I | INTRODUCTION |
Colorado, state in the western United States. The
Rocky Mountains, or Rockies, form the most dominant physical feature of the
state. To the west of the Rockies lie the high plateaus of the Colorado Plateau,
and to the east are the Great Plains. High, rugged mountains and plateaus occupy
fully two-thirds of the state and make Colorado a state of striking beauty. All
of Colorado is more than 1,000 m (3,300 ft) above sea level. The state, with an
average elevation of 2,070 m (6,800 ft), is the highest of all the states. The
mountains and plateaus are rich in gold, silver, and other minerals and are the
source of most of the state’s water. The mountains have played a major role in
the development of Colorado, most recently by attracting a steady flow of
tourists, but they have also been a barrier to travel, communication, and
settlement. Except for small cities and towns in the sheltered river valleys and
mountain basins, most of western Colorado is sparsely populated.
In contrast, eastern Colorado has flat,
treeless plains that extend from the Rockies to the Nebraska and Kansas state
lines. Cultivated where there is sufficient moisture or irrigation, they consist
of croplands and grasslands. On the plains just east of the Rockies is Denver,
which is the state capital, the center of the state’s largest metropolitan area,
and a major city of the Western United States.
The state’s name, Colorado, is a Spanish word
meaning “reddish colored.” It was the name early Spanish explorers gave to the
Colorado River, which originates in the state. When Colorado became a territory
in 1861, William Gilpin, the first territorial governor, formally requested that
it be called by the old Spanish name. Colorado was admitted to statehood on
August 1, 1876, during the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration
of Independence, and today its official nickname is the Centennial State.
II | PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY |
Colorado ranks eighth among the states in
size. It has an area of 269,602 sq km (104,094 sq mi), including 974 sq km (376
sq mi) of inland waters. The state is rectangular in shape, measuring 623 km
(387 mi) from east to west and 444 km (276 mi) from north to south. Colorado
straddles the Continental Divide, which separates rivers flowing to the Pacific
Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. In Colorado the lands west of the divide are
referred to as the Western Slope, while those to the east are often called the
Eastern Slope.
A | Natural Regions |
Colorado includes parts of three major
physiographic provinces, or natural regions, of the western United States. They
are, from east to west, the Great Plains, the Southern Rocky Mountains, and the
Colorado Plateau. In addition, Colorado includes small sections of two other
natural regions, the Wyoming, or Green River, Basin and the Middle Rocky
Mountains, which lie in the extreme northwest. Both of these regions are, like
the Southern Rocky Mountains, part of the vast Rocky Mountain System.
The Great Plains, a broad expanse of flat
or rolling prairies that extend from Alberta to Texas, cover the eastern third
of Colorado. They rise gently from about 1,200 m (about 4,000 ft) above sea
level along the Kansas state line to about 2,100 m (about 7,000 ft) above sea
level at the eastern foot of the Rocky Mountains. The plains are used mainly for
growing wheat and other crops and for grazing cattle.
The physical features of the Great Plains
are not uniform throughout the state. The plains are sometimes divided into
three sections: the High Plains, the Colorado Piedmont, and the Raton
section.
The High Plains, which include the most
level land in the Great Plains, extend along the eastern border of Colorado. The
only significant variations in relief occur where steep-sided river valleys,
such as those of the Arkansas and Republican rivers, cross the plains or where
there are shallow saucer like depressions.
The Colorado Piedmont, to the west of the
High Plains, is more varied in relief, and many low ridges, steep bluffs,
flat-topped mesas, and conical hills, called tepee buttes, rise above the
surface. In the south the piedmont merges with the Raton section. The Raton
section, more rugged than the Colorado Piedmont, includes numerous mesas and
buttes of volcanic origin and narrow, rocky canyons.
The Southern Rocky Mountains occupy most
of central Colorado and extend in a north-south direction across the state. In
Colorado the Rockies are between 120 and 280 km (75 and 175 mi) wide and include
53 peaks with an elevation of more than 14,000 ft (equivalent to 4,267 m).
The mountains do not form a single
highland area but are divided into two roughly parallel groups, or belts, of
ranges. The mountain belts are separated from each other by several broad,
high-altitude valleys and mountain basins called parks.
The eastern mountain belt includes the
Laramie Mountains, the Front Range, and part of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
The highest peaks of these eastern ranges are Blanca Peak, Longs Peak, and Mount
Evans, all of which are more than 4,340 m (14,250 ft) high. Pikes Peak, a
conspicuous landmark at the southern end of the Front Range, rises to 4,302 m
(14,115 ft). Arapahoe Glacier, in the Front Range, is the largest glacier in the
Southern Rocky Mountains.
