The U.S. relinquished its claim to all land south and west of theArkansas River and south of42nd parallel north and west of the100th meridian west as part of its purchase of Florida from Spain with theAdams-Onís Treaty of 1819. The treaty took effect on February 22, 1821. Having settled its border with Spain, the U.S. admitted the southeastern portion of theTerritory of Missouri to the Union as thestate of Missouri on August 10, 1821. The remainder of Missouri Territory, including what would become northeastern Colorado, became an unorganized territory and remained so for 33 years over thequestion of slavery. After 11 years of war, Spain finally recognized the independence of Mexico with theTreaty of Córdoba signed on August 24, 1821. Mexico eventually ratified the Adams–Onís Treaty in 1831. TheTexian Revolt of 1835–36 fomented a dispute between the U.S. and Mexico which eventually erupted into theMexican–American War in 1846. Mexico surrendered its northern territory to the U.S. with theTreaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo after the war in 1848; this included much of the western and southern areas of Colorado.
Map of theMexican Cession, with the white representing the territory the United States received from Mexico (plus land ceded to theRepublic of Texas) after theMexican–American War. Well over half of Colorado was received from this treaty.
In 1862, a force of Texas cavalry invaded theTerritory of New Mexico and capturedSanta Fe on March 10. The object of thisWestern Campaign was to seize or disrupt Colorado and California's gold fields and seize Pacific Ocean ports for the Confederacy. A hastily organized force of Colorado volunteers force-marched fromDenver City, Colorado Territory, toGlorieta Pass, New Mexico Territory, in an attempt to block the Texans. On March 28, the Coloradans and local New Mexico volunteers stopped the Texans at theBattle of Glorieta Pass, destroyed their cannon and supply wagons, and dispersed 500 of their horses and mules.[22] The Texans were forced to retreat to Santa Fe. Having lost the supplies for their campaign and finding little support in New Mexico, the Texans abandoned Santa Fe and returned toSan Antonio in defeat. The Confederacy made no further attempts to seize the Southwestern United States.
In 1864,Territorial GovernorJohn Evans appointed the ReverendJohn Chivington as Colonel of the Colorado Volunteers with orders to protect white settlers fromCheyenne andArapaho warriors who were accused of stealing cattle. Colonel Chivington ordered his troops to attack a band of Cheyenne and Arapaho encamped along Sand Creek. Chivington reported that his troops killed more than 500 warriors. The militia returned to Denver City in triumph, but several officers reported that the so-called battle was a blatant massacre of Indians at peace, that most of the dead were women and children, and that the bodies of the dead had been hideously mutilated and desecrated. Three U.S. Army inquiries condemned the action, and incoming PresidentAndrew Johnson asked Governor Evans for his resignation, but none of the perpetrators was ever punished. This event is now known as theSand Creek massacre.
In the midst and aftermath of the Civil War, many discouraged prospectors returned to their homes, but a few stayed and developed mines, mills, farms, ranches, roads, and towns in Colorado Territory. On September 14, 1864, James Huff discovered silver nearArgentine Pass, the first of many silver strikes. In 1867, theUnion Pacific Railroad laid its tracks west to Weir, nowJulesburg, in the northeast corner of the Territory. The Union Pacific linked up with theCentral Pacific Railroad atPromontory Summit, Utah, on May 10, 1869, to form theFirst transcontinental railroad. TheDenver Pacific Railway reached Denver in June of the following year, and theKansas Pacific arrived two months later to forge the second line across the continent. In 1872, rich veins of silver were discovered in theSan Juan Mountains on theUte Indian reservation in southwestern Colorado. The Ute people were removed from the San Juan Mountains the following year.
TheUnited States Congress passed an enabling act on March 3, 1875, specifying the requirements for the Territory of Colorado to become a state.[23] On August 1, 1876 (four weeks after theCentennial of the United States), U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant signed a proclamation admitting Colorado to the Union as the 38th state and earning it the moniker "Centennial State".[3]
The discovery of a major silver lode nearLeadville in 1878 triggered theColorado Silver Boom. TheSherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890 invigorated silver mining, and Colorado's last, but greatest, gold strike atCripple Creek a few months later lured a new generation of gold seekers. Colorado women were granted the right to vote on November 7, 1893, making Colorado the second state to grantuniversal suffrage and the first one by apopular vote (of Colorado men). The repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act in 1893 led to a staggering collapse of the mining and agricultural economy of Colorado, but the state slowly and steadily recovered. Between the 1880s and 1930s, Denver's floriculture industry developed into a major industry in Colorado.[24][25] This period became known locally as theCarnation Gold Rush.[26]
In 1924, theKu Klux Klan Colorado Realm achieved dominance in Colorado politics. With peak membership levels, theSecond Klan levied significant control over both the local and stateDemocrat andRepublican parties, particularly in the governor's office and city governments of Denver,Cañon City, andDurango. A particularly strong element of the Klan controlled theDenver Police.[36]Cross burnings became semi-regular occurrences in cities such asFlorence and Pueblo. The Klan targeted African-Americans,Catholics, Eastern European immigrants, and other non-WhiteProtestant groups.[37] Efforts by non-Klan lawmen and lawyers includingPhilip Van Cise led to a rapid decline in the organization's power, with membership waning significantly by the end of the 1920s.[36]
Colorado became the first western state to host a major political convention when theDemocratic Party met in Denver in 1908. By theU.S. census in 1930, the population of Colorado first exceeded one million residents. Colorado suffered greatly through theGreat Depression and theDust Bowl of the 1930s, but a major wave of immigration followingWorld War II boosted Colorado's fortune. Tourism became a mainstay of the state economy, and high technology became an important economic engine. TheUnited States Census Bureau estimated that the population of Colorado exceeded five million in 2009.
