Radium is a small rural unincorporated community

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in southwestern Grand County

Grand County, Colorado

Grand County is the 21st largest of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. The county population was 12,442 at U.S. Census 2000...

, Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The community sits in the mountains along an isolated stretch of Colorado River downstream from Gore Canyon

Gore Canyon

Gore Canyon is a short isolated canyon on the upper Colorado River in southwestern Grand County, Colorado in the United States. The steep and rugged canyon, approximately 3 miles long, was carved by the river as it passed the northern end of the Gore Range southwest of Kremmling...

 and southwest of Kremmling

Kremmling, Colorado

Kremmling is a Statutory Town in Grand County, Colorado, United States. The population was 1,578 at the 2000 census. The town sits along the upper Colorado River in the lower arid section of Middle Park between Byers Canyon and Gore Canyon...

. The mainline of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad

Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad

The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to Rio Grande or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, is a defunct U.S. railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow gauge line running south from Denver, Colorado in 1870; however, served mainly as a transcontinental...

 (now the Union Pacific Railroad

Union Pacific Railroad

The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....

) runs past the community. The community is accessible by dirt and gravel roads only. The Radium State Recreation Area, a state park

State park

State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...

 of Colorado, is on the south bank of the Colorado River across from the community.

The community consists of a cluster of houses on the north side of a bridge on the Colorado. The primary local industry is livestock ranching. The community is named for the element radium

Radium

Radium is a chemical element with atomic number 88, represented by the symbol Ra. Radium is an almost pure-white alkaline earth metal, but it readily oxidizes on exposure to air, becoming black in color. All isotopes of radium are highly radioactive, with the most stable isotope being radium-226,...

, which was formerly mined in Colorado in the early 20th century. The current appointed mayor of Radium is Lee Peyton.