city, seat (1913) of Alamosa county, southern Colorado, U.S. It lies along the Rio Grande in the San Luis Valley, on the western flank of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Founded as Garland City near the site of a small encampment outside the gates of Fort Garland (1858), a cavalry post once commanded by Christopher “Kit” Carson (Carson, Kit), Alamosa (Spanish: “Cottonwood”) was a terminus of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Company). It developed as a rail and highway centre from which vegetables, including the renowned Red McClure potatoes, are shipped. It is the seat of Adams State College (1921) and is the gateway to the Great Sand Dunes National Monument. Fort Garland is now a history museum. The Alamosa-Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge Complex, providing a habitat for migratory waterfowl, lies nearby, as does part of Rio Grande National Forest. Inc. 1878. Pop. (1990) 7,579; (2000) 7,960.