In 1967, Colorado was the first state to loosen restrictions onabortion when governorJohn Love signed a law allowing abortions in cases of rape, incest, or threats to the woman's mental or physical health. Many states followed Colorado's lead in loosening abortion laws in the 1960s and 1970s.[41]
Approximately half of Colorado is flat and rolling land. East of the Rocky Mountains is theColorado Eastern Plains of theHigh Plains, the section of the Great Plains within Colorado at elevations ranging from roughly 3,350 to 7,500 feet (1,020 to 2,290 m).[50] The Colorado plains are mostly prairies but also includedeciduous forests,buttes, and canyons. Precipitation averages 15 to 25 inches (380 to 640 mm) annually.[51]
Eastern Colorado is presently mainly farmland and rangeland, along with small farming villages and towns.Corn,wheat,hay,soybeans, andoats are all typical crops. Most villages and towns in this region boast both a water tower and agrain elevator. Irrigation water is available from both surface and subterranean sources. Surface water sources include theSouth Platte, theArkansas River, and a few other streams. Subterranean water is generally accessed throughartesian wells. Heavy usage of these wells for irrigation purposes caused underground water reserves to decline in the region. Eastern Colorado also hosts a considerable amount and range of livestock, such as cattle ranches and hog farms.[52]
Roughly 70% of Colorado's population resides along the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains in theFront Range Urban Corridor betweenCheyenne, Wyoming, andPueblo, Colorado. This region is partially protected from prevailing storms that blow in from the Pacific Ocean region by the high Rockies in the middle of Colorado. The "Front Range" includes Denver,Boulder,Fort Collins, Loveland,Castle Rock, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Greeley, and other townships and municipalities in between. On the other side of the Rockies, the significant population centers in western Colorado (which is known as "The Western Slope") are the cities ofGrand Junction,Durango, andMontrose.
The Rocky Mountains within Colorado contain 53 true peaks and 58 named peaks[53] that are 14,000 feet (4,267 m) or higher in elevation above sea level, known asfourteeners.[54] These mountains are largely covered with trees such asconifers andaspens up to thetree line, at an elevation of about 12,000 feet (3,658 m) in southern Colorado to about 10,500 feet (3,200 m) in northern Colorado. Above this tree line, only alpine vegetation grows.
Much of the alpine snow melts by mid-August except for a few snow-capped peaks and a few small glaciers. TheColorado Mineral Belt, stretching from theSan Juan Mountains in the southwest toBoulder andCentral City on the front range, contains most of the historic gold- and silver-mining districts of Colorado. The 30highest major summits of the Rocky Mountains of North America are all within the state.
The summit of Mount Elbert at 14,437.6 feet (4,400.58 m) elevation inLake County is the highest point in Colorado and the Rocky Mountains of North America.[5][55] Colorado is the only U.S. state that lies entirely above 1,000 meters elevation. The point where theArikaree River flows out ofYuma County, Colorado, and intoCheyenne County, Kansas, is the lowest in Colorado at 3,317 feet (1,011 m) elevation. This point, which is the highest low elevation point of any state,[6][56] is higher than the high elevation points of 18 states and the District of Columbia.
Within the interior of the Rocky Mountains are several large parks which are high broad basins. In the north, on the east side of the Continental Divide is theNorth Park of Colorado. The North Park is drained by theNorth Platte River, which flows north into Wyoming and Nebraska. Just to the south of North Park, but on the western side of the Continental Divide, is theMiddle Park of Colorado, which is drained by the Colorado River. TheSouth Park of Colorado is the region of theheadwaters of the South Platte River.
Maroon Bells, at 14,163 ft (4,317 m), is part ofWhite River National Forest and a tourist destinationThe Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction is made up of high desert canyons and sandstone rock formations.
The Western Slope of Colorado includes the western face of the Rocky Mountains and all of the area to the western border. This area includes several terrains and climates from alpine mountains to arid deserts. The Western Slope includes many ski resort towns in the Rocky Mountains and towns west to Utah. It is less populous than the Front Range but includes a large number of national parks and monuments.
The northwestern corner of Colorado is a sparsely populated region, and it contains part of the notedDinosaur National Monument, which not only is apaleontological area, but is also a scenic area of rocky hills, canyons, arid desert, and streambeds. Here, the Green River briefly crosses over into Colorado.
The Western Slope of Colorado is drained by the Colorado River and its tributaries (primarily theGunnison River,Green River, and theSan Juan River). The Colorado River flows throughGlenwood Canyon, and then through an arid valley made up of desert fromRifle toParachute, through the desert canyon ofDe Beque Canyon, and into the arid desert ofGrand Valley, where the city of Grand Junction is located.
Also prominent is theGrand Mesa, which lies to the southeast of Grand Junction; the high San Juan Mountains, a rugged mountain range; and to the north and west of the San Juan Mountains, theColorado Plateau.
Grand Junction, Colorado, at the confluence of the Colorado and Gunnison Rivers, is the largest city on the Western Slope. Grand Junction and Durango are the only major centers oftelevision broadcasting west of the Continental Divide in Colorado, though most mountain resort communities publish daily newspapers. Grand Junction is located at the juncture ofInterstate 70 and US 50, the only major highways in western Colorado. Grand Junction is also along the major railroad of the Western Slope, theUnion Pacific. This railroad also provides the tracks forAmtrak'sCalifornia Zephyr passenger train, which crosses the Rocky Mountains between Denver and Grand Junction.
TheFour Corners Monument in the southwest corner of Colorado marks the common boundary of Colorado,New Mexico,Arizona, andUtah; the only such place in the United States.
