Colorado

Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. 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 is the eighth most extensive and 21st most populous U.S. state. The 2020 United States Census estimated that Colorado’s population was 5,773,714, a 14.80% increase over the 2010 Census.

The region has been inhabited by Native Americans for more than 13,000 years, with the Lindenmeier site containing artifacts dating from approximately 9200 to 1000 BC; the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains was a major migration route for early peoples who spread throughout the Americas. “Colorado” means “ruddy” in Spanish. It is the color of red-sandstone. The Territory of Colorado was organized on February 28, 1861, and on August 1, 1876, U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant signed Proclamation 230 admitting Colorado to the Union as the 38th state. Colorado is known as the “Centennial State” due to its status as a state one hundred years after the signing of United States Declaration of Independence.