In Colorado the Continental Divide, or
Great Divide, follows the crest of the eastern mountain belt as far south as
Mount Evans, then crosses over to the western belt and continues southward. The
western belt of high mountains includes the Park Range, the Sawatch Range, and
the San Juan Mountains. The Sawatch Range contains Mount Elbert, the state’s
highest peak at 4,401 m (14,440 ft). The Sawatch Range and the San Juan
Mountains combined contain 27 of the state’s mountains over 4,250 m (14,000 ft).
The parks and valleys between the two mountain belts of the Southern Rockies are
broad, relatively flat, grass-covered areas. The principal ones are, from north
to south, North Park, Middle Park, South Park, and the San Luis Valley. They are
separated from each other by spur ranges of the mountain belts that flank them.
They vary from about 1,800 to 2,700 m (about 6,000 to 9,000 ft) above sea
level.
The Colorado Plateau occupies most of
western Colorado. It is made up of dozens of separate plateaus that range from
about 1,500 to 3,400 m (about 5,000 to 11,000 ft) high and are arranged in
seemingly haphazard tiers and groups. Many are separated or cut by deep canyons.
Most of the canyons were formed by tributaries of the Colorado River, such as
the Gunnison River. Rugged hills and a few mountain ranges rise from the
Colorado Plateau.
B | Rivers and Lakes |
On or near the Continental Divide rise
headstreams or major tributaries of four great North American rivers, the Río
Grande, the Colorado, the Mississippi, and the Missouri. The Río Grande rises in
the San Juan Mountains and flows southward through the San Luis Valley into New
Mexico. The Colorado rises on the western side of the Continental Divide near
Longs Peak and flows in a southwesterly direction into Utah. Principal
tributaries of the Colorado River that rise in Colorado are the Gunnison,
Dolores, and San Juan rivers. East of the divide the chief rivers are the South
Platte River, a tributary of the Missouri, and the Arkansas River, a tributary
of the Mississippi. On the Arkansas River about 50 km (about 30 mi) southwest of
Colorado Springs is the famous Royal Gorge, where the river makes its way
eastward between red granite cliffs that tower 300 m (1,000 ft) above the
water.
Although the rivers of Colorado are
navigable only by small boats, they are important as a source of irrigation
water for use in Colorado and adjoining states. However, the water level of the
rivers fluctuates seasonally and from year to year. The level is generally low
in winter and high in spring and summer, during the runoff of melted snow from
the mountains.
Colorado has no large lakes of natural
origin, but there are numerous small lakes in the mountains. The largest bodies
of water in Colorado are the large reservoirs created by dams and used for
irrigation and flood control. Among the largest are John Martin, Granby, Pueblo,
and Blue Mesa reservoirs.
C | Climate |
The Great Plains in eastern Colorado have
hot dry summers and cold dry winters. In the mountains and on the high plateaus
the climate varies greatly from place to place. There, as in most highland
regions, temperatures and precipitation (rainfall and snowfall) vary with
elevation, exposure to sunlight, and prevailing winds.
C1 | Temperature |
Average January temperatures on the
Great Plains range from about -4° C (about 24° F) in the north to about 1° C
(about 34° F) in the south. In the mountains they are cooler, ranging from -12°
to -1° C (10° to 30° F) in the lower valleys and mountain slopes and falling
considerably lower at high elevations. Often the coldest spots in the state are
the high mountain valleys. Extremely cold conditions occasionally occur on the
plains when arctic air sweeps down from the north. On such occasions,
temperatures drop to the upper -20°s C (lower -20°s F) or colder. When a warm,
dry wind, known as the chinook, blows eastward across the plains in winter,
temperatures rise rapidly.
Average July temperatures range from 18°
to 24° C (64° to 76° F) on the plains and on the Colorado Plateau. On the lower
mountain slopes and in the valleys, summer temperatures are between 10° and 16°
C (50° and 60° F). Cooler conditions prevail in the higher mountains. Hot
daytime spells are common on the plains and the Colorado Plateau but are rare in
central Colorado. Although Colorado’s summers are hot, they are generally not
uncomfortable because the relative humidity is usually low. In addition, summer
nights are relatively cool.
C2 | Precipitation |
Most of Colorado receives about 250 to
500 mm (about 10 to 20 in) of precipitation annually. The high mountains receive
considerably more, while the San Luis Valley and the Colorado and Gunnison river
valleys receive less than 250 mm (10 in). The eastern part of the Great Plains
are generally wetter than the western part along the base of the Rockies. More
than half of the annual precipitation on the plains usually falls in spring and
summer. Snowfall is heavy in winter in the mountains. However, the amount of
precipitation varies greatly from year to year and drought is an ever-present
possibility. Severe droughts, although infrequent, can occur, as they did in the
southeast during the 1930s and again during the 1950s and 1960s.
