Chama

Chama is a Tewa word carried a long way upriver. Spanish speakers took it from Tsâmâ, they wrestled, the name of a pueblo whose ruin lies east of Abiquiú, and gave it to the river; the railroad town of 1880 took its name from the river crossing. This panel and the one in town carry the same text over different counts, 1,090 here and 1,199 there, and different elevations, 7,860 and 7,850 feet. The 2020 census found 917 people in the village.

What the plaque says

Official Scenic Historic Marker Chama Population 1,090 - Elevation 7,860 From a small crossroads town, Chama became an important site on the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad after 1880. The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Rail- road is the remnant of the San Juan Extension, a narrow-gauge line which once served the min- ing areas of southwestern Colorado.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad — 2.9 mi
  A narrow-gauge steam railroad from Chama over 10,015-foot Cumbres Pass to Antonito, kept narrow because nobody ever thought it worth converting.

More markers nearby

• Chama — 3.0 mi
• Fort Lowell — 9.6 mi
• Tierra Amarilla — 10 mi
• Tierra Amarilla — 12 mi