of the Twin Lakes community.
The Twin Lakes community itself covers an area of about 1.66 square miles, with a small part of that being water. This is much smaller than the actual Twin Lakes themselves!
Climate in Twin Lakes
The weather in Twin Lakes can vary a lot. Summers are generally mild and pleasant, while winters are cold with plenty of snow. The area gets a good amount of sunshine throughout the year.
| Climate data for Twin Lakes Reservoir, Colorado, 1991–2020 normals, 1967-2020 extremes: 9236ft (2815m) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 57 (14) |
58 (14) |
61 (16) |
69 (21) |
82 (28) |
85 (29) |
88 (31) |
85 (29) |
83 (28) |
75 (24) |
68 (20) |
60 (16) |
88 (31) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 49.3 (9.6) |
49.8 (9.9) |
54.9 (12.7) |
61.5 (16.4) |
71.3 (21.8) |
79.3 (26.3) |
83.0 (28.3) |
79.7 (26.5) |
75.6 (24.2) |
68.1 (20.1) |
57.9 (14.4) |
50.3 (10.2) |
83.6 (28.7) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 33.7 (0.9) |
34.8 (1.6) |
41.2 (5.1) |
46.3 (7.9) |
57.7 (14.3) |
69.6 (20.9) |
74.4 (23.6) |
71.3 (21.8) |
64.5 (18.1) |
53.4 (11.9) |
42.2 (5.7) |
33.8 (1.0) |
51.9 (11.1) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 19.4 (−7.0) |
20.0 (−6.7) |
27.3 (−2.6) |
33.8 (1.0) |
43.7 (6.5) |
53.1 (11.7) |
58.6 (14.8) |
56.5 (13.6) |
49.9 (9.9) |
39.9 (4.4) |
29.5 (−1.4) |
20.7 (−6.3) |
37.7 (3.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 5.1 (−14.9) |
5.2 (−14.9) |
13.3 (−10.4) |
21.3 (−5.9) |
29.7 (−1.3) |
36.6 (2.6) |
42.8 (6.0) |
41.6 (5.3) |
35.2 (1.8) |
26.3 (−3.2) |
16.8 (−8.4) |
7.6 (−13.6) |
23.5 (−4.7) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −13.7 (−25.4) |
−14.2 (−25.7) |
−5.7 (−20.9) |
7.2 (−13.8) |
18.6 (−7.4) |
28.6 (−1.9) |
36.3 (2.4) |
35.0 (1.7) |
24.6 (−4.1) |
11.9 (−11.2) |
−0.6 (−18.1) |
−10.4 (−23.6) |
−18.5 (−28.1) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −40 (−40) |
−45 (−43) |
−29 (−34) |
−19 (−28) |
−7 (−22) |
13 (−11) |
23 (−5) |
22 (−6) |
13 (−11) |
−2 (−19) |
−18 (−28) |
−31 (−35) |
−45 (−43) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 0.44 (11) |
0.57 (14) |
0.70 (18) |
0.83 (21) |
0.92 (23) |
0.72 (18) |
1.67 (42) |
1.56 (40) |
1.13 (29) |
0.82 (21) |
0.46 (12) |
0.49 (12) |
10.31 (261) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 4.3 (11) |
6.3 (16) |
6.6 (17) |
6.0 (15) |
2.0 (5.1) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.1 (0.25) |
2.3 (5.8) |
4.3 (11) |
5.1 (13) |
37 (94.15) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 4.3 | 5.0 | 5.7 | 6.1 | 7.7 | 7.1 | 11.6 | 12.3 | 6.7 | 5.4 | 3.9 | 3.8 | 79.6 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 3.2 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.2 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 21 |
| Source 1: NOAA | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: XMACIS (snow, records & monthly max/mins) | |||||||||||||
Population of Twin Lakes
| Twin Lakes CDP, Lake County, Colorado | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 2010 | 171 | — |
| 2020 | 204 | +19.3% |
| Source: United States Census Bureau | ||
The United States Census Bureau first officially recognized the Twin Lakes community as a "census-designated place" for the 2010 census. This means they started counting the people living there as a specific group. In 2010, there were 171 people, and by 2020, the population had grown to 204.
See also
In Spanish: Twin Lakes (condado de Lake) para niños