C3 | Growing Season |
The growing season, or length of time
between the last killing spring frost and first killing fall frost, ranges from
120 to 200 days on the plains. Except for some small areas, the mountains have a
frost-free period that is generally less than 80 days, too short a growing
season for most crops.
D | Soils |
The most fertile soils in Colorado are the
irrigated alluvial soils of the river valleys. Alluvial soils occur in the San
Luis Valley, Colorado’s most productive agricultural area, and in the three
parks in the Rockies. Mollisols, which are suitable for wheat farming, are found
in the moister parts of northeastern Colorado. Aridisols, which are less fertile
but still productive, are found in the drier areas of the plains in southern
Colorado. The soils of the mountain slopes and plateaus of Colorado are
generally thin and are ill-suited to cultivation.
E | Plant Life |
Forests cover 33 percent of Colorado. Most
of the forests are located in the Rocky Mountains below 3,500 m (11,500 ft) and
in the wetter sections of the Colorado Plateau. Among the trees common to
Colorado are the conifer species of cedar, spruce, fir, and pine. Different
species of trees are found at different altitudes. The ponderosa pine, which is
economically the state’s most valuable timber tree, grows on the lower mountain
slopes. The blue spruce, the state tree, grows on the higher slopes. The quaking
aspen, a deciduous tree, is found in scattered groves up to the timberline. The
Great Plains region is almost treeless, except for certain areas that contain
peach leaf willow and cottonwood trees.
Natural grasslands once covered most of
Colorado’s plains but are now limited to those areas that are not cultivated.
Buffalo grass and blue grama are the most common grasses, and they produce a
continuous sod covering. In the driest sections of the plains bunch grasses such
as Western wheatgrass, Indian ricegrass, and needlegrass grow in tufts or
patches and are sometimes interspersed with sagebrush, cactus, and other plants.
Natural grasslands are also found high in the mountains, above the
timberline.
Wild flowers of many different kinds grow
in Colorado. In spring and early summer the sand lily, parry’s primrose, and
other flowers provide splashes of color against the somber brown of the plains,
and the mariposa lily, wallflower, purple fringe, and larkspur flourish on the
low mountain slopes. At higher elevations, in the shade of aspen groves, grows
the Rocky Mountain columbine, which is the official state flower. Above the
timberline, species of tiny colorful flowers appear as soon as the snow melts.
In summer, skypilot and old man of the mountain dot the high alpine landscape.
In the driest parts of Colorado, particularly on the Colorado Plateau, several
species of drought-resistant yucca (Spanish bayonet) and cactus produce
spectacular flowers.
F | Animal Life |
Millions of pronghorn and bison (popularly
called buffalo) roamed the plains and parks of Colorado before the species were
hunted nearly to extinction. Today only small herds of bison remain on private
land, although herds of wild pronghorn have recovered and are again common
throughout the state. On the plains, small mammals, such as the skunk, ground
squirrel, and prairie dog, are numerous, as is the larger coyote. Among the many
animals found in the mountains are the black bear, moose, red fox, gray fox,
bobcat, porcupine, marten, beaver, and mule deer. The bighorn sheep, which is
the state animal, is found in the Rockies, where mountain lion populations have
been increasing in recent years.
There are many species of birds, both
migrant and resident, in Colorado. They range from the golden eagle, which lives
on high rock outcrops throughout the state, to the western mockingbird,
red-winged blackbird, western meadowlark, and robin, which are common on the
plains. Game birds, such as species of grouse, quail, pheasants, ducks, turkeys,
and geese, are also plentiful. Birds common to cultivated areas include the
sparrow, the blackbird, and the yellowthroat and other warblers. The lark
bunting, the state bird, is found throughout much of the state but is more
common on the eastern plains than elsewhere.
Fish in Colorado’s lakes and streams
include carp, perch, bass, catfish, walleye, sunfish, and the kokanee salmon.
Several kinds of trout, which live in cold mountain streams, are the state’s
most popular game fish. Turtles, lizards, snakes, and other reptiles are found
throughout the state, while the boreal toad and tiger salamander live in the
high mountain areas. There is only one common poisonous species of snake in
Colorado: the western rattlesnake, which is native to the plains.
G | Conservation |
In Colorado the two principal conservation
goals are the prevention of soil erosion and the protection of the watersheds.
Erosion is a problem on land in the plains of eastern Colorado, where the soils
are generally light in texture and are easily removed by high winds when left
bare for any length of time. Erosion was limited when grass covered the plains,
but became increasingly severe as the grass cover was removed. Prolonged
droughts, which have occurred periodically in Colorado, dry out the topsoil,
which is the most productive layer. The topsoil is then carried away by the
winds that sweep across the plains. Since the 1930s modern farming techniques
have been introduced to decrease the destructive effects of soil erosion.
