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Nickname:
Centennial State
Origin
of name: From the Spanish, “ruddy” or “red”
10
largest cities (2005 est.): Denver, 557,917; Colorado Springs, 369,815; Aurora, 297,235; Lakewood, 140,671; Fort Collins, 128,026; Thornton, 105,182; Westminster, 105,084; Arvada, 103,966; Pueblo, 103,495; Centennial, 98,243
Land
area: 103,717 sq mi. (268,627 sq km)
Geographic
center: In Park Co., 30 mi. NW of Pikes Peak
Number
of counties: 64
Largest
county by population and area: El Paso 565,582 (2005); Las Animas, 4,773 sq mi.
State
parks: 44 (160,000 ac.)
Residents:
Coloradoan
2005
resident population est.: 4,665,177
2000
resident census population (rank): 2000 resident census population (rank): 4,301,261 (24). Male: 2,165,983 (50.4%); Female: 2,135,278 (49.6%). White: 3,560,005 (82.8%); Black: 165,063 (3.8%); American Indian: 44,241 (1.0%); Asian: 95,213 (2.2%); Other race: 309,931 (7.2%); Two or more races: 122,187 (2.8%); Hispanic/Latino: 735,601 (17.1%). 2000 percent population 18 and over: 74.4; 65 and over: 9.7; median age: 34.3.
Arizona
History
In the history of Colorado, the first inhabitants of what was to become the
State of Colorado were the American Indians. The earliest explorers of European
extraction to visit the area were Spanish explorers. During the period 1832 to
1856 a number of traders, trappers, and settlers including the French and the
Americans established trading posts and small settlements along the Arkansas
River, and on the South Platte near the Front Range.
Prominent trading posts were Bent's Fort and Fort Pueblo on the Arkansas and
Fort St. Vrain on the South Platte. The organization of the Colorado Territory
included land from the western portion of Kansas, the eastern portion of Utah
Territory, the southwestern portion of Nebraska Territory, and a small portion
of northeastern New Mexico Territory on February 28, 1861.
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