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Col·o·ra·do (kŏl'ə-răd'ō, -rä'dō)  |
A state of the west-central United States. It was admitted as the 38th state in 1876. First explored by the Spanish in the 16th and 17th centuries, the region was added to the United States through the Louisiana Purchase (1803) and a cession by Mexico (1848). The Colorado Territory was organized in 1861. Denver is the capital and the largest city. Population: 4,860,000.
Coloradan Col'o·ra'dan or Col'o·ra'do·an adj. & n.
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| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Colorado |
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| US History Encyclopedia: Colorado |
Archaeological evidence reveals that humans have lived in the area that is now Colorado for over 10,000 years. In the aftermath of the last ice age, over 6,000 years ago, humans adapted to the main geographical regions of Colorado: the high plains of the east; the Rocky Mountains that cross the state from north to south; and the western plateaus and mesas. Rock paintings, remains of campsites, and other evidence reveal the social complexity of successive cultures of peoples who lived primarily through hunting and foraging, and later, agriculture. By the beginning of the Common Era, groups developed trading networks that skirted the Rocky Mountains south to New Mexico. The Ancestral Pueblans, also known as the Anasazi, built spectacular villages in southwestern Colorado. Mesa Verde, one of the best-known sites, was in habited between 600 and 1200 A.D. By 1500, many Native American groups lived in Colorado. The Ute lived in the mountains and western plains, while the Apache, Navajo, Comanche, Cheyenne, and Arapaho occupied the eastern plains.
The Spanish claimed Colorado as part of the province of New Mexico, but because it was at the northernmost edge of the empire, the Spanish presence was intermittent until the 1700s. However, the Spanish influence was profound. They brought with them the horse, which Native Americans adopted throughout the 1600s and 1700s, greatly affecting the social and economic base of their societies.
Over the centuries, the Spanish defended their claim to Colorado from the Ute and Comanche, the French, and the Americans. After the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, the U.S. government dispatched expeditions to survey its new territory. In 1805, Lieutenant Zebulon Pike led an expedition into the area and described the mountain now known as Pike's Peak. The Spanish captured Pike in 1806 and did not release him until the following year. In 1819 the U.S. and Spanish governments negotiated an international boundary that ran along the Arkansas River.
Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821. The new government encouraged trade with the United States, and the Santa Fe Trail, from Missouri to New Mexico, became an important route. Trinidad, Colorado, developed on the basis of this trade. In the 1830s and 1840s, the Mexican government gave away land grants in its New Mexico province to elite residents, with the expectation that the grantees would encourage settlement by farmers. One of the first towns the farmers established was San Luis, in present-day Colorado. During the next several decades, Spanish-speaking farmers created towns throughout southern Colorado based on the patterns they had known in New Mexico. These farmers irrigated their crops, a technique that later settlers would adopt.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, trappers became an important presence in the region. These men sold beaver pelts to European and American markets via the New Mexico-Missouri trade route. The trappers traveled along the Rocky Mountains' rivers, lived and worked among Native Americans and Mexicans, and often married into these groups. Native American and Mexican women gave their husbands access to trade networks and social acceptance. In Colorado, settlements such as Bent's Fort, Fort Vasquez, and Fort Lupton became centers for trade and social interaction in this multiethnic enterprise. By the 1840s, however, the trappers had nearly wiped out the beaver. Some trappers became full-time traders and established new settlements, the most famous of which was El Pueblo (present-day Pueblo), which was founded in 1842.
The 1846–1848 war between Mexico and the United States ended in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848). This treaty required Mexico to surrender huge portions of its land to the United States; southern Colorado was part of the cession. The United States was slow to organize this territory, and present-day Colorado was variously considered part of Texas and the territories of Utah, New Mexico, Nebraska, and Kansas. The impetus for the organization of the Colorado territory was the discovery of gold.
Gold-Rush Colorado
From the time of the first Spanish explorers, many people hoped to find gold in Colorado, but it was not until 1858 that this hope was realized. The 1859 gold rush brought over 100,000 prospectors, merchants, and speculators to the region. Even after the initial claim dwindled, more discoveries of gold continued to bring settlers to the Rocky Mountains.
The confluence of the South Platte River and Cherry Creek became the headquarters for the rush, by passing the region's older towns. Two groups established towns on either side of Cherry Creek—Auraria and Denver City—each hoping that its town would become the dominant city. Denver won this contest and absorbed Auraria. Denver emerged as the transportation, business, and cultural hub of the region.
The Plains tribes—the Cheyenne and the Arapaho—were alarmed by the flood of settlers traveling through, and building cities on, land they considered theirs. Unlike the fur traders, these settlers had no interest in striking alliances with Native Americans. The tribes did not have a unified response to the settlers. Some, such as the Arapaho chief Little Raven, and the Cheyenne chief Black Kettle, advocated peacefully accommodating the newcomers, while others, especially members of Cheyenne warrior societies, argued for war. In the 1851 Fort Laramie Treaty, the Cheyenne and Arapaho agreed to restrict themselves to the land between the South Platte and Arkansas Rivers. Ten years later, the 1861 Fort Wise Treaty forced these groups to cede their claims to the foothills.
On 28 February 1861, the U.S. government organized the Territory of Colorado. (Colorado City and Golden served as the territory's capital, before Denver was declared the capital in 1867.) The territory was immediately thrown into the Civil War (1861–1865). Although the territory's residents included Southern sympathizers, radical and moderate abolitionists, and former slaves, the territory aligned itself with the Union cause. Troops from the Colorado Territory defeated General Henry S. Sibley's Confederates in the 1862 battle of Glorieta Pass, in New Mexico.
Another notorious military action was waged against the Cheyenne and the Arapaho. During 1864, the tensions between the Plains tribes and the settlers steadily escalated. Black Kettle led a group of his Cheyenne and Arapaho followers to their winter camp near Sand Creek, in southeastern Colorado Territory, after having declared his peaceful intentions to the military authorities. An American flag and a white flag flew over the camp, which largely consisted of the elderly, women, and children. The First and Third Colorado Volunteers, under the leader-ship of Colonel John Chivington, attacked this settlement on 29 November 1864. The soldiers killed over 150 people, wounded scores of others, and mutilated the dead. The Sand Creek Massacre began a cycle of violence between whites and Native Americans throughout the territory. In 1867, many of the Cheyenne and Arapaho agreed to the Medicine Lodge Treaty, which required them to relocate to Indian Territory.
Colorado in the Nineteenth Century
Colorado became a state on 1 August 1876. Due to the expansion of the railroads across the plains and into the mountains, and the subsequent increase in economic linkages, the state's population quickly grew. In 1870 there were 40,000 people in the Colorado Territory; by 1880, the population had increased to over 194,000.
Colorado's settlers demanded that the Ute, who occupied most of the western plateaus, cede their land. In 1879, several Northern Ute at the White River Agency rose up against the Indian agent and killed him, along with eleven other white men. Outraged Coloradoans called for the expulsion of the Ute. In March 1881, in Washington, D.C., the federal government concluded a treaty with the Ute that required the tribe's various bands to live in reservations in Utah or Colorado. Prospectors and farmers quickly swarmed into the land vacated by the Ute.
Farming, ranching, and mining formed the pillars of nineteenth-century Colorado's economy. Politicians and business leaders were preoccupied with encouraging economic development and growth. However, the state's economy proved to be vulnerable to violent fluctuations—a boom-and-bust cycle.
