Colorado

This article is about the U.S. state. For the river, see Colorado River. For the physiographic region, see Colorado Plateau. For other uses, see Colorado (disambiguation).
Colorado
State
Flag of Colorado
Flag
Official seal of Colorado
Seal
Nicknames: 
The Centennial State
Motto(s): 
Nil sine numine
(English: Nothing without providence)
Anthem: Where the Columbines Grow and
Rocky Mountain High[1]
Map of the United States with Colorado highlighted
Map of the United States with Colorado highlighted
CountryUnited States
Before statehoodTerritory of Colorado[2]
Admitted to the UnionAugust 1, 1876; 148 years ago (1876-08-01)[3] (38th)
Capital
(and largest city)		Denver
Largest county or equivalentEl Paso
Largest metro and urban areasDenver
Government
 • GovernorJared Polis (D)
 • Lieutenant governorDianne Primavera (D)
LegislatureGeneral Assembly
 • Upper houseSenate
 • Lower houseHouse of Representatives
JudiciarySupreme Court (list)
U.S. senatorsMichael Bennet (D)
John Hickenlooper (D)
U.S. House delegation5 Democrats
3 Republicans (list)
Area
 • Total
104,185[4] sq mi (269,837 km2)
 • Land103,718 sq mi (268,875 km2)
 • Water376 sq mi (962 km2)  0.36%
 • Rank8th
Dimensions
 • Length280 mi (451 km)
 • Width380 mi (612 km)
Elevation
6,800 ft (2,070 m)
Highest elevation
(Mount Elbert[5][6][a])
14,440 ft (4,401.2 m)
Lowest elevation
(Arikaree River[6][a])
3,317 ft (1,011 m)
Population
 (estimate as of July 1, 2023)
 • Total
5,877,610
 • Rank21st
 • Density56.25/sq mi (21.72/km2)
  • Rank37th
 • Median household income
$75,200[7]
 • Income rank
9th
DemonymColoradan
Language
 • Official languageEnglish
Time zoneUTC−07:00 (MST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−06:00 (MDT)
USPS abbreviation
CO
ISO 3166 codeUS-CO
Latitude37°N to 41°N
Longitude102.0467°W to 109.0467°W
Websitecolorado.gov
Symbols of Colorado
SloganColorful Colorado
AmphibianWestern tiger salamander
Ambystoma mavortium
BirdLark bunting
Calamospiza melanocoryus
CactusClaret cup cactus
Echinocereus triglochidiatus
FishGreenback cutthroat trout
Oncorhynchus clarki somias
FlowerRocky Mountain columbine
Aquilegia coerulea
GrassBlue grama grass
Bouteloua gracilis
InsectColorado Hairstreak
Hypaurotis crysalus
MammalRocky Mountain bighorn sheep
Ovis canadensis
PetColorado shelter pets
Canis lupus familiaris
and Felis catus
ReptileWestern painted turtle
Chrysemys picta bellii
TreeColorado blue spruce
Picea pungens
Folk danceSquare dance
Chorea quadra
FossilStegosaurus
Stegosaurus armatus
GemstoneAquamarine
MineralRhodochrosite
RockYule Marble
ShipUSS Colorado (SSN-788)
SoilSeitz soil
SportPack burro racing (summer)
Skiing and snowboarding (winter)
TartanColorado state tartan

Colorado (/ˌkɒləˈrædoʊ, -ˈrɑːdoʊ/ ⓘ KOL-ə-RAD-oh, -⁠RAH-doh,[8][9] other variants;[10] Spanish: [koloˈɾaðo]) is a state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas to the east, and Oklahoma to the southeast. Colorado is noted for its landscape of mountains, forests, high plains, mesas, canyons, plateaus, rivers, and desert lands. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains. Colorado is the eighth most extensive and 21st most populous U.S. state. The United States Census Bureau estimated the population of Colorado at 5,877,610 as of July 1, 2023, a 1.80% increase since the 2020 United States census.[11]

The region has been inhabited by Native Americans and their ancestors for at least 13,500 years and possibly much longer. The eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains was a major migration route for early peoples who spread throughout the Americas. In 1848, much of the Nuevo México region was annexed to the United States with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The Pike's Peak Gold Rush of 1858–1862 created an influx of settlers. On February 28, 1861, U.S. President James Buchanan signed an act creating the Territory of Colorado,[2] and on August 1, 1876, President Ulysses S. Grant signed Proclamation 230, admitting Colorado to the Union as the 38th state.[3] The Spanish adjective "colorado" means "colored red" or "ruddy". Colorado is nicknamed the "Centennial State" because it became a state 100 years (and four weeks) after the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence.

Denver is the capital, the most populous city, and the center of the Front Range Urban Corridor. Colorado Springs is the second most populous city of the state. Residents of the state are known as Coloradans, although the antiquated "Coloradoan" is occasionally used.[12][13] Major parts of the economy include government and defense, mining, agriculture, tourism, and increasingly other kinds of manufacturing. With increasing temperatures and decreasing water availability, Colorado's agriculture forestry, and tourism economies are expected to be heavily affected by climate change.[14]

  1. ^ "State Songs". Colorado State Archives. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference ColoradoOrganicAct was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference ColoradoStatehoodProclamation was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "State Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates".
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Mount_Elbert was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b "Elevations and Distances in the United States". United States Geological Survey. 2001. Archived from the original on October 15, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
  7. ^ "US Census Bureau QuickFacts". Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  8. ^ "Colorado—Definition". Merriam-Webster. August 13, 2010. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
  9. ^ "Colorado". Dictionary.com. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
  10. ^ Clark, Kyle (June 27, 2018). What's the right way to pronounce 'Colorado?' (TV news magazine segment). Contributor: Rich Sandoval, linguist at Metropolitan State University of Denver. KUSA-TV. Archived from the original on 2021-11-23. Retrieved August 4, 2018. [Sandoval] found five pronunciations.
  11. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for the United States, Regions, States, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2022". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  12. ^ "Creative Services". Colorado State University. Archived from the original on February 19, 2015. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  13. ^ Quillen, Ed (March 18, 2007). "Coloradoan or Coloradan". The Denver Post. Denver. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
  14. ^ "What Climate Change Means for Colorado" (PDF). EPA 430-F-16-008. Environmental Protection Agency. August 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-03-05.


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