Theclimate of Colorado is more complex than states outside of theMountain States region. Unlike most other states, southern Colorado is not always warmer than northern Colorado. Most of Colorado is made up of mountains, foothills, high plains, and desert lands. Mountains and surrounding valleys greatly affect the local climate. Northeast, east, and southeast Colorado are mostly the high plains, while Northern Colorado is a mix of high plains, foothills, and mountains. Northwest and west Colorado are predominantly mountainous, with some desert lands mixed in. Southwest and southern Colorado are a complex mixture of desert and mountain areas.
The climate of the Eastern Plains issemi-arid (Köppen climate classification:BSk) with low humidity and moderate precipitation, usually from 15 to 25 inches (380 to 640 millimeters) annually, although many areas near the rivers are semi-humid climate. The area is known for its abundant sunshine and cool, clear nights, which give this area a great averagediurnal temperature range. The difference between the highs of the days and the lows of the nights can be considerable as warmth dissipates to space during clear nights, the heat radiation not being trapped by clouds. The Front Range urban corridor, where most of the population of Colorado resides, lies in a pronouncedprecipitation shadow as a result of being on thelee side of the Rocky Mountains.[57]
In summer, this area can have many days above 95 °F (35 °C) and often 100 °F (38 °C).[58] On the plains, the winter lows usually range from 25 to −10 °F (−4 to −23 °C). About 75% of the precipitation falls within the growing season, from April to September, but this area is very prone to droughts. Most of the precipitation comes from thunderstorms, which can be severe, and from major snowstorms that occur in the winter and early spring. Otherwise, winters tend to be mostly dry and cold.[59]
In much of the region, March is the snowiest month. April and May are normally the rainiest months, while April is the wettest month overall. The Front Range cities closer to the mountains tend to be warmer in the winter due toChinook winds which warms the area, sometimes bringing temperatures of 70 °F (21 °C) or higher in the winter.[59] The average July temperature is 55 °F (13 °C) in the morning and 90 °F (32 °C) in the afternoon. The average January temperature is 18 °F (−8 °C) in the morning and 48 °F (9 °C) in the afternoon, although variation between consecutive days can be 40 °F (4 °C).
Just west of the plains and into the foothills, there is a wide variety of climate types. Locations merely a few miles apart can experience entirely different weather depending on the topography. Most valleys have a semi-arid climate, not unlike the eastern plains, which transitions to analpine climate at the highest elevations. Microclimates also exist in local areas that run nearly the entire spectrum of climates, including subtropical highland (Cfb/Cwb), humid subtropical (Cfa), humid continental (Dfa/Dfb), Mediterranean (Csa/Csb) and subarctic (Dfc).[60]
Extreme weather changes are common in Colorado, although a significant portion of the extreme weather occurs in the least populated areas of the state. Thunderstorms are common east of the Continental Divide in the spring and summer, yet are usually brief. Hail is a common sight in the mountains east of the Divide and across the eastern Plains, especially the northeast part of the state. Hail is the most commonly reported warm-season severe weather hazard, and occasionally causes human injuries, as well as significant property damage.[61] The eastern Plains are subject to some of the biggest hail storms in North America.[51] Notable examples are the severe hailstorms that hit Denver on July 11, 1990,[62] and May 8, 2017, the latter being the costliest ever in the state.[63]
The Plains are also susceptible to occasional floods and particularly severe flash floods, which are caused both by thunderstorms and by the rapid melting of snow in the mountains during warm weather. Notable examples include the1965 Denver Flood,[65] theBig Thompson River flooding of 1976 and the2013 Colorado floods. Hot weather is common during summers in Denver. The city's record in 1901 for the number of consecutive days above 90 °F (32 °C) was broken during the summer of 2008. The new record of 24 consecutive days surpassed the previous record by almost a week.[66]
Much of Colorado is very dry, with the state averaging only 17 inches (430 millimeters) of precipitation per year statewide. The state rarely experiences a time when some portion is not in some degree of drought.[67] The lack of precipitation contributes to the severity of wildfires in the state, such as theHayman Fire of 2002. Other notable fires include theFourmile Canyon Fire of 2010, theWaldo Canyon Fire andHigh Park Fire of June 2012, and theBlack Forest Fire of June 2013. Even these fires were exceeded in severity by thePine Gulch Fire,Cameron Peak Fire, andEast Troublesome Fire in 2020, all being the three largest fires in Colorado history (see2020 Colorado wildfires). And the Marshall Fire which started on December 30, 2021, while not the largest in state history, was the most destructive ever in terms of property loss (seeMarshall Fire).
However, some of the mountainous regions of Colorado receive a huge amount of moisture from winter snowfalls. The spring melts of these snows often cause great waterflows in theYampa River, theColorado River, the Rio Grande, the Arkansas River, the North Platte River, and the South Platte River.
Water flowing out of the Colorado Rocky Mountains is a very significant source of water for the farms, towns, and cities of the southwest states of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada, as well as the Midwest, such as Nebraska and Kansas, and the southern states of Oklahoma and Texas. A significant amount of water is also diverted for use in California; occasionally (formerly naturally and consistently), the flow of water reaches northern Mexico.