Colorado's early farmers grew grains, but by the early twentieth century sugar beets and potatoes had also become important crops. Farmers in western Colorado were known for their fruit orchards. Many farmers had to irrigate their fields, and the reliance on irrigation sparked off arguments between Colorado and its neighbors over water rights that still continue today.
Colorado was home to numerous, often short-lived, agricultural colonies. Some, such as Greeley, had utopian origins. Members of ethnic or religious groups also organized colonies. For example, in 1882 Jewish emigrants from Poland and Russia lived in a colony in Cotopaxi. One of the last colonies was the African American settlement of Dear field, established in 1910–1911.
Livestock ranching was an important sector of the economy. By the 1880s, cattle ranchers had large establishments along the South Platte and Arkansas Rivers. Cattle ranching later spread to western Colorado. From the 1880s to the 1920s, cattle ranchers and sheepherders repeatedly clashed over land in northwest Colorado. Access to public land for grazing also became a longstanding conflict between Colorado and the federal government.
In the nineteenth century, mining was a mainstay of the economy. Some settlements, such as Leadville and Georgetown, developed into full-fledged towns, while scores of mining camps faded when the vein of ore was exhausted. Mining activities altered the land: hills were deforested and many streams became polluted.
Smelting gold, silver, and other metals was an important component of the mining industry. This process gradually moved from the mining towns to large cities such as Pueblo and Denver. Pueblo was also a steel town and the home of Colorado Fuel and Iron, an enormous company that was eventually owned by the industrialist John D. Rockefeller.
Companies developed the coalfields in northern and southern Colorado and established "company towns" for their workers. The coal towns were racially and ethnically diverse. Whites, African Americans, and Hispanics worked alongside immigrants from Asia and central and eastern Europe.
The mining industries were the site of labor conflicts from the 1880s to the 1920s. During the nineteenth century, miners demanded better safety and working conditions, but the state was reluctant to enforce such measures. This situation led to many workers joining unions. Many gold and silver miners joined the Western Federation of Miners, while the United Mine Workers made progress on the coalfields. The strikes were often long and occasionally violent, such as the 1903–1904 strike by gold miners in Cripple Creek. From 1913 to 1914, coal miners striked in southern Colorado for greater health and safety regulations, recognition of their union, and an increase in wages. On 20 April 1914, at Ludlow, the National Guard attacked a tent colony, and the subsequent fire killed two women and eleven children.
Colorado in the Twentieth Century
Colorado began the century as a leader in some national reform movements. In 1893, women in Colorado received the right to vote. The state enacted prohibition of alcohol in 1916, long before the rest of the country. Colorado became home to two national parks at the beginning of the twentieth century. Mesa Verde became a national park in 1906; Rocky Mountain National Park was dedicated in 1915.
World War I (1914–1918) was a stimulus for Colorado's economy. The demand for crops such as sugar beets and wheat, and metals—molybdenum, vanadium, and tungsten— led to an economic boom. The bust came after the war, when prices for metals and agricultural commodities plummeted.
After the war, Colorado politics took a turn to the right. The state was consumed by a "RedScare" over feared Communist and Socialist influence. During the 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan emerged as a powerful statewide organization, widely disseminating its hate-based politics. The Klan dominated politics in Denver and held weekly cross burnings. Klan members and sympathizers controlled the lower house of the state legislature. Although the Klan's influence faded somewhat after the mid-1920s, local and state governments took little initiative in protecting the civil rights of political, racial, or ethnic minorities.
Colorado was ill equipped to deal with the economic disaster of the Great Depression. Prices dropped even lower for minerals and agriculture, and between 1933 and 1938, many of the farms of eastern Colorado were stripped bare by the Dust Bowl's winds. Displaced farmers and workers received very little aid from city and state governments that had only minimal provisions for the un-employed and needy. President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal programs helped fill this gap. For example, one New Deal program, the Works Progress Administration, became one of the state's largest employers, and by 1942 had completed over 5,000 projects in Colorado.
World War II had a wide-ranging impact on Colorado. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt ordered the detention of Japanese Americans living on the Pacific coast and in Arizona. A detention camp, Amache, was located in southeast Colorado. However, Colorado's governor resisted demands to intern Japanese American Coloradoans and allowed Japanese Americans from other parts of the country to settle in the state. Many military bases and facilities, such as Camp Hale, home of the Tenth Mountain Division, were located in the state. War industries boomed. Even the mining sector revived with the demand for uranium.
During the Cold War, industries involved in defense, aerospace, and high technology research moved into the state. The federal government also located many facilities in the state, including the new Air Force Academy, in Colorado Springs. This inflow of industry, commerce, and population, however, was concentrated among the Front Range cities.
Many of Colorado's oldest economic sectors were in steep decline by the 1970s. Sugar beet processors closed their operations. Mining was greatly diminished and concentrated on coal and molybdenum. In the 1970s, the Exxon Corporation developed facilities in northwest Colorado for processing oil shale into oil. When Exxon abruptly abandoned the project on 2 May 1982, the resulting crash had state wide ramifications.
Since the 1970s, Colorado's service industries have become an increasingly important part of the economy. For example, the tourism and recreation sectors have developed from the spas and campgrounds of the early twentieth century to the ski resort industry, which emerged after World War II.
During the last quarter of the twentieth century, Colorado wrestled with controversial issues, such as desegregation, environmental policy, the size of government, and nuclear energy. The issue of civil rights for African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, and gays and lesbians repeatedly surfaced during this time. Longstanding issues, including water policy, land use, and growth, remain vexing. Colorado's natural beauty and opportunities continue to attract immigrants from around the country and the world. According to the 1990 census, less than half of the population was born in the state. Over 82 percent of Colorado's 4.4 million people live in urban areas, and most of the population is concentrated on the Front Range. As the state enters the twenty-first century, it faces challenges and opportunities that are both grounded in its history and common to all of the United States.
Bibliography
Abbot, Carl, Stephen J. Leonard, and David McComb. Colorado: A History of the Centennial State. 3ded. Niwot: University Press of Colorado, 1994.
Deutsch, Sarah. No Separate Refuge: Culture, Class, and Gender on an Anglo-Hispanic Frontier in the American Southwest, 1880–1940. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987.
Jameson, Elizabeth. All That Glitters: Class, Conflict, and Community in Cripple Creek. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1998.
Taylor, Quintard. In Search of the Racial Frontier: African Americans in the American West, 1528–1990. New York: W.W. Norton, 1998.
Ubbelohde, Carl, Maxine Benson, and Duane A. Smith. A Colorado History. 8th ed. Boulder, Colo.: Pruett Publishing Company, 2001.
West, Elliot. The Contested Plains: Indians, Gold seekers, and the Rush to Colorado. Lawrence: The University Press of Kansas, 1998.
Wyckoff, William. Creating Colorado: The Making of a Western American Landscape, 1860–1940. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1999.
