
Army reconnaissance expedition into the disputed region. claim conflicted with the claim by Spain to the upper Arkansas River Basin as the exclusive trading zone of its colony of Santa Fe de Nuevo México. acquired a territorial claim to the eastern Rocky Mountains with the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803. The Spanish Empire claimed Colorado as part of its New Mexico province before U.S. In the 17th century, the Arapaho and Cheyenne moved west from the Great Lakes region to hunt across the High Plains of Colorado and Wyoming. The Apache and the Comanche also inhabited the Eastern and Southeastern parts of the state. The Ute Nation inhabited the mountain valleys of the Southern Rocky Mountains and the Western Rocky Mountains, even as far east as the Front Range of the present day. The Ancient Pueblo peoples lived in the valleys and mesas of the Colorado Plateau. The Lindenmeier site in Larimer County contains artifacts dating from approximately 8720 BCE. The eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains was a major migration route that was important to the spread of early peoples throughout the Americas. The region that is today the State of Colorado has been inhabited by Native Americans and their Paleoamerican ancestors for at least 13,500 years and possibly more than 37,000 years. It is said to have been built by the Ancient Pueblo peoples. Great Kiva at Chimney Rock in the San Juan Mountains of Southwestern Colorado.

The state is one of the most educated, developed, and wealthiest, ranking 3rd in percentage of population 25 and over with a bachelor's degree and 8th in percentage of population 25 and over with an advanced degree, 9th on the American Human Development Index, and 8th in per capital income and 9th in median household income. With increasing temperatures and decreasing water availability, Colorado's agriculture, forestry, and tourism economies are expected to be heavily affected by climate change. Major parts of the economy include government and defense, mining, agriculture, tourism, and increasingly other kinds of manufacturing. Residents of the state are known as Coloradans, although the antiquated "Coloradoan" is occasionally used. Colorado Springs is the second most populous city. The high plains of Colorado may be considered a part of the midwestern United States.ĭenver is the capital, the most populous city, and the center of the Front Range Urban Corridor. Colorado is one of the Mountain States and is often considered to be part of the southwestern United States. Colorado is noted for its vivid landscape of mountains, forests, high plains, mesas, canyons, plateaus, rivers, and desert lands. Colorado is nicknamed the " Centennial State" because it became a state one century (and four weeks) after the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence.Ĭolorado is bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas to the east, Oklahoma to the southeast, New Mexico to the south, and Utah to the west, and touches Arizona to the southwest at the Four Corners. The Spanish adjective "colorado" means "colored red" or "ruddy". Grant signed Proclamation 230 admitting Colorado to the Union as the 38th state. President James Buchanan signed an act creating the Territory of Colorado, and on August 1, 1876, President Ulysses S.

The Pike's Peak Gold Rush of 1858-1862 created an influx of settlers. In 1848, much of the region was annexed to the United States with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains was a major migration route for early peoples who spread throughout the Americas. The region has been inhabited by Native Americans and their ancestors for at least 13,500 years and possibly much longer. The United States Census Bureau estimated the population of Colorado at 5,839,926 as of July 1, 2022, a 1.15% increase since the 2020 United States census. Colorado is the eighth most extensive and 21st most populous U.S. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains. Colorado ( / ˌ k ɒ l ə ˈ r æ d oʊ, - ˈ r ɑː d oʊ/ ( listen), other variants ) is a state in the Mountain West sub-region of the Western United States.