In 2019The Denver Post reported that "[i]ndividuals living in southeastern Colorado are more vulnerable to potential health effects from climate change than residents in other parts of the state".[68] TheUnited States Environmental Protection Agency has more broadly reported:
"Colorado's climate is changing. Most of the state has warmed one or two degrees (F) in the last century. Throughout thewestern United States,heat waves are becoming more common,snow is melting earlier in spring, and less water flows through the Colorado River.[69][70] Rising temperatures[71] and recent droughts[72] in the region have killed many trees by drying out soils, increasing the risk of forest fires, or enabling outbreaks of forest insects. In the coming decades, the changing climate is likely to decrease water availability and agricultural yields in Colorado, and further increase the risk ofwildfires".[73]
The highest official ambient air temperature ever recorded in Colorado was 115 °F (46.1 °C) on July 20, 2019, atJohn Martin Dam. The lowest official air temperature was −61 °F (−51.7 °C) on February 1, 1985, atMaybell.[74][75]
Monthly normal high and low temperatures for various Colorado cities[76]
Despite its mountainous terrain, Colorado experiences less seismic activity than states like California and Alaska. There are over 90 potentially active faults, and since 1867, Colorado has experienced 700 recorded earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or higher.[78] The U.S.National Earthquake Information Center is located inGolden.[79]
On August 22, 2011, a5.3 magnitude earthquake occurred 9 miles (14 km) west-southwest of the city ofTrinidad.[80] There were no casualties and only a small amount of damage was reported. It was the second-largest earthquake in Colorado's history, the largest being amagnitude 6.6 earthquake, recorded in 1882.[81] Four minor earthquakes rattled Colorado on August 24, 2018, ranging from magnitude 2.9 to 4.3.[82] As of June 2020[update], there were 525 recorded earthquakes in Colorado since 1973, a majority of which range 2 to 3.5 on the Richter scale.[83]
A process of extirpation by trapping and poisoning of thegray wolf (Canis lupus) from Colorado in the 1930s saw the last wild wolf in the state shot in 1945.[84] Awolf pack recolonized Moffat County, Colorado in northwestern Colorado in 2019.[85] Cattle farmers have expressed concern that a returning wolf population potentially threatens their herds.[84] Coloradansvoted to reintroduce gray wolves in 2020, with the state committing to a plan to have a population in the state by 2022 and permitting non-lethal methods of driving off wolves attacking livestock and pets.[86][87]
While there is fossil evidence ofHarrington's mountain goat in Colorado between at least 800,000 years ago and its extinction withmegafauna roughly 11,000 years ago, themountain goat is not native to Colorado but was instead introduced to the state over time during the interval between 1947 and 1972. Despite being an artificially-introduced species, the state declared mountain goats a native species in 1993.[88] In 2013, 2014, and 2019, an unknown illness killed nearly all mountain goat kids, leading to aColorado Parks and Wildlife investigation.[89][90]
The native population ofpronghorn in Colorado has varied wildly over the last century, reaching a low of only 15,000 individuals during the 1960s. However, conservation efforts succeeded in bringing the stable population back up to roughly 66,000 by 2013.[91] The population was estimated to have reached 85,000 by 2019 and had increasingly more run-ins with the increased suburban housing along the eastern Front Range. State wildlife officials suggested that landowners would need to modify fencing to allow the greater number of pronghorns to move unabated through the newly developed land.[92] Pronghorns are most readily found in the northern and eastern portions of the state, with some populations also in the western San Juan Mountains.[93]
Like the federal government and all other U.S. states, Colorado'sstate constitution provides for three branches of government: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial branches.
The seven-memberColorado Supreme Court is the state's highest court. TheColorado Court of Appeals, with 22 judges, sits in divisions of three judges each. Colorado is divided into 23 judicial districts, each of which has a district court and a county court with limited jurisdiction. The state also hasspecialized water courts, which sit in seven distinct divisions around the state and which decide matters relating to water rights and the use and administration of water.
Most Coloradans are native to other states (nearly 60% according to the 2000 census),[103] and this is illustrated by the fact that the state did not have a native-born governor from 1975 (whenJohn David Vanderhoof left office) until 2007, whenBill Ritter took office;his election the previous year marked the first electoral victory for a native-born Coloradan in a gubernatorial race since 1958 (Vanderhoof had ascended from the Lieutenant Governorship whenJohn Arthur Love was given a position inRichard Nixon's administration in 1973).
Colorado was once considered aswing state, but has become a relatively safeblue state in both state and federal elections since the late 2010s. In presidential elections, it had not been won until2020 by double digits since1984 and has backed the winning candidate in 9 of the last 11 elections. Coloradans have elected 17Democrats and 12Republicans to the governorship in the last 100 years.
In presidential politics, Colorado was considered a reliably Republican state during the post-World War II era, voting for the Democratic candidate only in 1948, 1964, and 1992. However, it became a competitive swing state in the 1990s. Since the mid-2000s, it has swung heavily to the Democrats, voting forBarack Obama in 2008 and 2012,Hillary Clinton in 2016,Joe Biden in 2020, andKamala Harris in 2024.
Colorado politics exhibits a contrast between conservative cities such as Colorado Springs and Grand Junction, and liberal cities such as Boulder and Denver. Democrats are strongest inmetropolitan Denver, the college towns ofFort Collins andBoulder, southern Colorado (including Pueblo), and several western ski resort counties. The Republicans are strongest in the Eastern Plains, Colorado Springs, Greeley, and far Western Colorado near Grand Junction.