—Modupe G. Labode
| Columbia Encyclopedia: Colorado |
Facts and Figures
Area, 104,247 sq mi (270,000 sq km). Pop. (2000) 4,301,261, a 30.6% increase since the 1990 census. Capital and largest city, Denver. Statehood, Aug. 1, 1876 (38th state). Highest pt., Mt. Elbert, 14,433 ft (4,402 m); lowest pt., Arkansas River, 3,350 ft (1,022 m). Nickname, Centennial State. Motto, Nil Sine Numine [Nothing without Providence]. State bird, lark bunting. State flower, Rocky Mountain columbine. State tree, Colorado blue spruce. Abbr., Colo., CO
Geography
Colorado's eastern expanses are part of the High Plains section of the Great Plains. On their western edge the plains give way to the Rocky Mountains, which run north-south through central Colorado. The mountains are divided into several ranges that make up two generally parallel belts, with the Front Range and a portion of the Sangre de Cristo Mts. on the east and the Park Range, Sawatch Mts., and San Juan Mts. on the west. Mt. Elbert (14,433 ft/4,399 m) is the highest peak in the U.S. Rocky Mts. The mountain ranges are separated by high valleys and basins called parks. These include North Park, Middle Park, South Park, Estes Park, and San Luis Park. The Continental Divide runs north-south along the Rocky Mts. in Colorado.
One of the most scenic states in the country, Colorado has recreational parks including Rocky Mountain National Park, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park with its narrow gorge cut by the Gunnison River, Dinosaur National Monument in NW Colorado, and Great Sand Dunes National Monument and Preserve in S central Colorado. Mesa Verde National Park and Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, once home to the Anasazi cliff dwellers, are in the southwestern corner of the state, a beautiful but formidable area of mesas and canyons.
Most of W Colorado is occupied by the Colorado Plateau, where deep canyons have been formed by the action of the Colorado, Gunnison, and other rivers. Colorado has a mean elevation of c.6,800 ft (2,070 m) and has 51 of the 80 peaks in North America over 14,000 ft (4,267 m) high, thus laying claim to the name “top of the world.”
A broad timber belt, largely coniferous and mostly within national forest reserves, covers large sections of the mountains. The mighty Colorado River originates in Rocky Mountain National Park, and the headwaters of the North Platte, South Platte, Arkansas, and Rio Grande also gather in Colorado's mountains. The average annual rainfall in Colorado is only 16.6 in. (42.2 cm), but the state has been able to develop otherwise unusable land and ranks high among the states in irrigated acres. The Colorado–Big Thompson project and the Fryingpan-Arkansas project are two major water-diversion systems that carry water by tunnel across the Continental Divide to farms on the plains of E Colorado.
Most of the population lives in cities among the Front Range foothills, principally in Denver, the capital, largest city, and regional metropolis. Other major cities are Colorado Springs,
Economy
Agriculture, especially the raising of cattle and sheep and production of dairy goods, is economically important in the state. Crops include wheat, hay, corn, and sugar beets. Since the 1950s manufacturing has been the major source of income in the state. Food processing is a major industry; others include the manufacture of computer equipment, aerospace products, transportation equipment, and electrical equipment; printing and publishing; and the production of fabricated metals, chemicals, and lumber. Federal facilities including army and air force bases, prisons, and the Denver Mint, as well as regional offices, contribute greatly to the economy. A new $4 billion international airport opened near Denver in Feb., 1995.
Tourism plays a vital role in Colorado's economy. The state's climate, scenery, historical sites, and extensive recreational facilities bring millions of visitors annually. Numerous resorts in towns such as Vail and Aspen attract visitors year-round as well as during ski season. Besides fine hunting, fishing, and skiing there are many special events held in the state, including arts festivals, rodeos, and fairs.
Gold, the lure to exploration and settlement of Colorado, was the first of many valuable minerals (notably silver and lead) discovered here. Leading minerals today are petroleum, coal, molybdenum, sand and gravel, and uranium. Gold is no longer mined extensively. There are also large coal and oil deposits.
Government, Politics, and Higher Education
Colorado's state government is based on the constitution drawn up in 1876 and since amended. The governor serves for a term of four years. The legislature is made up of a senate with 35 members and a house of representatives with 65 members. Colorado is represented in the U.S. Congress by two senators and six representatives and has eight votes in the electoral college. Democrat Roy Romer, elected governor in 1986 and reelected in 1990 and 1994, was succeeded by Republican Bill Owens, elected in 1998 and reelected in 2002. In 2006 a Democrat, Bill Ritter, won the governorship.
Among Colorado's institutions of higher learning are the Univ. of Colorado, at Boulder; the Univ. of Denver, at Denver; Colorado State Univ., at Fort Collins; and the United States Air Force Academy, at Colorado Springs.
History
Early Inhabitants, European Exploration, and U.S. Conquest
Colorado's earliest inhabitants were the Basket Makers, Native Americans who settled in the mesa country before the beginning of the Christian era. Later people known as cliff dwellers inhabited the area, building their pueblos in canyon walls.
The first European to enter the region was probably the Spanish conquistador Francisco Vásquez de Coronado in the 16th cent. Spain subsequently claimed (1706) the territory, although no Spanish settlements were established there. Part of the area was also claimed for France as part of the Louisiana Territory. At the end of the French and Indian Wars (1763), France secretly ceded the Louisiana Territory, including much of Colorado, to Spain. The French regained the whole area in 1800 by the secret Treaty of San Ildefonso concluded with Spain (see San Ildefonso, Treaty of).
The United States bought the area N of the Arkansas River and E of the Rocky Mts. in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. The federal government sent expeditions to Colorado which generated some public interest in the new territory, and they explored routes opened earlier by the famous mountain men, trappers, and fur traders who included William H. Ashley, James Bridger, Jedediah S. Smith, Kit Carson, and the Bent brothers. Bent's Fort, in Colorado, was one of the best-known Western trading posts. Settlement in the area did not begin, however, until the United States acquired the remainder of present-day Colorado from Mexico by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848.
Gold, Settlement, and Statehood
In the early 1800s a small farming settlement had been established in the San Luis valley, but most settlers pushing westward across the Great Plains continued on to the more fertile lands of Oregon, Washington, and California. It was the discovery of gold that first brought large numbers of settlers to Colorado. Prospectors led by Green Russell discovered gold in 1858 at Cherry Creek, where part of the city of Denver now stands, and after another strike the following year, the mining boom began.
At the time of the gold rush the area in which the gold fields were located was part of the U.S. Kansas Territory. A group of miners organized the gold fields as Arapahoe co. of Kansas Territory. The region was divided into districts, and miners' and people's courts were set up to provide quick justice. The miners sought separate territorial status in 1859 and formed the illegal Territory of Jefferson, which operated until the bill for territorial status was passed by Congress in 1861. William Gilpin, the first territorial governor, chose the name Colorado [Span.,=red or colored]. Measures proposing statehood for Colorado were introduced in the U.S. Congress in 1864, and again in 1866 and 1867 when they were vetoed by Andrew Johnson. A bill granting Colorado's statehood was finally passed by Congress in 1876.
When the first settlers came to Colorado, the Ute lived in the mountain areas, while the Comanche, Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Kiowa inhabited the Great Plains. Warfare between plains and mountain ethnic groups was continuous. The tribes of the plains combined their forces in 1840 to halt the invasion of their homelands and hunting grounds by settlers, and violence ensued. The warfare finally culminated in the Native Americans' defeat after the Indian Wars (1861–69) and the Buffalo War (1873–74). Colorado's Native Americans now live mainly on the Southern Ute reservation and in the Denver area.