Protection of the watersheds, especially
in western Colorado, is undertaken by maintaining the plant and tree cover on
them. This slows down the rate of runoff and increases the amount of rainwater
that eventually finds its way into the groundwater and rivers, and therefore
into the water supply.
Wildlife conservation is conducted in the
national and state parks and wilderness areas. Hunting is permitted seasonally,
but it is carefully controlled. Fishing is also controlled, and rivers are
stocked with fish.
The work of protecting the environment in
Colorado is done by the state departments of Natural Resources and Health.
Divisions within the departments oversee air pollution control, the disposal of
hazardous waste, and water quality issues. In 2006 the state had 17 hazardous
waste sites on a national priority list for cleanup due to their severity or
proximity to people. Between 1995 and 2000, the amount of toxic chemicals
discharged into the environment increased by 29 percent.
III | ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES |
Since prospectors first discovered gold,
less than a century and a half ago, Colorado has been transformed from a few
frontier mining communities to a modern state of major economic significance to
the nation. The mining booms beginning in the late 1850s spurred Colorado’s
initial growth. The state’s economy broadened when irrigated agriculture
developed, and by the late 19th century livestock raising had become important
on the plains of the eastern part of the state. Early industrial growth was
based on the processing of minerals and agricultural products. In the second
half of the 20th century the industrial and service sectors have expanded
greatly. World-class winter resorts and expansive summer recreational
opportunities draw tourists year-round. The state’s economy is now diversified
and is notable for its concentration of scientific research and high-technology
industries. Denver is an important financial center.
Colorado had a work force of 2,652,000 in
2006. Of those the largest share, 37 percent, worked in the diverse service
industry, doing such jobs as working in restaurants or programming computers.
Another 19 percent were employed in wholesale or retail trade; 16 percent in
federal, state, or local government, including those in the military; 22 percent
in finance, insurance, or real estate; 6 percent in manufacturing; 7 percent in
construction; 18 percent in transportation or public utilities; 2 percent in
farming (including agricultural services), forestry, or fishing; and 1 percent
in mining. The number of people working in mining fell by nearly one-half
between the early 1980s and early 1990s; meanwhile employment in services
increased by three-fifths. In 2005, 8 percent of Colorado’s workers were
unionized.
A | Agriculture |
There were 30,500 farms in Colorado in
2005, of which 44 percent produced annual sales of more than $10,000; many of
the rest were sidelines for operators who held other jobs. Farmland occupies
12.4 million hectares (30.7 million acres), of which 37 percent was used to grow
crops. While a small part of the rest was tended pasture, by far the major share
was used as range for the grazing of livestock. In addition to areas classified
as farmland, there are extensive grazing lands in the national forests and other
federal lands in Colorado. These grazing lands are leased by ranchers on a
seasonal basis.
The sale of livestock and livestock
products (mostly cattle and calves) accounted for 76 percent of farm income in
2004. The sale of crops was much less important.
A1 | Livestock |
Sheep and cattle are raised in large
numbers throughout the mountains and the drier sections of the plains. The
leading cattle-raising area is in the north central part of the state, just east
of the Rockies. Colorado is the nation’s fourth largest producer of cattle. Most
of the state’s livestock are beef cattle raised on ranches, but some dairy
cattle are also raised on irrigated pastures near Denver and other urban
markets. In addition, sheep and cattle from other states are fattened for market
in Colorado.
Most ranchers use additional grazing
lands both in Colorado and in neighboring states for their herds. Western
Colorado is the leading sheep-raising area in the state. The sheep are raised
for both wool and meat, especially spring lamb. Each spring, lambs from the
western flocks are sent to the Fort Collins area for fattening. Poultry and
horses are also raised in the state. Hogs and dairy products contribute
significantly to the state’s agricultural economy as well.
A2 | Crops |
Wheat is the leading cash crop. It is
raised chiefly on the High Plains and is the only major crop grown in the state
without the aid of irrigation. Because annual rainfall fluctuates, the greater
part of the plains is often too dry for cultivation every year. Therefore
fallowing land and other forms of soil and water conservation are important.
Corn is the second most important crop grown in Colorado. However, much of the
corn is fed directly to livestock. Hay which includes alfalfa, timothy, and wild
hay, is also important, as are plants grown in nurseries and greenhouses for
live sale.
In some plains areas, barley, grain
sorghum, and oats are also grown, often in rotation with wheat. In addition,
many stock farms raise both wheat and cattle.