Colorado was the first state in the union to enact, by voter referendum,a law extendingsuffrage to women. That initiative was approved by the state's voters on November 7, 1893.[106]
In 1992, by a margin of 53 to 47 percent, Colorado voters approved an amendment to the state constitution (Amendment 2) that would have prevented any city, town, or county in the state from taking any legislative, executive, or judicial action to recognize homosexuals or bisexuals as aprotected class.[109] In 1996, in a 6–3 ruling inRomer v. Evans, the U.S. Supreme Court found that preventing protected status based upon homosexuality orbisexuality did not satisfy theEqual Protection Clause.[110]
In 2012, voters amended the state constitution protecting the "personal use" of marijuana for adults, establishing a framework to regulatecannabis likealcohol. The first recreational marijuana shops in Colorado, and by extension the United States, opened their doors on January 1, 2014.[116]
On 30 October 2019, Colorado became the first state to accept digital ID via its myColorado app.[117] The state-issued digital identifications will be considered valid when Real ID enforcement begins in 2025, in line with theReal ID Act of 2005. By November 2022 The Colorado Governor's Office of Information Technology announced that the myColorado app had over 1 million users.[118]
Colorado has more than 4,000special districts, most withproperty tax authority. These districts may provide schools, law enforcement, fire protection, water, sewage, drainage, irrigation, transportation, recreation, infrastructure, cultural facilities, business support, redevelopment, or other services.
Some of these districts have the authority to levy sales tax as well as property tax and use fees. This has led to a hodgepodge of sales tax and property tax rates in Colorado. There are some street intersections in Colorado with a different sales tax rate on each corner, sometimes substantially different.
Some of the more notable Colorado districts are:
TheRegional Transportation District (RTD), which affects the counties of Denver, Boulder, Jefferson, and portions of Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, and Douglas Counties
TheScientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD), a special regional tax district with physical boundaries contiguous with county boundaries of Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson Counties
It is a 0.1% retail sales and uses tax (one penny on every $10).
According to the Colorado statute, the SCFD distributes the money to local organizations on an annual basis. These organizations must provide for the enlightenment and entertainment of the public through the production, presentation, exhibition, advancement, or preservation of art, music, theater, dance, zoology, botany, natural history, or cultural history.
As directed by statute, SCFD recipient organizations are currently divided into three "tiers" among which receipts are allocated by percentage.
Tier II currently includes 26 regional organizations. Tier II receives 21%.
Tier III has more than 280 local organizations such as small theaters, orchestras, art centers, natural history, cultural history, and community groups. Tier III organizations apply for funding from the county cultural councils via a grant process. This tier receives 13.5%.
An 11-member board of directors oversees the distributions by the Colorado Revised Statutes. Seven board members are appointed by county commissioners (in Denver, the Denver City Council) and four members are appointed by the Governor of Colorado.
The most populous extended metropolitan region in Rocky Mountain Region is the 18-countyFront Range Urban Corridor along the northeast face of theSouthern Rocky Mountains. This region with Denver at its center had a population of 5,055,344 at the 2020 census, an increase of +16.65% since the 2010 census.[124]
Map of counties in Colorado by racial plurality, per the 2020 U.S. census
Legend
Non-Hispanic White
40–50%
50–60%
60–70%
70–80%
80–90%
Hispanic or Latino
40–50%
50–60%
Coloradan Hispanics and Latinos (of any race and heritage) made up 20.7% of the population.[134] According to the 2000 census, the largest ancestry groups in Colorado areGerman (22%),Mexican (18%),Irish (12%), andEnglish (12%). Persons reporting German ancestry are especially numerous in the Front Range, the Rockies (west-central counties), and Eastern parts/High Plains.
Colorado has a high proportion ofHispanic, mostlyMexican-American, citizens in Metropolitan Denver, Colorado Springs, as well as the smaller cities of Greeley and Pueblo, and elsewhere. Southern, Southwestern, and Southeastern Colorado have a large number of Hispanos, the descendants of the early settlers of colonial Spanish origin. In 1940, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Colorado's population as 8.2% Hispanic and 90.3% non-Hispanic White.[135] The Hispanic population of Colorado has continued to grow quickly over the past decades. By 2019, Hispanics made up 22% of Colorado's population, andNon-Hispanic Whites made up 70%.[136] Spoken English in Colorado has many Spanish idioms.[137]
Colorado also has some large African-American communities located in Denver, in the neighborhoods of Montbello, Five Points, Whittier, and many other East Denver areas. The state has sizable numbers of Asian-Americans ofMongolian,Chinese,Filipino,Korean,Southeast Asian, andJapanese descent. The highest population of Asian Americans can be found on the south and southeast side of Denver, as well as some on Denver's southwest side. The Denver metropolitan area is considered more liberal and diverse than much of the state when it comes to political issues and environmental concerns.
The population of Native Americans in the state is small. Native Americans are concentrated in metropolitan Denver and the southwestern corner of Colorado, where there are two Ute reservations.[138]
There were a total of 70,331 births in Colorado in 2006. (Birth rate of 14.6 per thousand.) In 2007, non-Hispanic Whites were involved in 59.1% of all births.[140] Some 14.06% of those births involved a non-Hispanic White person and someone of a different race, most often with a couple including one Hispanic. A birth where at least one Hispanic person was involved counted for 43% of the births in Colorado.[141] As of the2010 census, Colorado has the seventh highest percentage of Hispanics (20.7%) in the U.S. behindNew Mexico (46.3%), California (37.6%),Texas (37.6%),Arizona (29.6%),Nevada (26.5%), and Florida (22.5%). Per the 2000 census, the Hispanic population is estimated to be 918,899, or approximately 20% of the state's total population. Colorado has the 5th-largest population of Mexican-Americans, behind California, Texas, Arizona, andIllinois. In percentages, Colorado has the 6th-highest percentage of Mexican-Americans, behind New Mexico, California, Texas, Arizona, and Nevada.[142]
In 2011, 46% of Colorado's population younger than the age of one were minorities, meaning that they had at least one parent who was not non-Hispanic White.[143][144]
Note: Births in table do not add up, because Hispanics are counted both by their ethnicity and by their race, giving a higher overall number.
