Colorado is located in the Mountain West region in the western United States. The state contains most of the southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern part of the Colorado Plateau. Colorado is the 8th largest and 21st most populous U.S. state.
In 1876, US President Ulysses S. Grant signed a proclamation that included Colorado in the Union as the 38th state. Colorado is nicknamed the “Centennial State” because it became a state a century after the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence.
Colorado borders 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. Colorado also touches Arizona on the famous “Four Corners”. Colorado is known for its beautiful landscape with mountains, forests, plateaus, gorges, rivers and desert.
Denver is the capital and the most populous city in Colorado. Colorado is a relatively wealthy state, ranked 8th in household income and 11th in per capita income. It also ranks high in the country’s living standards index. Large parts of the economy include government and defense, mining, agriculture, tourism. With rising temperatures and declining water availability, Colorado’s agricultural, forestry and tourism economies are expected to be affected by climate change.
The region has been inhabited by Indians for more than 13,000 years, and artifacts from 9,200 to 1,000 BC have been found. The eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains was an important migration route for the early peoples that spread throughout America. “Colorado” means “ruddy”, the color of red sandstone found in Colorado