Decline and Diversification
While Colorado was seeking to establish a government and engaged in conflict with Native Americans, the state's mining boom was in sharp decline. The surface gold had been extracted in the middle 1860s, and mining areas became, and in many cases remain, studded with ghost towns—machinery abandoned and shacks deserted. Other towns, such as Central City with its famous opera house dating from the city's days of opulence, managed to stay alive.
The completion (1870) of a railroad link from Denver to the Union Pacific in Cheyenne, Wyo., and later railroad construction helped to stimulate the extension of farming and the growth of huge cattle ranches as well as to encourage an influx of settlers. Between 1870 and 1880 population increased almost fivefold. Denver briefly became the largest receiving market for sheep, and a smelting industry was established.
In the 1870s the discovery of silver-bearing lead carbonite ore at Leadville started a new mining boom. Prosperity was short-lived, however, for in the 1890s, despite a rich silver strike at Creede and the discovery of the state's richest gold field at Cripple Creek, Colorado suffered a depression. In 1893 the U.S. government stopped buying silver in order to restore confidence in the nation's currency, which had been placed on the gold standard in 1873. The silver market subsequently collapsed, dealing a severe blow to Colorado's economy.
Labor conflicts, disputes over railway franchises, and warfare between sheep and cattle interests also plagued the state at the turn of the century. Many of labor's battles in this period were fought in the mines of Colorado, and the lawlessness and ruthlessness that prevailed among both employers and miners were reminiscent of the early days of the mining camps. When the silver market broke, Colorado turned politically to fusion Populist-Democratic leaders advocating a return to bimetallism. The free-silver movement, however, was unsuccessful, and by 1910, with the improvement of national economic conditions, Colorado settled down to a predominantly agricultural economy.
The Twentieth Century
Large national parks, established in the early 1900s, have provided a continuing source of revenue; tourism has grown steadily. During World War I the price of silver soared again and the economy prospered. The stock-market crash of 1929 and the droughts of 1935 and 1937 brought hardships, but the economy recovered again during World War II, when the state's foods, minerals, and metal products were important to the war effort.
In the mid-1960s Colorado experienced a large influx of new residents and rapid urban growth and development, especially along a strip (c.150 mi/240 km long) centered on Denver and stretching from Fort Collins and Greeley in the north to Pueblo in the south. This growth, combined with the area's high altitude, caused pollution problems, most notably smog. The discovery and exploitation of oil created a boom in the 1970s, which collapsed in the early 1980s. Diversifying industry, swelling in-migration and accompanying construction, and tourism and recreation have since enabled Colorado to rebound, and between 1990 and 2000 it had the third largest percentage of growth of any state in the union.
Bibliography
See P. Eberhart, Guide to the Colorado Ghost Towns and Mining Camps (1959); C. Bancroft, Colorful Colorado: Its Dramatic History (1959); P. F. Dorset, The New Eldorado: The Story of Colorado's Gold and Silver Rushes (1970); L. R. Hafen, Colorado: The Story of a Western Commonwealth (1970); C. Abbott, Colorado: A History of the Centennial State (1982); M. Griffiths and L. Rubright, Colorado: A Geography (1983); G. Lawson, Colorado (1990).
| Geography: Colorado |
| Wine Lover's Companion: Colorado |
It might surprise some people that this high-altitude Rocky Mountain state is home to over thirty wineries and two american viticultural areas. Most Colorado vineyards are located in the temperate river valleys and plateaus of Mesa and Delta counties in western Colorado. Here the vineyards are at the 4000- to 7000-foot level, which makes them some of the world's highest vineyards. Terror Creek Winery in Paonia stands at 6,417 feet above sea level, making it the highest commercial vineyard currently on record. True, there are a couple of vineyards at higher altitudes (the kingdom of Bhutan in the Himalayas at 7,200 feet and Colorado's Locke Mountain Vineyards, which is just over 6,500 feet), but they only make wine for private consumption. Colorado's Grand Valley AVA encompasses some 32,000 acres and is located on the western slope, east of Grand Junction in Mesa County. The West Elks AVA is located in eastern Delta County covering approximately 48,000 acres of the North Fork of the Gunnison Valley, extending from Bowie to Hotchkiss. Much like California coastal areas, the long hot days allow Colorado grapes to mature and ripen to proper sugar levels; cool nights help set the grape's acid content. There are an estimated 450 acres of vineyards and, in order of popularity, the most widely planted grape varieties are chardonnay, merlot, riesling, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, pinot noir and gewürztraminer.
| Stats: Colorado |
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| Parks: Colorado |
| Wikipedia: Colorado |
| State of Colorado | |||||||||||
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| Official language(s) | English | ||||||||||
| Demonym | Coloradan[1][2] | ||||||||||
| Capital | Denver | ||||||||||
| Largest city | Denver | ||||||||||
| Largest metro area | Denver-Aurora Metro Area | ||||||||||
| Area | Ranked 8th in the US | ||||||||||
| - Total | 104,185 sq mi (269,837 km²) |
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| - Width | 280 miles (451 km) | ||||||||||
| - Length | 380 miles (612 km) | ||||||||||
| - % water | 0.36% | ||||||||||
| - Latitude | 37°N to 41°N | ||||||||||
| - Longitude | 102°03'W to 109°03'W | ||||||||||
| Population | Ranked 22nd in the US | ||||||||||
| - Total | 4,939,456 (2008 est.)[3] 4,301,261 (2000) |
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| - Density | 41.5/sq mi (16.01/km²) Ranked 37th in the US |
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| - Median income | $51,022 (10th) | ||||||||||
| Elevation | |||||||||||
| - Highest point | Mount Elbert[4][5] 14,440 ft (4401 m) |
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| - Mean | 6,800 ft (2073 m) | ||||||||||
| - Lowest point | Arikaree River[4] 3,315 ft (1010 m) |
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| Admission to Union | August 1, 1876 (38th) | ||||||||||
| Governor | Bill Ritter (D) | ||||||||||
| Lieutenant Governor | Barbara O'Brien (D) | ||||||||||
| U.S. Senators | 2 - Mark Udall (D) 3 - Michael Bennet (D) |
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| U.S. House delegation | 5 Democrats, 2 Republicans (list) | ||||||||||
| Time zone | MST=UTC-07, MDT=UTC-06 | ||||||||||
| Abbreviations | CO Colo. US-CO | ||||||||||
| Website | www.colorado.gov | ||||||||||
Colorado (
/kɒləˈrædoʊ/ (help·info) or /kɒləˈrɑːdoʊ/ (help·info))[6] is a U.S. state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. It may also be considered to be part of the Western and Southwestern regions of the United States. Colorado entered statehood in 1876 and was nicknamed the “Centennial State”. It is bordered to the north by Wyoming, to the south by New Mexico and Oklahoma, at the southwest corner by Arizona, to the east by Nebraska and Kansas and to the west by Utah.