Since 2016, data for births ofWhite Hispanic origin are not collected, but included in oneHispanic group; persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
Major religious affiliations of the people of Colorado as of 2014 were 64% Christian, of whom there are 44% Protestant, 16%Roman Catholic, 3%Mormon, and 1%Eastern Orthodox.[161] Other religious breakdowns according to the Pew Research Center were 1%Judaism, 1%Muslim, 1%Buddhist, and 4% other.Secular Coloradans made up 29% of the population.[162] In 2020, according to the Public Religion Research Institute, Christianity was 66% of the population. Judaism was also reported to have increased in this separate study, forming 2% of the religious landscape, while the religiously unaffiliated were reported to form 28% of the population in this separate study.[163] In 2022, the same organization reported 61% was Christian (39% Protestant, 19% Catholic, 2%Mormon, 1%Eastern Orthodox), 2%New Age, 1% Jewish, 1% Hindu, and 34% religiously unaffiliated.
According to theAssociation of Religion Data Archives, the largest Christian denominations by the number of adherents in 2010 were theCatholic Church with 811,630; multi-denominational Evangelical Protestants with 229,981; andthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with 151,433.[164] In 2020, the Association of Religion Data Archives determined the largest Christian denominations were Catholics (873,236), non/multi/inter-denominational Protestants (406,798), and Mormons (150,509).[165] Throughout its non-Christian population, there were 12,500Hindus, 7,101Hindu Yogis, and 17,369Buddhists at the 2020 study.
Colorado is generally considered among the healthiest states by behavioral and healthcare researchers. Among the positive contributing factors is the state's well-known outdoor recreation opportunities and initiatives.[168] However, there is a stratification of health metrics with wealthier counties such asDouglas andPitkin performing significantly better relative to southern, less wealthy counties such asHuerfano andLas Animas.[169]
According to several studies, Coloradans have the lowest rates of obesity of any state in the US.[170] As of 2018[update], 24% of the population was considered medically obese, and while the lowest in the nation, the percentage had increased from 17% in 2004.[171][172]
In 2019 the total employment was 2,473,192. The number of employer establishments is 174,258.[176]
The total state product in 2015 was $318.6 billion.[177] Median Annual Household Income in 2016 was $70,666, 8th in the nation.[178]Per capita personal income in 2010 was $51,940, ranking Colorado 11th in the nation.[179] The state's economy broadened from its mid-19th-century roots in mining when irrigated agriculture developed, and by the late 19th century, raising livestock had become important. Early industry was based on the extraction and processing of minerals and agricultural products. Current agricultural products are cattle, wheat,dairy products,corn, andhay.
In the second half of the 20th century, the industrial and service sectors expanded greatly. The state's economy is diversified and is notable for its concentration on scientific research and high-technology industries. Other industries includefood processing, transportation equipment,machinery,chemical products, the extraction of metals such as gold (seeGold mining in Colorado), silver, andmolybdenum. Colorado now also has the largest annual production of beer in any state.[181] Denver is an important financial center.
The state's diversegeography and majestic mountains attract millions of tourists every year, including 85.2 million in 2018. Tourism contributes greatly to Colorado's economy, with tourists generating $22.3 billion in 2018.[182]
Several nationally known brand names have originated in Colorado factories and laboratories. FromDenver came the forerunner of telecommunications giantQwest in 1879,Samsonite luggage in 1910,Gates belts and hoses in 1911, andRussell Stover Candies in 1923. Kuner canned vegetables began inBrighton in 1864. FromGolden cameCoors beer in 1873,CoorsTek industrial ceramics in 1920, andJolly Rancher candy in 1949.CF&I railroad rails, wire, nails, and pipe debuted inPueblo in 1892.Holly Sugar was first milled from beets inHolly in 1905, and later moved its headquarters to Colorado Springs. The present-daySwift packed meat ofGreeley evolved from Monfort of Colorado, Inc., established in 1930.Estes model rockets were launched inPenrose in 1958.Fort Collins has been the home ofWoodward Governor Company's motor controllers (governors) since 1870, andWaterpik dental water jets and showerheads since 1962.Celestial Seasonings herbal teas have been made inBoulder since 1969.Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory made its first candy inDurango in 1981.
Colorado has a flat 4.63%income tax, regardless of income level. On 3 November 2020 voters authorized an initiative to lower that income tax rate to 4.55 percent. Unlike most states, which calculate taxes based on federaladjusted gross income, Colorado taxes are based ontaxable income—income after federal exemptions and federal itemized (or standard) deductions.[183][184] Colorado's statesales tax is 2.9% on retail sales. When state revenues exceed state constitutional limits, according to Colorado'sTaxpayer Bill of Rights legislation, full-year Colorado residents can claim a sales tax refund on their individual state income tax return. Many counties and cities charge their own rates, in addition to the base state rate. There are also certain county and special district taxes that may apply.
Real estate and personal business property are taxable in Colorado. The state's senior property tax exemption was temporarily suspended by the Colorado Legislature in 2003. The tax break was scheduled to return for the assessment year 2006, payable in 2007.
As of December 2018[update], the state's unemployment rate was 4.2%.[185]
Colorado has significanthydrocarbon resources. According to theEnergy Information Administration, Colorado hosts seven of the largest natural gas fields in the United States, and two of the largestoil fields. Conventional and unconventional natural gas output from several Colorado basins typically accounts for more than five percent of annual U.S. natural gas production. Colorado'soil shale deposits hold an estimated 1 trillion barrels (160 km3) of oil—nearly as much oil as the entire world's proven oil reserves.[189] Substantial deposits ofbituminous,subbituminous, andlignite coal are found in the state.