A3 | Patterns of Farming |
Irrigation is used on 28 percent of all
the cultivated land. Irrigated crops include alfalfa, as well as dry beans,
sugar beets, potatoes, and a variety of other vegetables and fruit. The chief
irrigated areas are the San Luis Valley, the High Plains of east central
Colorado, and the South Platte, Arkansas, and Gunnison river valleys. Alfalfa,
an important forage crop, is grown in all these areas. In addition to growing
alfalfa, farmers in the South Platte Valley and the High Plains specialize in
sugar beets, and farmers in the Arkansas Valley grow melons, other fruits, and
vegetables. The San Luis Valley is noted for potatoes and lettuce. Apples and
peaches are the chief crops in the Gunnison Valley. Flowers are grown
commercially in fields and hothouses near Denver.
The major sources of irrigation water,
in addition to the South Platte, are the Río Grande and the Arkansas and
Colorado rivers, as well as numerous wells. Among the principal irrigation
projects in the state are the Uncompahgre and Pine river projects, both in
southwestern Colorado, and the Colorado-Big Thompson and Fryingpan-Arkansas
projects, both in central Colorado. In the Colorado-Big Thompson and
Fryingpan-Arkansas projects, water from the headwaters of the Colorado River,
west of the divide, is transported by tunnel to the Eastern Slope.
B | Forestry |
The annual income from forestry in
Colorado is small. Commercial forests are relatively limited in extent; most
forests are under federal control and are concentrated in the western part of
the state. Almost all output is softwoods, principally pines and firs.
C | Mining |
While gold is what drew the first miners
to Colorado, the production of fossil fuels is by far the most valuable resource
extraction done in the state today, representing four-fifths of the state’s
mineral output. Natural gas is the leading mineral product, taken from the
ground at more than 7,000 wells across the state. The production of natural gas
more than doubled between the mid-1980s and early 1990s. Rapidly falling prices
for petroleum have decreased the value of its production and have made coal the
state’s second most valuable mineral. Oil and natural gas are produced at more
than 300 fields, although the most productive are found in the northwestern part
of the state.
Bituminous coal is found in beds that
underlie about one-quarter of the state. Extraction is about equally distributed
between surface and subsurface mines, and Moffat and Routt counties in the
northwest are the leading producers. Nearly all of the coal is used to fuel
electricity-generating plants inside Colorado and in nearby states. A small
amount of coal is shipped to industrial centers in Utah and Illinois.
Colorado is the nation’s second leading
producer of molybdenum, which is added to steel as a hardener. Other minerals
produced in Colorado include sand and gravel, cement, gold, silver, zinc, stone,
tungsten, limestone, helium, and lead. Vast reserves of oil shale underlie much
of western Colorado. Colorado also has large tracts of oil shale lands,
estimated to contain several billion barrels of recoverable crude oil. Attempts
to extract this oil were made in the 1970s and 1980s. However, extraction of the
oil was too costly to be practical.
D | Manufacturing |
Manufacturing in Colorado is dominated by
the processing of local raw materials and by technology-dependent light
industries. Leading manufactures include the production of scientific
instruments, food processing, and the making of industrial machinery. The chief
instrument manufactures are those making a variety of products for use in
medicine, devices to measure electricity, and photographic equipment. The
brewing of beer is the leading employer among food processing industries,
although the state has a diverse selection of industries preparing and packaging
Colorado’s farm output. Industrial machinery manufactures are led by the makers
of computer storage devices and peripheral equipment. Other large employers in
the state are firms engaged in making ordnance, components of guided missiles
and space vehicles, and semiconductors.
The Denver metropolitan area is the
state’s leading manufacturing center, specializing in food processing and in the
manufacture of scientific equipment and electronic and transportation
components. Industrial activity has developed in a number of other communities
located in the Front Range area. In the university city of Boulder, printing and
publishing, instrument manufacture, and research and development activities
predominate. Heavy industry is still important in Pueblo. Colorado Springs has a
wide variety of high-technology industries. Food-processing facilities can be
found in many of the communities in the state. Most of the sugar refineries in
Colorado are located in communities near the state’s chief sugar beet-growing
areas in the South Platte Valley near Greeley.
E | Electricity |
Colorado produces 96 percent of its
electricity in coal-powered thermal plants. Hydroelectric power accounts for 3
percent of the state’s electricity generation.
F | Tourist Industry |
Tourism in Colorado is a vital part of
the state’s economy, although its relative contribution has declined in recent
decades as the state’s economy has diversified. Businesses providing for the
needs of tourists generate $10 billion annually. Hunting, fishing, camping,
hiking, skiing, and automobile touring all contribute to the state’s economy.
More money is spent on hunting licenses in Colorado than any other state, and
Colorado is second only to Montana in the number of out-of-state licenses
issued. But skiing remains the state’s most visible and important tourist
activity. Mountain resorts such as Vail, Aspen, and Steamboat Springs have made
Colorado synonymous with winter recreation.
