Colorado – the State of The Century in The Rocky Mountains

By | July 22, 2022

Endless prairies, majestic mountains, rushing rivers and deserts. Dinosaur fossils, Indian art, ancient rock dwellings, narrow-gauge railways, perfect ski slopes and numerous natural wonders. This is Colorado. The state in the western to central part of the United States where adventure dreams come true.

According to Ehuacom, Colorado is part of the Mountain States and the highest state in the USA with a mean altitude of 2,073 meters. The state, which is traversed by the Rocky Mountains, is also called the State of the Century because it emerged from the Colorado Territory exactly one hundred years after the Declaration of Independence in 1876.

The state owes its name with its breathtaking natural beauty to the Colorado River, which carries reddish (“colorado”) mud with it.

Colorado in numbers, data and facts

  • Area: 269,601 km2
  • Population: 5,607,154 (2017)
  • Member of the United States since: August 1, 1876
  • Time zone: UTC-7 MST
  • Highest point: Mount Elbert (4401 meters)
  • Lowest point: Arikaree River (1021 meters)
  • Average altitude: 2073 meters
  • Capital: Denver
  • State motto: Nile sine numine

Geographical location and extent

Colorado is located in the western part of the USA and is enclosed by a total of seven states. While the state borders Wyoming in the north and Nebraska and Kansas in the east, the border with New Mexico in the south. Colorado is only separated from Texas by the relatively small strip of land of the Oklahoma Panhandle and after all, there is no real common border with Arizona at all. The two states only meet at the southwestern corner of Colorado.

Colorado is one of the three states in the United States that does not have a natural state border. Instead, its extent was determined almost exclusively along lines of longitude and latitude. The state is roughly rectangular and ranges roughly from 37 ° N to 41 ° N and 102 ° W to 109 ° W.

Colorado is one of the four-corner states of the USA

The state of the century, along with New Mexico, Arizona and Utah, is part of the “Four Corners”, the four-corner states of the USA. This constellation is unique and marked with a special monument.

Colorado is traversed by the southern Rocky Mountains in the center and in the west. The most important mountains in the state are the San Juan Mountains in the southwest, the Sawatch Range in the center, the eastern foothills of the Rocky Mountains, and the Front and Sangre de Christo Range. These wide mountain ranges also created some valley basins in the state. The Colorado Plateau is west of the Rockies.

In addition, the continental divide runs through the century-old state in which with the Colorado River, the Arkansas River and the Rio Grande three of the most important rivers in North America with a length of over 2,000 kilometers each have their headwaters. Colorado has a total of 2,183 natural lakes, many of which are in and around Rocky Mountain National Park. The largest natural lake in the century state is the Grand Lake.

The Rocky Mountains

Anyone talking about Colorado must also be talking about the Rocky Mountains, which are located in Canada and the United States. The southern Rocky Mountains run through the state in the center and west. Among other things is the highest mountain of the Rocky Mountains in the century state. The mountain range is a popular travel destination for campers, hikers, nature lovers and mountaineers.

The great plains

The Great Plains are a vast steppe landscape that runs through the center of the United States. They begin east of the Rockies and are known as the High Plains within the century state. At 1,021 meters, they form the deepest point in Colorado on the border with Kansas.

Warm hot summers and cold snowy winters

Colorado has a continental climate with warm, sometimes hot summers and cold, snowy winters. Those who visit the state can look forward to 300 sunny days per year. The annual rainfall is around 400 to 500 millimeters per year. The temperature differences between day and night are extreme. Especially in summer it is often very hot and dry during the day, but it gets very cold at night.

Population of Colorado

In 2017, the estimated population of Colorado was 5,607,151 people. That is a few more than the 2010 Census when only 5,029,196 residents were counted. Population growth is above average in Colorado, particularly in the Douglas and El Paso counties, which are south of Denver.

The majority of the population are whites (81.3 percent), followed by blacks or African-Americans with 4 percent, Asian Americans with 2.8 percent and Indians with 1.1 percent. 7.2 percent of the population fall under Other and 20.7 percent describe themselves as Hispanics.

In addition, people with German roots in Colorado make up the largest group at 22 percent. Mexican ancestors make up 18 percent of the population, while people of Irish and English roots make up 12 percent of the population. The official language in the century-old state is English, but a lot of Spanish is spoken, especially in the south.

64% of the people living in the state of the century belong to a Christian church. Most of them are Protestants. Roman Catholic residents account for 16 percent, and Mormons have 2 percent in Colorado. The non-Christian faiths make up 5 percent. 29% of Colorado’s residents are according to the Pew Research Center not religious.

Most major cities are located along a north-south line in the state. In the west there are almost only small towns.

The 10 largest cities of Colorado

  1. Denver (600,158)
  2. Colorado Springs (416,427)
  3. Aurora (325,078)
  4. Fort Collins (143,986)
  5. Lakewood (142,980)
  6. Thornton (118,772)
  7. Pueblo (106,595)
  8. Arvada (106,433)
  9. Westminster (106,114)
  10. Centennial (100,377)

Figures from 2010 census.

Colorado - the State of The Century in The Rocky Mountains