Colorado is a state in the western United States. It is famous for the Rocky Mountains, where the highest peaks of the range exist. The state capital and largest city is Denver.
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- U.S. Post Office abbreviation for the state: CO
- Geography
- Physical geography:
East of the front range of the Rocky Mountains are the great plains, within Colorado at elevations ranging from 3500 to 7000 feet. Kansas, the Nebraska panhandle and the Oklahoma panhandle border Colorado to the east. The plains are sparsely settled with most settlements along the South Platte and the Arkansas rivers and the I-70 corridor. Rainfall is meager, averaging about 15 inches per year. There is some irrigated farming, but much of the land is used for Dryland farming or ranchland. Winter wheat is a typical crop and most small towns in the region boast both a water tower and a grain elevator.
The major cities of Colorado, Fort Collins, Greeley, Boulder, Denver, Thornton, Westminster, Lakewood, Aurora, Arvada, Littleton, Englewood, Castlerock, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Walsenburg, and Trinidad lie just east of the front range, in the I-25 corridor. The majority of the population of Colorado lives in this densely urbanized strip.
To the west lies the front range of the Rocky Mountains with notable peaks such as Long's Peak, Mount Evans, Pike's Peak, and the Spanish Peaks. This area drains to the east, is forested, and is partially urbanized
To the west of the front range lies the Continental divide, averaging from about 12,000 feet in southern Colorado to about 10,500 feet in northern Colorado. To the west of the continental divide is the Western Slope of Colorado. Water west of the continental divide drains into the Pacific Ocean via the Colorado River.
Within the interior of the Rocky Mountains there are several large parks or broad high 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, the Bayou Salade of the fur trappers, is the headwaters of the South Platte River. To the South lies the San Luis Valley, the highest mountain valley in the world, the headwaters of the Rio Grande which drains into New Mexico. Across the Sangre de Christo 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. See Great Rift Valley.
The Rocky Mountains within Colorado contain about 40 14,000 foot peaks. The mountains are timbered with conifer and aspen to about 12,000 feet which is Timberline, above which only alpine vegetation grows. The 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 stretches from the San Juan Mountains in the southwest to Boulder and Central City on the front range containing 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, Colorado|Grand Junction is the largest city on the Western Slope. Grand Junction is served by Interstate Hiway I-70. To the southeast of Grand Junction is Grand Mesa, a large flat-topped mountain. Further east lie the [Colorado Ski Resorts|ski resorts]] of Aspen, Vail, Crested Butte, Colorado|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 grasslands. Mount Elbert is the largest peak in the Rocky Mountains within the continental United States. The famous Pike's Peak is just west of Colorado Springs. Its lone peak is visible from the Kansas border on clear days.
- National parks, etc.
- adjacent U.S. states: Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska.
- Cities (including state capital) (the list itself makes for a good subpage)
- Aspen, Colorado -- renowned ski resort
- Boulder, Colorado
- Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Denver, Colorado -- state capital
- Ft. Collins, Colorado
- Longmont, Colorado
- Loveland, Colorado
- Pueblo, Colorado
- List of counties (if someone wants to go to the trouble) (the list itself makes for a good subpage)
- Demography
- state population
- racial/ethnic makeup of state
- religious makeup of state
- Economy
- State income
- Major industries/products
- state taxes
- Law/Government of state [Note that all the U.S. states have similar legal and political systems, so maybe we only need to mention anything that makes the state distinct]
- governor -- current, previous governors
- legislature -- bicameral or unicameral? names of houses?
- structure of state judicary
- information on state constitution
- does it have referenda?
- History
- History prior to joining the United States
- when first came under U.S. control (if it was a territory prior to being a state)
- Attained statehood: 1876
- Major historical events
- Colleges & Universities
- University of Colorado at...
- Boulder http://www.colorado.edu/
- Denver http://www.du.edu/
- Colorado Springs
- Colorado State University http://www.colostate.edu/
- University of Colorado at...
- Sporting teams in state, similar lists.
- Denver Broncos
If any section above becomes too detailed, it should be split off into a separate article.