A guide to the State of Colorado

Named for the Colorado River, Colorado is a state of America which contains the southern Rocky Mountains as well as the north-eastern part of the Colorado Plateau. Nicknamed the 'Centennial State' because of its 1876 admission to the Union, it is known for its varied and interesting landscape of mesas, mountains, forests, plains, dramatic rivers and deserts.

History

Native American habitation
What is now the state of Colorado, is an area which has been the scene of Native American habitation for an estimated 13,000 years. The Ancient Pueblo People lived in the Colorado Plateau. The Ute Nation occupied the South and West Rocky Mountain region while the famous Cheyenne and Arapaho hunted across the Plains in the late 18th and 19th Centuries, having migrated from further east. Signed into existence
After being the subject of claims from France and Spain, the area came under American influence in the 19th Century, with gold rushes in the west triggering a wave of settlement. The Territory of Colorado was signed into existence by President James Buchanan in 1861. What became a state fifteen years later, acquired its name from Spaniards after the red silt of the Colorado River. At the time, it was believed that the river had its source in the state, but that was later discovered to be in Utah.

Flag, geography & economy

Flag
The Colorado state flag is a symbolic representation of the state. The three horizontal stripes of the flag are of equal width, the top and bottom ones blue, the middle white. A circular red 'C' sits in the centre of these stripes, surrounding a golden disk. The blue represents the sky, the gold the sunshine, the white the snow and the red, the earth of the dramatic landscape of Colorado. Geography
A quarter of the state of Colorado's land is rolling plains, similar to the plains of New Mexico in the varied nature of its landscape.The diverse nature of the state's geography means that its climate is much more complex than that of many other American states. Much of the rest of the state consists of mountainous terrain, with the Rocky Mountains being home to stunning valleys and 'parks' or high, broad basins. Economy
The state has a mixed sector economy, with much of it devoted to agriculture. It is also still associated with the extraction of metals such as gold. Denver is an important financial sector in Colorado and tourism also plays a central role in the economy. University
Colorado State University, also known as CSU, is located in Fort Collins. The Colorado State Fair has been held annually at the town of Pueblo since 1872.