G | Transportation |
Denver is the chief railroad center in
Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region. The development of the railroads, and
transportation in general, has been hindered by the Rocky Mountains, and it was
not until 1934, after the construction of the Moffat Tunnel under the
Continental Divide and the completion of the Dostero Cutoff, that the state was
served by a direct transcontinental railroad. Coal is the main commodity shipped
by rail in the state, representing 78 percent of the tonnage of goods. Farm
products are 3 percent and processed foods are 5 percent of the tonnage of goods
originating in Colorado. In 2004 the state was served by 4,072 km (2,530 mi) of
railroad track.
Denver is the focal point of most of the
principal highways crossing Colorado. A number of highways follow passes over
the Rocky Mountains. Winter snow, often a serious hazard to driving, sometimes
closes the passes. A new route through the mountains was opened in 1973 with the
completion of the Eisenhower Memorial Tunnel, about 100 km (about 60 mi) west of
Denver. Built to carry Interstate 70 under the Continental Divide, it is the
longest vehicular tunnel in the United States at 2.7 km (1.7 mi). The highest
road in the United States carries drivers to the top of Mount Evans (4,348
m/14,265 ft). In 2005 Colorado had 140,974 km (87,597 mi) of highway, including
1,539 km (956 mi) of the federal interstate highway system.
In 2007 there were 15 airports in
Colorado, many of which were private airfields. For many years Denver’s
Stapleton International Airport was the largest airport and an essential link in
the nation’s air transportation system. In 1995 Stapleton was supplanted by the
new Denver International Airport.
IV | THE PEOPLE OF COLORADO |
A | Population Patterns |
According to the 2000 national census,
Colorado ranked 24th among the states, with a total population of 4,301,261.
This figure represented an increase of 30.6 percent over the 1990 population of
3,294,394. Colorado’s average population density in 2006 was 18 persons per sq
km (46 per sq mi). However, the population is not evenly distributed. About
five-sixths of all Coloradans live in a narrow belt that extends for about 300
km (about 200 mi) along the eastern foot of the Rocky Mountains and includes
Denver, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, and Pueblo. Meanwhile most of the
mountains and the Colorado Plateau are sparsely populated. In 2000, 84 percent
of the people of Colorado lived in areas defined as urban.
The people of Colorado are from diverse
origins. Many of them are descendants of immigrants from the British Isles. The
gold rush of 1858 and 1859 brought the first permanent settlements of Europeans
and Americans of European descent to Colorado. Among the immigrants were former
tin miners from Cornwall, England, who were accustomed to hardrock mining, and,
later, farmers from central Europe. In addition, there are numerous people of
Spanish and Mexican descent. Blacks have been living in Colorado since the first
gold rush. In the 1970s there was a considerable influx of Vietnamese.
Immigration from Vietnam continued in the early 1990s, and the state also gained
a number of people from countries of the former Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics and from China.
Whites comprise the largest share of the
people, representing 82.8 percent of the population. Blacks are 3.8 percent of
the people, Asians are 2.2 percent, Native Americans are 1 percent, Native
Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders are 0.1 percent, and those of mixed
heritage or not reporting race are 10 percent. Hispanics, who may be of any
race, are 17.1 percent of the people.
By 1900, most of the Plains Native
Americans in Colorado had been moved to reservations in other states. Only about
1,500 remained in Colorado. They lived mostly on a reservation in western
Colorado, and their numbers remained relatively constant until the 1950s, when
the Native American population grew to more than 4,200. More than ten times that
number lived in the state in 2000. Many of the people belong to Ute tribes, but
Sioux and Navajo are also represented.
B | Principal Cities |
Most of Colorado’s major cities lie at
the foot of the Rockies. Denver and cities in its metropolitan region account
for more than half of the total population of Colorado. Denver, located on the
South Platte River in north central Colorado, is the state’s largest city and
the leading industrial and commercial center. It is also the state capital, the
site of numerous federal agencies and offices, and a popular recreation center.
Denver had a population in 2006 of 566,974. The metropolitan area centered on
Denver, which covers seven counties and includes Aurora and Lakewood, had a
population of 2.6 million in 2000.
Colorado Springs, with 372,437 residents
in 2006, is primarily a residential, light industrial, and resort city. Nearby
are the United States Air Force Academy, the headquarters of the North American
Air Defense Command, and Fort Carson, a major United States Army post.
Pueblo, with a population of 103,730, is
an important industrial city. It is also the location of several federal
offices, including a branch of the Government Printing Office.
Boulder, just northwest of Denver, is the
seat of the largest campus of the University of Colorado. Fort Collins is a high
technology manufacturing center and university city in north central Colorado.
Grand Junction has a population of 46,898 residents and is the largest city in
western Colorado. Greeley is a trade and processing center in north central
Colorado.