The state is well known for its magnificent scenery of mountains, rivers and plains. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the state population was 4,939,456 in 2008, a 14% increase since the U.S. Census 2000.[7] Denver is the capital of Colorado and the state's most populous city. Residents of Colorado are properly known as "Coloradans", although the archaic term "Coloradoan" is still used.[1][2]
The State of Colorado is defined as the geoellipsoidal rectangle that stretches from 37°N to 41°N latitude and from 102°03'W to 109°03'W longitude (25°W to 32°W from the Washington Meridian).[8] Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah are the only three U.S. states that have only lines of latitude and longitude for boundaries and that have no natural borders. When government surveyors established the border markers for the Territory of Colorado, minor surveying errors created several small kinks along the borders, most notably along the border with the Territory of Utah. The surveyors' benchmarks, once agreed upon by the interested parties, became the legal boundaries for the Colorado Territory.[9]
The summit of Mount Elbert at 14,440 feet (4,401 m) elevation in Lake County is the state's highest point and the highest point in the entire Rocky Mountains.[4][5] Colorado has more than 100 mountain peaks that exceed 4,000 meters (13,123 ft) elevation. Colorado is the only U.S. state that lies entirely above 1,000 meters (3,281 ft) elevation. The point where the Arikaree River flows out of Yuma County, Colorado, and into Cheyenne County, Kansas, is the lowest point in the State of Colorado at 3,315 feet (1,010 m) elevation. This crossing point holds the distinction of being the highest low point of any U.S. state.[4][10]
Nearly half of the state is flat in stark contrast to Colorado's rugged Rocky Mountains. East of the Southern Rocky Mountains are the Colorado Eastern Plains of the High Plains, the section of the Great Plains within Colorado at elevations ranging from roughly 3,350 to 6,500 feet (1,020 to 1,980 m).[11] The states of Kansas and Nebraska border Colorado to the east. The plains are sparsely settled with most population along the South Platte and the Arkansas rivers. Precipitation is meager, averaging from 12 to 18 inches (300 to 460 mm) annually.[11] There is some irrigated farming, but much of the land is used for dryland farming or ranching. Winter wheat is a typical crop and most small towns in the region boast both a water tower and a grain elevator.
The bulk of Colorado's population lives along the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains in the Front Range Urban Corridor. This region is partially protected from prevailing storms by the high mountains to the west.
To the west lies the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains with notable peaks such as Longs Peak, Mount Evans, Pikes Peak, and the Spanish Peaks near Walsenburg in the south. This area drains to the east, is forested, and partially urbanized. During the drought of 2002 devastating forest fires swept this area.
Hinsdale County, with Lake City (population appx. 300) as its seat, has been judged the most remote county in the 48 contiguous states. It has only one incorporated town (Lake City). It is one of the only places within the continental United States that one can venture more than 10 miles (16 km) from any road.
The Continental Divide stretches across the crest of the Rocky Mountains. To the west of the Continental Divide is the Western Slope. Water west of the Continental Divide drains west into the Sea of Cortez via the Colorado River.
Within the interior of the Rocky Mountains are several large parks or high broad basins. In the north, on the east side of the Continental Divide is North Park. North Park is drained by the North Platte River, which flows north into Wyoming. Just south but on the west side of the Continental Divide is Middle Park, drained by the Colorado River. South Park is the headwaters of the South Platte River. To the south lies the San Luis Valley, the headwaters of the Rio Grande, which drains into New Mexico. Across the Sangre de Cristo Range to the east of the San Luis Valley lies the Wet Mountain Valley. These basins, particularly the San Luis Valley, lie along the Rio Grande Rift, a major geological formation, and its branches.
The Rocky Mountains within Colorado contain 53 peaks that are 14,000 feet (4,267 m) or higher elevation, known as fourteeners. The mountains are timbered with conifers and aspens to the tree line, at an elevation of about 12,140 feet (3,700 m) in southern Colorado to about 10,500 feet (3,200 m) in northern Colorado; above this only alpine vegetation grows. The Colorado Rockies are snow-covered only in the winter; most snow melts by mid-August with the exception of a few small glaciers. The Colorado Mineral Belt, stretching from the San Juan Mountains in the southwest to Boulder and Central City on the front range, contains most of the historic gold- and silver-mining districts of Colorado.
The Western Slope is generally drained by the Colorado River and its tributaries. Notable to the south are the San Juan Mountains, an extremely rugged mountain range, and to the west of the San Juans, the Colorado Plateau, a high desert bordering Southern Utah. Grand Junction is the largest city on the Western Slope. Grand Junction is served by Interstate Highway I-70. To the southeast of Grand Junction is Grand Mesa, the world's largest flat-topped mountain. Further east are the ski resorts of Aspen, Vail, Crested Butte, and Steamboat Springs. The northwestern corner of Colorado bordering Northern Utah and Western Wyoming is mostly sparsely populated rangeland.
From west to east, the state consists of desert-like basins, turning into plateaus, then alpine mountains, and then the grasslands of the Great Plains. The famous Pikes Peak is just west of Colorado Springs. Its lone peak is visible from near the Kansas border on clear days.[citation needed]
Colorado is also one of only four states in the United States to share a common border (Four Corners), along with Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. At this intersection, it is possible to stand in four states at once.
The climate of Colorado is quite complex compared to most of the United States. The typical south-north/cooler-warmer variation in other states is not generally applicable in Colorado. Mountains and surrounding valleys greatly affect local climate. As a general rule, with an increase in elevation come a decrease in temperature and an increase in precipitation. A main climatic division in Colorado occurs between the Rocky Mountains on the west and the plains on the east; the foothills form a transitional zone between the two.
The climate of the Eastern Plains is a semi-arid continental climate (Koppen climate classification BSk) of low humidity and moderately low precipitation, usually from 10 to 15 inches (250 to 380 mm) annually. The area is known for its abundant sunshine and cool clear nights, which give this area the highest average diurnal temperature range in the United States. In summer, this area can have many days above 95 °F (35 °C) and sometimes 100 °F (38 °C), although 105 °F (41 °C) is the maximum in the front range cities above 5,000 ft (1,500 m). In those areas, −25 °F (−31.7 °C) is the all-time record low. About 75% of the precipitation falls within the growing season, from April to September, but this area is very prone to droughts. Most of the precipitation comes in the form of thunderstorms, which are often severe, and the form of major snowstorms that happen most often in the early spring and in late autumn, and sometimes winter, from low pressures that bring the right conditions. Otherwise, winters tend to be drier and cold, even though it's known for having a number of mild days in many winters. In much of this region, March and April are the snowiest months. April and May are normally the rainiest months, while April is the wettest month that has the most combination of rain and snow. The Front Range cities closer to the mountains tend to be warmer in the winter due to chinook winds which warm the area, sometimes bringing temperatures up to 60 °F (16 °C) or higher in the winter.[12] The average July temperature is 57 degrees in the morning and 87 degrees in the afternoon. The average January temperature is 15 degrees in the morning and 43 degrees in the afternoon, although the daily high may be 60 one day and 0 the next.
West of the plains and foothills, the weather of Colorado is much less uniform. Even places a few miles (kilometers) apart can experience entirely different weather, depending on the topography of the area. Most valleys also have a semi-arid climate, which becomes an alpine climate at higher elevations. Humid microclimates also exist in some areas as well. Generally, the wettest season is in the winter in Western Colorado while June is the driest month, which is the opposite of precipitation patterns in the east. The mountains have cool summers with many days of high temperatures around 60 °F (16 °C) and 70 °F (21 °C), although frequent thunderstorms can cause a sudden drop in temperatures. Summer nights are cool, and cold at the highest altitudes which can sometimes bring snow even in the middle of the summer. The winters bring abundant, powdery snowfall to the mountains which the skiers love, although even in the winter, there can be many days with abundant sunshine in between major storms. The Western Slope has high summer temperatures similar to those found on the plains while the winters tend to be slightly cooler due to the lack of any warming winds which are common in the plains and Front Range. Other areas in the west have their own unique climate. The San Luis Valley is generally dry with little rain or snow, although the snow that falls tends to stay on the ground all winter.
