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 4,753,377 in 2006, a 10.49% increase since
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 elevation in
Lake County is the state's highest point and the highest point in the entire
Rocky Mountains. 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 didn't 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.
Demographics
The state's largest city, and capital, is
Denver. The
Denver-Aurora-Boulder Combined Statistical Area, home to 2,927,911 people, contains more than two-thirds of the state's population. Residents of Colorado are properly referred to as
Coloradans, although the archaic term
Coloradoans is also sometimes used.
Coloradan refers to a Colorado resident, while
Coloradoan is a newspaper in Fort Collins.
As of 2005, Colorado has an estimated population of 4,665,177, which is an increase of 63,356, or 1.4%, from the prior year and an increase of 363,162, or 8.4%, since the year 2000. This includes a natural increase since the last census of 205,321 people (that is 353,091 births minus 147,770 deaths) and an increase due to net migration of 159,957 people into the state.
Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 112,217 people, and
migration within the country produced a net increase of 47,740 people.
According to estimates made in 2004, Colorado's population will increase to 7,150,000 by 2030
(External Link
). The largest increases are expected in the
Front Range Urban Corridor, especially in the
Denver metropolitan area.
As of 2004, 441,000 foreign-born persons (9.7% of the population) live in the state, including an estimated 144,000
illegal immigrants (3.1% of the state population).
The
center of population of Colorado is located just north of the town of Critchell in
Jefferson County (External Link) (External Link).
Professional sports teams
Colorado is the least populous state with a franchise in each of the
major professional sports leagues. As of the 2000 census, Colorado was also the least populous state to have more than one major league team. The state is able to support the teams because it contains a large
metropolitan area with a much higher population than any other city within 550 miles (885 kilometers). Therefore, many of the residents in the surrounding states support the
teams in Denver, as shown by the reach of the Broncos' radio network.
(External Link)
Former professional sports teams
External results
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