C | Religion |
Roman Catholics, mainly of Spanish and
Mexican descent, were among the first church members to settle permanently in
what is now Colorado. Their numbers were increased when Roman Catholic
immigrants from central Europe entered Colorado in the late 19th century and
early 20th century. The Roman Catholic church, with about one-quarter of all
church members in the state, is the largest religious body in Colorado.
The three largest Protestant
denominations are the Baptists, the Methodists, and the Lutherans. Mormons live
in all parts of the state and are especially numerous in Denver and in the San
Luis Valley. There are small Jewish congregations, mostly located in
Denver.
V | EDUCATION AND CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS |
A | Education |
The first school in Colorado was opened in
Auraria, now part of Denver, during the gold rush, in 1859. The first
schoolhouse was built at Boulder in 1860. The first free tax-supported schools
were established after Colorado became a territory in 1861.
School attendance in Colorado is now
compulsory for all children from ages 7 to 16. In addition to the public schools
there is a growing number of private schools, most of which are operated by
religious denominations, which educate 7 percent of the state’s children.
Education is supervised by the state board of education, which is made up of
seven members elected by the voters of Colorado, and by a commissioner of
education, who is appointed by the board.
In the 2002–2003 school year Colorado
spent $8,847 on each student’s education, compared to a national average of
$9,299. There were 16.9 students for every teacher (the national average was
15.9). Of those older than 25 years of age in the state in 2006, 88 percent had
a high school diploma, one of the best levels of educational attainment in the
country, where the overall rate is 84.1 percent.
A1 | Higher Education |
Higher education in Colorado dates from
1864, when Colorado Seminary, which is now the University of Denver, was founded
by a group of Methodists. Colorado College was established in Colorado Springs
ten years later, and in the same year, Jarvis Hall in Golden was reorganized as
the Colorado School of Mines. The University of Colorado at Boulder was founded
in 1876, although it was authorized in 1861 by the first territorial
legislature. Colorado State University, which was established as an agricultural
school in Fort Collins in 1870, began instruction in 1879. Today Colorado has 28
public and 49 private institutions of higher education. Other notable schools
include the United States Air Force Academy, in Colorado Springs; the University
of Northern Colorado, in Greeley; Regis University, in Denver; and the
University of Colorado at Denver.
B | Libraries |
Colorado has 115 tax-supported library
systems, which are located in the major cities and towns of the state. Each year
the libraries circulate an average of 9.9 books for every resident. The Denver
Public Library, the oldest library in the state, is noted for its large
collection of books on the history of the West. The library of the Colorado
State Historical Society, in Denver, has a collection of books, newspapers,
manuscripts, and maps covering Colorado’s past. The libraries of the University
of Colorado at Boulder also include unique collections of materials on Colorado
and western history as well as on mountaineering. Other notable libraries
include the Colorado State Library in Denver and the libraries of Colorado State
University in Fort Collins.
C | Museums |
Three of Colorado’s leading museums are in
Denver. They are the Colorado History Museum, the Denver Museum of Nature and
Science, and the Denver Art Museum. Also in Denver are the Denver Botanic
Gardens. In Colorado Springs, Native American and Spanish colonial art are on
display at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. The Boulder Museum of History
chronicles the settlement and industrial development of Boulder, and the
University of Colorado Museum in Boulder exhibits the natural history of the
state. The Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave, near Golden, exhibits historical
mementos and photographs of the famous plainsman and scout Buffalo Bill Cody,
who is buried on Lookout Mountain. The Colorado Railroad Museum is in
Golden.
D | Communications |
During the first half of the 19th century,
interest in Colorado and other parts of the West was stimulated by the reports
and journals of Zebulon Pike and other explorers. An Overland Journey from
New York to San Francisco in the Summer of 1859, a report of the Colorado
gold fields, was written by an editor of the New York Tribune, Horace
Greeley, who arrived in Colorado in 1859.
The Rocky Mountain News, Colorado’s
oldest newspaper, was first published in Denver as a weekly in 1859. Daily
publication was begun in 1860. The Rocky Mountain News and the
Denver Post are the state’s largest newspapers in circulation.
Other major dailies include the Gazette in Colorado Springs, the
Pueblo Chieftain in Pueblo, the Fort Collins Coloradoan in
Fort Collins, and the Daily Sentinel in Grand Junction. In 2002 there
were 28 daily newspapers published in the state.
Colorado’s first radio station, KLZ, was
established in Denver in 1920. Television programs were first transmitted from
station KFEL, also in Denver, in 1952. In 2002 there were 59 AM and 92 FM radio
stations and 18 television stations operating in the state.
E | Music, Theater, and Film |
During the mid-1800s traveling theater
companies visited the settlements of the frontier, entertaining audiences with
everything from variety shows to the plays of English author William
Shakespeare. Many performances today take place in those same venues, such as
Central City Opera House, which opened in 1878, where Central City Opera
performs. Most of the major cities have classical ensembles, including the
Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, in
Denver.