Uranium mining in Colorado goes back to 1872, when pitchblende ore was taken from gold mines near Central City, Colorado. Not counting byproduct uranium fromphosphate, Colorado is considered to have the third-largest uranium reserves of any U.S. state, behind Wyoming and New Mexico. When Colorado and Utah dominatedradium mining from 1910 to 1922, uranium andvanadium were the byproducts (giving towns like present-daySuperfund siteUravan their names).[190] Uranium price increases from 2001 to 2007 prompted several companies to revive uranium mining in Colorado. During the 1940s certain communities–includingNaturita andParadox–earned the moniker of "yellowcake towns" from their relationship with uranium mining. Price drops and financing problems in late 2008 forced these companies to cancel or scale back the uranium-mining project. As of 2016, there were no major uranium mining operations in the state, though plans existed to restart production.[191]
Colorado's high Rocky Mountain ridges and eastern plains offerwind power potential, and geologic activity in the mountain areas provides the potential forgeothermal power development. Much of the state is sunny and could producesolar power. Major rivers flowing from the Rocky Mountains offerhydroelectric power resources.
Many notable writers have lived or spent extended periods in Colorado.Beat Generation writersJack Kerouac andNeal Cassady lived in and around Denver for several years each.[194] Irish playwrightOscar Wilde visited Colorado on his tour of the United States in 1882, writing in his 1906Impressions of America thatLeadville was "the richest city in the world. It has also got the reputation of being the roughest, and every man carries arevolver."[195][196]
Boulder was named America's Foodiest Town 2010 byBon Appétit.[197] Boulder, and Colorado in general, is home to several national food and beverage companies, top-tier restaurants and farmers' markets. Boulder also has more MasterSommeliers per capita than any other city, including San Francisco and New York.[198]Denver is known for steak, but now has a diverse culinary scene with many restaurants.[199]
Polidori Sausage is a brand of pork products available in supermarkets, which originated in Colorado, in the early 20th century.[200]
TheFood & Wine Classic is held annually each June inAspen. Aspen also has a reputation as the culinary capital of the Rocky Mountain region.[201]
Colorado wines include varietals that have attracted favorable notice from outside the state.[202] With wines made from traditionalVitis vinifera grapes along with wines made from cherries, peaches, plums, and honey, Colorado wines have won top national and international awards for their quality.[203] Colorado's grape growing regions contain the highest elevationvineyards in the United States,[204] with mostviticulture in the state practiced between 4,000 and 7,000 feet (1,219 and 2,134 m)above sea level. The mountainclimate ensures warm summer days and cool nights. Colorado is home to two designatedAmerican Viticultural Areas of theGrand Valley AVA and theWest Elks AVA,[205] where most of the vineyards in the state are located. However, an increasing number of wineries are located along theFront Range.[206] In 2018,Wine Enthusiast Magazine named Colorado'sGrand Valley AVA in Mesa County, Colorado, as one of the Top Ten wine travel destinations in the world.[207]
Colorado is open tocannabis (marijuana)tourism.[210] With the adoption of the64th state amendment in 2012, Colorado became the first state in the union tolegalize marijuana formedicinal (2000), industrial (referring tohemp, 2012), andrecreational (2012) use. Colorado's marijuana industry sold $1.31 billion worth of marijuana in 2016 and $1.26 billion in the first three-quarters of 2017.[211] The state generated tax, fee, and license revenue of $194 million in 2016 on legal marijuana sales.[212] Colorado regulates hemp as any part of the plant with less than 0.3% THC.[213]
On April 4, 2014, Senate Bill 14–184 addressing oversight of Colorado's industrial hemp program was first introduced, ultimately being signed into law by Governor John Hickenlooper on May 31, 2014.[214]
On November 7, 2000, 54% of Colorado voters passed Amendment 20, which amends the Colorado State constitution to allow themedical use of marijuana.[215] A patient's medical use of marijuana, within the following limits, is lawful:
(I) No more than 2 ounces (57 g) of a usable form of marijuana; and
(II) No more than twelve marijuana plants, with six or fewer being mature, flowering plants that are producing a usable form of marijuana.[216]
Currently, Colorado has listed "eight medical conditions for which patients can use marijuana—cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, muscle spasms, seizures, severe pain, severe nausea and cachexia, or dramatic weight loss and muscle atrophy".[217] While governor,John Hickenlooper allocated about half of the state's $13 million "Medical Marijuana Program Cash Fund"[218] to medical research in the 2014 budget.[219] By 2018, the Medical Marijuana Program Cash Fund was the "largest pool of pot money in the state" and was used to fund programs including research into pediatric applications for controlling autism symptoms.[220]
On November 6, 2012, voters amended the state constitution to protect "personal use" of marijuana for adults, establishing a framework to regulate marijuana in a manner similar toalcohol.[221] The first recreational marijuana shops in Colorado, and by extension the United States, opened their doors on January 1, 2014.[116]
Colorado's primary mode of transportation (in terms of passengers) is its highway system.Interstate 25 (I-25) is the primary north–south highway in the state, connecting Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Denver, and Fort Collins, and extending north to Wyoming and south to New Mexico.I-70 is the primary east–west corridor. It connects Grand Junction and the mountain communities with Denver and enters Utah and Kansas. The state is home to a network of US and Colorado highways that provide access to all principal areas of the state. Many smaller communities are connected to this network only via county roads.
The main terminal of Denver International Airport evokes the peaks of theFront Range.
Denver International Airport (DIA) is the third-busiest domestic U.S. andinternational airport in the world by passenger traffic.[222] DIA handles by far the largest volume of commercial air traffic in Colorado and is the busiest U.S. hub airport between Chicago and the Pacific coast, making Denver the most important airport for connecting passenger traffic in the western United States.