Extreme weather is a common occurrence in Colorado. Thunderstorms are common east of the Continental divide in the spring and summer, and Colorado is one of the leading states in deaths due to lightning. Hail is a common sight in the mountains east of the divide and in the northwest part of the state. The Eastern Plains have some of the biggest hail storms in North America.[11] While not as common as some of the states to the east, much of the Eastern Plains are also prone to tornadoes, and there have been some damaging tornadoes there. Examples include the 1990 Limon F3 tornado and the 2008 Windsor EF3 tornado which devastated the town.[13] Floods are also a factor in the plains, not just from the thunderstorms, but also due to heavy snow in the mountains followed by a warm, dry period which swells rivers with melted snow. In 2008, from July through August, a new record was set that was previously held in 1901 of twenty-three straight days of 90 degree heat, surpassing the previous record by almost a week. Colorado is a relatively dry state averaging only 17 inches of rain per year and rarely experiences a time when some portion of the state is not in some degree of drought.[14] The lack of precipitation contributes to the severity of wildfires in the state such as the Hayman Fire, one of the largest wildfires in US history.
The highest temperature ever recorded in Colorado was 118 °F (48 °C) on July 11, 1888, at Bennett, while the lowest was −61 °F (−51.7 °C) on February 1, 1985, at Maybell.[15][16]
| Monthly Normal High and Low Temperatures For Various Colorado Cities | ||||||||||||
| City | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alamosa | 33/-4 | 40/5 | 50/16 | 59/23 | 68/32 | 78/40 | 82/46 | 79/45 | 72/36 | 62/24 | 46/11 | 35/-1 |
| Colorado Springs | 42/13 | 45/18 | 52/24 | 59/31 | 68/41 | 79/50 | 86/55 | 82/54 | 74/45 | 63/34 | 50/23 | 42/16 |
| Denver | 43/15 | 47/19 | 54/25 | 61/34 | 70/44 | 82/53 | 88/59 | 86/57 | 77/47 | 66/36 | 52/24 | 44/16 |
| Grand Junction | 37/16 | 45/23 | 56/31 | 64/38 | 74/46 | 87/55 | 96/61 | 92/60 | 83/50 | 67/39 | 50/26 | 39/18 |
| Pueblo | 45/14 | 50/19 | 57/26 | 65/34 | 75/45 | 86/54 | 91/59 | 89/58 | 81/49 | 69/35 | 54/22 | 45/15 |
| [17] | ||||||||||||
The region that is today the State of Colorado has been inhabited by Native Americans for more than 13 millennia. The Lindenmeier Site in Larimer County contains artifacts dating from approximately 11200 BCE to 3000 BCE. The Ancient Pueblo Peoples lived in the valleys and mesas of the Colorado Plateau. The Ute Nation inhabited the mountain valleys of the Southern Rocky Mountains and the Western Rocky Mountains. The Arapaho Nation and the Cheyenne Nation moved west to hunt across the High Plains.
The United States acquired a territorial claim to the eastern flank of the Rocky Mountains with the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803. The U.S. claim conflicted with Spain's claim that a huge region surrounding its colony of Santa Fé de Nuevo Méjico was its sovereign trading zone. Zebulon Pike led a U.S. Army reconnaissance expedition into the disputed region in 1806. Pike and his men were arrested by Spanish cavalry in the San Luis Valley the following February, taken to Chihuahua, and expelled from México the following July.
The United States relinquished its claim to all land south and west of the Arkansas River as part of the U.S. purchase of Florida from Spain with the Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819. México finally won its independence from Spain in 1821, but it surrendered its northern territories to the United States after the Mexican-American War with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. In 1849, the Mormons of Deseret (now Utah) organized the extralegal Provisional State of Deseret which claimed all land drained by the Green River and the Colorado River. The federal government refused to recognize the new government, and the Mormons declined to settle east of the Green River for more than 20 years. The United States divided the area of the future Colorado among the Territory of New Mexico and the Territory of Utah organized in 1850, and the Territory of Kansas and the Territory of Nebraska organized in 1854.
Most American settlers traveling west to Oregon, Deseret, or California avoided the rugged Rocky Mountains and instead followed the North Platte River and Sweetwater River through what is now Wyoming. On April 9, 1851, Hispanic settlers from Taos, New Mexico, settled the village of San Luis, then in the New Mexico Territory, but now Colorado's first permanent European settlement. Gold was discovered along the South Platte River in western Kansas Territory in July 1858, precipitating the Pike's Peak Gold Rush.[18] The placer gold deposits along the rivers and streams of the region rapidly played out, but miners soon discovered far more valuable seams of hard rock gold, silver, and other minerals in the nearby mountains.
The Provisional Government of the Territory of Jefferson was organized on August 24, 1859, but the new territory failed to secure federal sanction. The election of Abraham Lincoln for U.S. President on November 6, 1860, led to the secession of six slave states and the threat of civil war. Seeking to augment the political power of the free states, the Republican led U.S. Congress hurriedly admitted the eastern portion of the Territory of Kansas to the Union as the free State of Kansas on January 29, 1861, leaving the western portion of the territory, and its gold fields, unorganized.
Thirty days later on February 28, 1861, outgoing U.S. President James Buchanan signed an act of Congress organizing the free Territory of Colorado.[19] The original boundaries of Colorado remain unchanged today. The name Colorado was chosen because it was commonly believed that the Colorado River originated in the territory.[20] Early Spanish explorers named the river the Rio Colorado for the reddish-brown silt the river carried from the mountains.[21] In fact, the Colorado River did not flow through the State of Colorado until House Joint Resolution 460 of the 66th United States Congress changed the name of the Grand River to the Colorado River on July 25, 1921.[22]
The United States Congress passed an enabling act on March 3, 1875, specifying the requirements for the Territory of Colorado to become a state.[8] On August 1, 1876 (28 days after the Centennial of the United States), U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant signed a proclamation admitting the State of Colorado to the Union as the 38th state and earning it the moniker "Centennial State".[23] The discovery of a major silver lode near Leadville in 1878, triggered the Colorado Silver Boom. The Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890 envigorated silver mining, but the repeal of the act in 1893 led to a major collapse of the mining and agricultural economy of the state.
Colorado women were granted the right to vote beginning on November 7, 1893, making Colorado the first U.S. state to grant universal suffrage by popular vote. By the 1930 U.S. Census, the population of Colorado exceeded one million residents. The state suffered through the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, but a major wave of immigration following World War II boosted Colorado's fortune. Tourism became a mainstay of the state economy, and high technology became an important economic engine. Colorado's population exceeded 4.3 million at U.S. Census 2000.
Three warships of the United States Navy have been named USS Colorado. The first USS Colorado was named for the Colorado River. The later two ships were named in honor of the landlocked state.
