Colorado
The State of Colorado is a state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. Colorado may also be considered to be a part of the Western and Southwestern regions of the United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the state population was 4,861,515 in 2007, a 13.03% increase since the U.S. Census 2000. Denver is the capital as well as the most populous city of Colorado. Citizens of Colorado are known as Coloradans.
Geography
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). Colorado is one of only three U.S. states (with Wyoming and Utah) that have only lines of latitude and longitude for boundaries.
The summit of Mount Elbert at 4,401.2 meters (14,440 ft) elevation in Lake County is the state's highest point and the highest point in the entire Rocky Mountains. Colorado has more than 500 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 1,010 meters (3,314 ft) elevation. This crossing point holds the distinction of being the highest low point of any U.S. state.
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 3314 to 6562 feet (1010 to 2000 m). 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 450 mm) annually. 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.
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 51 peaks that are 14,000 feet (4,267 m) or higher elevation, known as fourteeners. The mountains are timbered with conifers and aspen 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 worlds 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.
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.
History
The region that is today the State of Colorado has been inhabited by Native Americans for more than 13 millennia. The region was acquired by the United States with the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803 and the Mexican Cession in 1848. The region was divided among the Territory of New Mexico organized in 1850, the Territory of Utah organized in 1850, the Territory of Kansas organized in 1854, and the Territory of Nebraska organized in 1854.
On 1851-04-09, Hispanic settlers from Taos, New Mexico, settled San Luis, then in the Territory of New Mexico, but now Colorado's first European settlement. Gold was discovered along the South Platte River in western Kansas Territory in July of 1858, precipitating the Pike's Peak Gold Rush.The Provisional Government of the Territory of Jefferson was organized on 1859-10-24, but the new territory failed to secure federal sanction. The election of Abraham Lincoln on 1860-11-06, led to the secession of six slave states and the approach of civil war. The Republican led U.S. Congress admitted the eastern portion of the Territory of Kansas to the Union as the free State of Kansas on 1861-01-29, leaving the western portion of the territory, and its gold fields, unorganized.
Thirty days later on 1861-02-28, outgoing U.S. President James Buchanan signed an act of Congress organizing the free Territory of Colorado. (The boundaries of the new territory were the same as the State of Colorado today.) The name Colorado was chosen because it was commonly believed that the Colorado River originated in the territory. Early Spanish explorers had named the Rio Colorado for the reddish-brown silt the river carried from the mountains. (In fact, the Colorado River did not flow through Colorado until House Joint Resolution 460 of the 66th United States Congress changed the name of the Grand River to the Colorado River on 1921-07-25.)
On 1876-08-01 (28 days after 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 the "Centennial State". Colorado women were granted the right to vote beginning on 1893-11-07. By the 1930 U.S. Census, the population of Colorado exceeded one million residents, and by the 2000 Census, the population exceeded 4.3 million.
Three different ships have been named USS Colorado in honor of the state.
This article is issued under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from entry Wikipedia: "English".