Public transportation bus services are offered both intra-city and inter-city—including the Denver metro area's RTD services. TheRegional Transportation District (RTD) operates the popularRTD Bus & Rail transit system in theDenver Metropolitan Area. As of January 2013[update] the RTD rail system had 170 light-rail vehicles, serving 47 miles (76 km) of track. In addition to local public transit, intercity bus service is provided byBurlington Trailways,Bustang andGreyhound Lines.
Amtrak operates two passenger rail lines in Colorado, theCalifornia Zephyr andSouthwest Chief. Colorado's contribution to world railroad history was forged principally by theDenver and Rio Grande Western Railroad which began in 1870 and wrote the book on mountain railroading. In 1988 the "Rio Grande" was acquired, but was merged into, theSouthern Pacific Railroad by their joint ownerPhilip Anschutz. On September 11, 1996, Anschutz sold the combined company to theUnion Pacific Railroad, creating the largest railroad network in the United States. The Anschutz sale was partly in response to the earlier merger of Burlington Northern and Santa Fe which formed the large Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway (BNSF), Union Pacific's principal competitor in western U.S. railroading. Both Union Pacific and BNSF have extensive freight operations in Colorado.
Colorado's freight railroad network consists of 2,688 miles of Class I trackage. It is integral to the U.S. economy, being a critical artery for the movement of energy, agriculture, mining, and industrial commodities as well as general freight and manufactured products between the East and Midwest and the Pacific coast states.[223]
In August 2014, Colorado began to issue driver licenses toaliensnot lawfully in the United States who lived in Colorado.[224] In September 2014,KCNC reported that 524 non-citizens were issued Colorado driver licenses that are normally issued to U.S. citizens living in Colorado.[225]
The firstCatholic college in Colorado was theJesuit Sacred Heart College, which was founded in New Mexico in 1877, moved toMorrison in 1884, and to Denver in 1887. The college was renamed Regis College in 1921 andRegis University in 1991.[230] On April 1, 1924, armed students patrolled the campus after aburning cross was found, the climax of tensions between Regis College and the locally-powerful Ku Klux Klan.[231]
Following a 1950 assessment by the Service Academy Board, it was determined that there was a need to supplement theU.S. Military andNaval Academies with a third school that would provide commissioned officers for the newly independent Air Force. On April 1, 1954, PresidentDwight Eisenhower signed a law that moved for the creation of aU.S. Air Force Academy.[232] Later that year, Colorado Springs was selected to host the new institution. From its establishment in 1955, until the construction of appropriate facilities in Colorado Springs was completed and opened in 1958, the Air Force Academy operated out ofLowry Air Force Base in Denver. With the opening of the Colorado Springs facility, the cadets moved to the new campus, though not in the full-kit march that some urban and campus legends suggest.[233] The first class ofSpace Forceofficers from the Air Force Academy commissioned on April 18, 2020.[234]
Colorado has fivemajor professional sports leagues, all based in the Denver metropolitan area. Colorado is the least populous state with a franchise in each of the major professional sports leagues.
^Colorado College, otherwise anNCAA Division III member, has two Division I teams. Men's ice hockey competes in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference and women's soccer competes in the Mountain West.
^Report of the exploring expedition from Santa Fé, New Mexico, to the junction of the Grand and Green Rivers of the great Colorado of the West, in 1859: under the command of Capt. J. N. Macomb, Corps of topographical engineers, Volume 1@ archive.org
^Frazier, Donald Shaw (1995).Blood & treasure : Confederate Empire in the Southwest (1st ed.). College Station: Texas A & M University Press.ISBN0585303304.OCLC45732362.
^Philip Taft and Philip Ross, "American Labor Violence: Its Causes, Character, and Outcome", The History of Violence in America: A Report to the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence, ed. Hugh Davis Graham and Ted Robert Gurr, 1969.
^McGovern, George; Guttridge, Leonard.The Great Coalfield War. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1972. 88, 89 p.
^Hansen, Wallace R.; Chronic, John; Matelock, John (1979) [first published 1978].Climatography of the Front Range Urban Corridor and vicinity, Colorado(PDF).Geological Survey Professional Paper 1019 (Report). Washington, DC: USG Printing Office.Archived(PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022. RetrievedMarch 21, 2016.
^Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas (July 21, 2023)."0MB Bulletin No. 23-01"(PDF).Office of Management and Budget. RetrievedFebruary 6, 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Analysis, US Department of Commerce, BEA, Bureau of Economic."Bureau of Economic Analysis".www.bea.gov. Archived fromthe original on December 30, 2017. RetrievedApril 24, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Robert J. Wright and Donald L. Everhart (1960) Uranium, in Mineral Resources of Colorado First Sequel, State of Colorado Mineral Resources Board, pp. 330–331.
^Conway, Bernard (March 31, 2016)."Uranium Mining".Colorado Encyclopedia. RetrievedMarch 1, 2021.
^Colorado laws about Medical Marijuana, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, 2014, archived fromthe original on January 4, 2014, retrievedJanuary 1, 2014 Several links are found, including .PDF documents to download.
Explore Colorado, A Naturalist's Handbook, The Denver Museum of Natural History and Westcliff Publishers, 1995,ISBN1-56579-124-X for an excellent guide to the ecological regions of Colorado.
The Archeology of Colorado, Revised Edition, E. Steve Cassells, Johnson Books, Boulder, Colorado, 1997, trade paperback,ISBN1-55566-193-9.
Chokecherry Places, Essays from the High Plains, Merrill Gilfillan, Johnson Press, Boulder, Colorado, trade paperback,ISBN1-55566-227-7.
Railroads of Colorado: Your Guide to Colorado's Historic Trains and Railway Sites, Claude Wiatrowski, Voyageur Press, 2002, hardcover, 160 pages,ISBN0-89658-591-3
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