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1860 | 34,277 |
|
|
| 1870 | 39,864 | 16.3% | |
| 1880 | 194,327 | 387.5% | |
| 1890 | 413,249 | 112.7% | |
| 1900 | 539,700 | 30.6% | |
| 1910 | 799,024 | 48.0% | |
| 1920 | 939,629 | 17.6% | |
| 1930 | 1,035,791 | 10.2% | |
| 1940 | 1,123,296 | 8.4% | |
| 1950 | 1,325,089 | 18.0% | |
| 1960 | 1,753,947 | 32.4% | |
| 1970 | 2,207,259 | 25.8% | |
| 1980 | 2,889,964 | 30.9% | |
| 1990 | 3,294,394 | 14.0% | |
| 2000 | 4,301,261 | 30.6% | |
| Est. 2008[3] | 4,939,456 | 14.8% | |
The state's most populous city, and capital, is Denver. The Denver-Aurora-Boulder Combined Statistical Area, home to 2,927,911 people, contains more than two-thirds of the state's population. Residents of Colorado are properly referred to as Coloradans, although the term Coloradoans is still used.[2][24]
As of 2005, Colorado has an estimated population of 4,665,177, which is an increase of 63,356, or 1.4%, from the prior year and an increase of 363,162, or 8.4%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 205,321 people (that is 353,091 births minus 147,770 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 159,957 people into the state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 112,217 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 47,740 people.
The largest increases are expected in the Front Range Urban Corridor, especially in the Denver metropolitan area. The state's fastest growing counties are Douglas and Weld.[citation needed] Large numbers of new residents in the state originate from California, which led some locals to feel that their state was "Californicated" in the 1990s (esp. Denver resembled more of Los Angeles) when real estate home prices, lower cost of living and a healthier economy in growth rates drew in over 100,000 Californians at the time, and there are others who moved in from East Coast states. The center of population of Colorado is located just north of the town of Critchell in Jefferson County.[25]
Colorado has one of the highest proportions of Hispanic citizens of any U.S. state; only five states have a higher percentage. Denver and some other areas have significant Mexican populations, while southern Colorado has a large number of Hispanos, the descendants of early New Mexican settlers of colonial Spanish origin. The 2000 U.S. Census reports that 10.52% of people aged 5 and over in Colorado speak Spanish at home.[26] Colorado, like New Mexico, is very rich in archaic Spanish idioms.[27]
Colorado has a history of African-Americans communities which are located in northeast Denver in the Montbello, Green Valley Ranch, Park Hill and Colfax Park areas. The state has sizable numbers of Asian-Americans of Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Southeast Asian and Japanese descent. The Denver metropolitan area is considered more liberal and diverse than much of the state when it comes to political issues and environmental concerns.
According to the 2000 Census, the largest ancestry groups in Colorado are German (22%) including of Swiss and Austrian nationalities, Irish (12.2%), and English (12%). Persons reporting German ancestry are the largest group in the state and are especially strong in the Front Range, the Rockies (west-central counties) and Eastern parts/High Plains.[28] Denver and nearby areas on the Front Range has sizable Scandinavian, Italian, Slavic and Jewish American communities, partly a legacy of gold rushes in the late 19th century (1861-1889).
| Demographics of Colorado (csv) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| By race | White | Black | AIAN* | Asian | NHPI* |
| 2000 (total population) | 92.23% | 4.55% | 1.91% | 2.84% | 0.25% |
| 2000 (Hispanic only) | 16.20% | 0.37% | 0.64% | 0.14% | 0.05% |
| 2005 (total population) | 91.91% | 4.74% | 1.83% | 3.19% | 0.26% |
| 2005 (Hispanic only) | 18.46% | 0.48% | 0.61% | 0.18% | 0.06% |
| Growth 2000–05 (total population) | 8.09% | 13.03% | 3.85% | 22.08% | 15.47% |
| Growth 2000–05 (non-Hispanic only) | 4.78% | 10.67% | 3.75% | 21.14% | 11.70% |
| Growth 2000–05 (Hispanic only) | 23.60% | 39.64% | 4.05% | 40.04% | 29.23% |
| * AIAN is American Indian or Alaskan Native; NHPI is Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander | |||||
There were a total of 70,331 births in Colorado in 2006. (Birth Rate of 14.6). Although Non-Hispanic Whites constituted 73.5% of the population they accounted for only 48.90% of all the births. The first time in state history with the statistic of non-Hispanic whites have fewer babies. But 14.06% of the births happened to parents of different races (About two-thirds to White-Latino parents).[29] Westernmost counties where the majority of residents are adherents of Mormonism there's a slightly higher percentage of families with children and those of under age 18.
Colorado has a higher number of younger persons in median age: 33, according to the 2000 Census report. Large numbers of married couples in professional careers with young children move to the state in a belief it's a better place to raise a family. Colorado is also a major retirement destination by senior citizens in search of a warmer climate, recreation activities and the higher altitude in most of Colorado is said to provide health benefits for those with respiratory diseases.
Colorado's population is predominately Christian, although, like most other Western states, it has a high percentage of religiously unaffiliated residents. Colorado, and specifically the city of Colorado Springs, serves as the headquarters of numerous Christian groups, many of them Evangelical. Focus on the Family is a major conservative Christian organization headquartered in Colorado Springs. Catholicism is popular in Colorado, and is becoming more so with the influx of Latino immigrants.
Major religious affiliations of the people of Colorado are:[30]
The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Roman Catholic Church with 752,505; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 92,326; and the Southern Baptist Convention with 85,083.[31]
Colorado also has a reputation for being a state of very active and athletic people. According to several studies, Coloradans have the lowest rates of obesity of any state in the US.[32] As of 2007 the 17.6% of the population was considered medically obese, and while the lowest in the nation, the percentage had increased from 16.9% from 2004. Colorado Governor Bill Ritter spoke that “As an avid fisherman and bike rider, I know first-hand that Colorado provides a great environment for active, healthy lifestyles,” although he did highlight the need for continued education and support to slow the growth of obesity in the state.[33]
The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that the total state product in 2007 was $236 billion. Per capita personal income in 2007 was $40,963, ranking Colorado tenth in the nation.[34] The state's economy broadened from its mid-19th century roots in mining when irrigated agriculture developed, and by the late 19th century, raising livestock had become important. Early industry was based on the extraction and processing of minerals and agricultural products. Current agricultural products are cattle, wheat, dairy products, corn, and hay.
The federal government is also a major economic force in the state with many important federal facilities including NORAD, United States Air Force Academy and Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs; NOAA and the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder; U.S. Geological Survey and other government agencies at the Denver Federal Center in Lakewood; the Denver Mint, Buckley Air Force Base, and 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver; and a federal Supermax Prison and other federal prisons near Cañon City. In addition to these and other federal agencies, Colorado has abundant National Forest land and four National Parks that contribute to federal ownership of 24,615,788 acres (99,617 km2) of land in Colorado, or 37% of the total area of the state.[35] In the second half of the 20th century, the industrial and service sectors have expanded greatly. The state's economy is diversified and is notable for its concentration of scientific research and high-technology industries. Other industries include food processing, transportation equipment, machinery, chemical products, minerals such as gold and molybdenum, and tourism. Colorado also produces the largest amount of beer of any state.[36] Denver is an important financial center.
