Please add profiles of those who were born, lived or died in Las Animas County, Colorado. Official Website Created in 1866, the county takes its name from the Mexican Spanish name of the Purgatoire River, originally called El Río de las Ánimas Perdidas en el Purgatorio, which means "River of the Lost Souls in Purgatory." Adjacent Counties Bent County Otero County Baca County Colfax ...