Colorado state quick facts
|Nickname||The Centennial State|
The word 'colorado' means 'colored' or 'colored red' in Spanish. The Colorado state was named after the Colorado River, which Spanish explorers named 'Río Colorado' (meaning 'colored river') for the red silt the river carried from the mountains
How did Colorado get its name?
Facts about Colorado state
On August 1, 1876, U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant signed a proclamation admitting Colorado to the Union as the 38th state. Colorado is nicknamed the "Centennial State" because it became a state in the centennial year of the United States Declaration of Independence.
How did Colorado get its nickname?
Colorado is the only U.S. state that lies entirely above 1000 meters elevation. Its lowest point, 3,317 feet (1,011 m) in elevation is the highest low elevation point of any state, and is higher than the highest elevation points of 18 states. Colorado contains 75% of the land area of the U.S. with an altitude over 10,000 feet
Facts about Colorado state
Pikes Peak Cog Railway is the highest cog railway train in the world. It runs on cog wheels and special track with “teeth” that allow the train to climb mountains
Highest cog railway
Pikes Peak is the highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The 14,115-foot (4,302.31 m) peak is located near downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado. The mountain is named in honor of American explorer Zebulon Pike, who was unable to reach the summit. Katherine Lee Bates wrote 'America the Beautiful' after being inspired by the view from Pikes Peak.
America the Beautiful
Colorado is the only U.S. state that's ever turned down a chance to host Olympics. Denver originally won the bid for the 1976 Winter Olympics, but the state's voters later rejected it due to infrastructure costs and environmental concerns. Innsbruck, Austria, ended up hosting the Winter Olympics in 1976
No to Olympics
The Grand Mesa in western Colorado is the largest flat-topped mountain in the world. It has an area of about 500 square miles (1,300 km2) and rises about 6,000 feet (1,800 m) above the surrounding river valleys.
The highest paved road in North America is the Road to Mt. Evans off of I-70 from Idaho Springs. The Road climbs up to 14,258 Ft. above sea level.
Denver has the largest city park system in the nation with 205 parks in City limits and 20,000 Acres of parks in the nearby mountains
City of parks
The 13th step of the state capitol building in Denver is exactly 1 mile high above sea level. The building's interiors used up the entire known reserves of rose marble on Earth. Its gold dome commemorates the Colorado Gold Rush.
The 60-mile Eisenhower Tunnel, a four-lane vehicular tunnel west of Denver, Colorado, is the longest and highest mountain tunnel in the United States.
Longest mountain tunnel
Colorado, with the highest mean elevation of any state as well as the highest low point, is considered to be the "highest state".
Colorado state facts
Widespread fraud during the 1904 election threw Colorado in chaos. To resolve the issue, a curious scheme was worked out. March 16, 1905 dawned with Alva Adams as the Governor. James Peabody was given the oath of office by Colorado’s Chief Justice, but only after he promised to resign immediately. After five minutes, as promised, Peabody resigned. Minutes later, Lt. Gov. Jesse McDonald was sworn in as Colorado’s sixteenth governor
Denver International Airport (DEN), at 34,000 acres, is the biggest airport in the United States by total area. Its runway 16R/34L, with a total length of 16,000 feet, is the longest commercial runway in the United States.