Colorado

I

Introduction

Colorado, one of the Midwestern states of the United States, bordered on the north by Wyoming and Nebraska; on the east by Nebraska and Kansas; on the south by Oklahoma and New Mexico; and on the west by Utah. The Rocky Mountains extend across the centre of the state from north to south.

Colorado entered the Union on August 1, 1876, as the 38th state. Long known for its mineral resources and livestock ranching, it had by the 1990s a diversified economy with substantial light industrial development and a growing tourist industry based on its scenic and recreational attractions. The name of the state is taken from the Colorado River, which was named by Spanish explorers and means “red coloured”. Colorado is also known as the “Centennial State”.

II

Land and Resources

With an area of 269,618 sq km (104,100 sq mi), Colorado is the eighth-largest state in the United States. The state is rectangular in shape and measures 444 km (276 mi) from north to south and 623 km (387 mi) from east to west. The approximate mean elevation of 2,073 m (6,800 ft) is greater than that of any other state in the United States.

A

Physical Geography

Colorado has three main regions: the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the Colorado Plateau. The eastern third of Colorado is part of the Great Plains and it slopes gradually east from an elevation of nearly 2,105 m (6,900 ft) to about 1,200 m (4,000 ft) at the Kansas-Nebraska boundary; because of its relatively high elevation it is sometimes called the High Plains. The Rocky Mountains occupy the central two-fifths of the state. The Colorado Rockies constitute one of the highest regions of the North American continent. The Colorado Plateau, located along the state’s western boundary, occupies about one-fifth of the total area. Here are found mesas and deep canyons and valleys.

Colorado’s major rivers have their sources in the Rocky Mountains, where they are fed by heavy snow and rain. The Continental Divide separates the Colorado River (the state’s longest), of the Pacific watershed, from the North Platte, South Platte, Arkansas, and Rio Grande rivers, of the Atlantic watershed. Grand Lake in the Rockies is the state’s largest natural lake.

B

Climate

Colorado has a highland continental climate, which varies according to the elevation of a given area and its location with respect to mountain ranges. The annual average temperature ranges from about 10.6° C (51° F) on the plains to less than 2.2° C (36° F) in the mountains. The recorded temperature in the state has ranged from -51.7° C (-61° F) in 1985 to 47.8° C (118° F) in 1888. Occasionally the Great Plains region experiences the chinook, a warm wind that blows off the eastern slope of the Front Range at velocities that may exceed 161 km/hr (100 mph) and that causes local temperatures to rise by as much as 28° C (50° F) in a few hours.