A number of nationally known brand names have originated in Colorado factories and laboratories. From Denver came the forerunner of telecommunications giant Qwest in 1879, Samsonite luggage in 1910, Gates belts and hoses in 1911, and Russell Stover Candies in 1923. Kuner canned vegetables began in Brighton in 1864. From Golden came Coors beer in 1873, CoorsTek industrial ceramics in 1920, and Jolly Rancher candy in 1949. CF&I railroad rails, wire, nails and pipe debuted in Pueblo in 1892. The present-day Swift packed meat of Greeley evolved from Monfort of Colorado, Inc., established in 1930. Estes model rockets were launched in Penrose in 1958. Fort Collins has been the home of Woodward Governor Company's motor controllers (governors) since 1870, and Waterpik dental water jets and showerheads since 1962. Celestial Seasonings herbal teas have been made in Boulder since 1969. Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory made its first candy in Durango in 1981.
Colorado has a flat 4.63% income tax, regardless of income level. Unlike most states, which calculate taxes based on federal adjusted gross income, Colorado taxes are based on taxable income - income after federal exemptions and federal itemized (or standard) deductions.[37][38] Colorado's state sales tax is 2.9% on retail sales. When state revenues exceed state constitutional limits, full-year Colorado residents can claim a sales tax refund on their individual state income tax return. Many counties and cities charge their own rates in addition to the base state rate. There are also certain county and special district taxes that may apply.
Real estate and personal business property are taxable in Colorado. The state's senior property tax exemption was temporarily suspended by the Colorado Legislature in 2003. The tax break is scheduled to return for assessment year 2006, payable in 2007.
Major philanthropic organizations based in Colorado, including the Daniels Fund, the Anschutz Family Foundation, the Gates Family Foundation, the El Pomar Foundation and the Boettcher Foundation, grant approximately $400 million[39] each year from approximately $7 billion[40] of assets.
Colorado has significant energy resources. According to the Energy Information Administration, Colorado hosts seven of the Nation’s 100 largest natural gas fields and two of its 100 largest oil fields. Conventional and unconventional natural gas output from several Colorado basins typically accounts for more than 5 percent of annual U.S. natural gas production. Substantial deposits of bituminous, subbituminous, and lignite coal are also found in the State. Colorado's high Rocky Mountain ridges offer wind power potential, and geologic activity in the mountain areas provides potential for geothermal power development. Major rivers flowing from the Rocky Mountains offer hydroelectric power resources. Corn grown in the flat eastern part of the State offers potential resources for ethanol production. Notably, Colorado’s oil shale deposits hold an estimated 1 trillion barrels (160 km3) of oil – nearly as much oil as the entire world’s proven oil reserves. Oil production from those deposits, however, remains speculative.[41]
Some of the special tax districts are:
|
|
Alamosa, Aurora, Boulder, Brush, Colorado Springs, Delta, Denver, Durango, Englewood, Frisco, Fort Collins, Fort Morgan, Glenwood Springs, Grand Junction, Greeley, Lamar, Limon, Longmont, Montrose, Pueblo, Rocky Ford, Springfield, Sterling, Trinidad, Vail, and Walsenburg |
| Year | Republican | Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 40.16% 625,886 | 56.98% 888,096 |
| 2002 | 62.62% 884,584 | 33.65% 475,373 |
| 1998 | 49.06% 648,202 | 48.43% 639,905 |
| 1994 | 38.70% 432,042 | 55.47% 619,205 |
| 1990 | 35.43% 358,403 | 61.89% 626,032 |
Like all U.S. states, Colorado's constitution provides for three branches of government: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The governor heads the state's executive branch. The Colorado Supreme Court is the highest judicial body in the state. The state legislative body is the Colorado General Assembly, which is made up of two houses, the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House has 65 members and the Senate has 35. Currently, Democrats control both chambers of the General Assembly. The 2005 Colorado General Assembly was the first to be controlled by the Democrats in forty years. The incumbent governor is Democrat August William "Bill" Ritter, Jr..
Many Coloradans are originally native to other states (over half of them were Californians in the 1990s[citation needed]), and this is illustrated by the fact that the state did not have a native-born governor from 1975 (when John David Vanderhoof left office) until 2007, when Bill Ritter took office; his election the previous year marked the first electoral victory for a native-born Coloradan in a gubernatorial race since 1958 (Vanderhoof had ascended from the Lieutenant Governorship when John Arthur Love was given a position in Richard Nixon's administration in 1973).
| Year | Republican | Democratic |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 44.71% 1,073,584 | 53.66% 1,288,568 |
| 2004 | 51.69% 1,101,255 | 47.02% 1,001,732 |
| 2000 | 50.75% 883,745 | 42.39% 738,227 |
| 1996 | 45.80% 691,848 | 44.43% 671,152 |
| 1992 | 35.87% 562,850 | 40.13% 629,681 |
| 1988 | 53.06% 728,177 | 45.28% 621,453 |
Colorado is considered a swing state in both state and federal elections. Coloradans have elected 17 Democrats and 12 Republicans to the governorship in the last 100 years. In presidential politics, Colorado supported Democrats Bill Clinton in 1992 and Barack Obama in 2008, and supported Republicans Robert J. Dole in 1996 and George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004. It was the second most accurate indicator of the national vote in 2008, after Virginia.[citation needed]
Colorado politics has the contrast of conservative cities such as Colorado Springs and liberal cities such as Boulder. Democrats are strongest in metropolitan Denver, the college towns of Fort Collins and Boulder, southern Colorado (including Pueblo), and a few western ski resort counties. The Republicans are strongest in the Eastern Plains, Colorado Springs, Greeley, some Denver suburbs, and the western half of the state (including Grand Junction). The fastest growing parts of the state particularly Douglas, Elbert, and Weld Counties, in the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area, are somewhat Republican-leaning.
Colorado is represented by two United States Senators:
The State of Colorado is represented by seven Representatives to the United States House of Representatives:
Colorado has 271 incorporated municipalities and 83 active United States Census Designated Places.[44][45]
Colorado is divided into 64 counties, including two counties with consolidated city and county governments.[46]
The fifteen most populous Colorado counties as of July 1, 2008, were:[47]
Colleges and universities in Colorado:
The United States Census Bureau has defined seven Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), seven Micropolitan Statistical Areas (μSAs), and one Combined Statistical Area (CSA) in the State of Colorado.[48][49]
Nationally Protected Areas in Colorado:
Colorado is the least populous state with a franchise in each of the major professional sports leagues. The state is able to support the teams because it contains a large metropolitan area with a higher population than any other city within 550 miles (885 km). Therefore, many of the residents in the surrounding states support the teams in Denver, as shown by the reach of the Broncos' radio network.[53]
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Coordinates: 39°00′N 105°30′W / 39°N 105.5°W
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| Preceded by Nebraska |
List of U.S. states by date of statehood Admitted on August 1, 1876 (38th) |
Succeeded by North Dakota |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
| Translations: Colorado |
Français (French)
n. - Colorado
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n. - Colorado
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n. - Colorado
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
科罗拉多州
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 科羅拉多州
한국어 (Korean)
콜로라도 (미국 서부에 있는 주; 주도 Denver; (약) Colo., Col., CO; 속칭 Centennial State), 콜로라도 강 (Grand Canyon 으로 유명)
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Did you mean: Colorado (state, United States), Colorado River (southwest US), Colorado Rockies (baseball team), Colorado, Río (river, Argentina), Colorado (Latin America) More...
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