Much of the state’s enthusiasm for the
arts is celebrated during musical and theatrical festivals throughout the year.
The Aspen Music Festival began in the late 1940s as a tribute to the German poet
and writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Held each summer, the festival brings
together an illustrious array of musicians who perform in the city’s variety of
concert halls and outdoor venues. Boulder celebrates the music of Austrian
composer and conductor Gustav Mahler at the Colorado MahlerFest. The January
event features performances by nationally known musicians as well as lectures.
Founded in 1976 by a local musician, the Colorado Music Festival boasts its own
orchestra consisting of professional musicians, many of them principal players
in leading orchestras from throughout the world. The festival season runs from
June to August in Boulder.
Theater performances are presented
regularly at the Denver Performing Arts Complex, as well as at many other venues
in the state. Founded in 1958, the Colorado Shakespeare Festival is held from
June to August at the Mary Rippon Theatre, built in 1939 in Boulder.
The small mountain town of Telluride hosts
several music and film festivals. The annual Telluride Film Festival features
the work of independent and foreign filmmakers and often honors actors and
directors who have made significant contributions to the film industry.
VI | RECREATION AND PLACES OF INTEREST |
As a vacation state, Colorado has few
rivals. Superb scenery, a wealth of historic sites, and excellent hunting,
fishing, and skiing facilities and opportunities combine to attract visitors at
all seasons.
A | National Parks |
Rocky Mountain National Park includes
some of the highest, most spectacular, and rugged mountains in Colorado. In the
park are Longs Peak, at 4,346 m (14,259 ft) above sea level, and many other
peaks. Wildlife is abundant throughout the park. Mesa Verde National Park in
southwestern Colorado contains ruins of Anasazi pit houses, pueblos, and cliff
dwellings, which are considered some of the best-preserved in the country.
One of the most spectacular tourist
attractions is the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, which contains
the narrow gorge cut by the Gunnison River. Colorado National Monument, near
Fruita, features deep gorges and huge solitary rock formations, such as the 150
m (500 ft) Independence Rock. Dinosaur National Monument, which is located on
the Utah-Colorado border, is famous for fossilized remains of dinosaurs and
other prehistoric animals. Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, near
Alamosa, contains some of the largest and highest sand dunes in North America.
Hovenweep National Monument, which is in both Utah and Colorado, has ruins of
many Native American cliff dwellings and other structures. Also in the southwest
is Yucca House National Monument. It contains the ruins of an ancient pueblo yet
to be excavated by archaeologists and is not open to the public. In southeastern
Colorado is Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site, a reconstruction of the
first American settlement in Colorado. A rich deposit of fossil plants and
insects gives a detailed look at life in ancient North America at Florissant
Fossil Beds National Monument, west of Colorado Springs. Curecanti National
Recreation Area has fine recreational facilities centering around
reservoirs.
B | National Forests |
There are 11 national forests (and part
of a 12th) in Colorado. In Rio Grande National Forest are several active mining
camps and also vast wilderness sections. In Roosevelt National Forest are
Arapaho Glacier and the deep canyons of the Big Thompson, Boulder, Cache la
Poudre, and St. Vrain rivers. Routt National Forest includes sections of the
Continental Divide above the timberline. In San Isabel National Forest, near
Pueblo, are dude ranches and scenic motor drives. San Juan National Forest is
the largest national forest, covering 800,000 hectares (2 million acres).
Manti-LaSal National Forest is shared with Utah. The Arapaho National Forest,
established by President Theodore Roosevelt, is named after the Plains people
who frequented the region for summer hunting. The forest includes land on both
sides of the Continental Divide, which separates the Platte River watersheds
that flow toward the Gulf of Mexico and the Colorado River watersheds that flow
toward the Pacific Ocean. The White River National Forest is one of the largest
and oldest national forests in the Rocky Mountains. Its national popularity is
growing because of the many opportunities for recreation. The Uncompahgre
National Forest contains primitive routes to old mining operations that are now
popular with off-road vehicle drivers. Grand Mesa National Forest contains Grand
Mesa, one of the largest flat-top mountains in the world, which boasts hundreds
of small lakes and a reputation for excellent fishing. Gunnison National Forest
contains many areas popular with backcountry enthusiasts. Pike National Forest
features the famous Pikes Peak, the top of which can be reached by a scenic toll
road.
C | State and Local Parks |
State parks in Colorado provide outdoor
activities for users year-round. Dozens of facilities include opportunities for
swimming, boating, fishing, camping, and hiking. Lory State Park is noted for
its rock formations and for its numerous ecosystems that change with altitude.
The park preserves 970 hectares (2,400 acres) of the transition ecosystems of
the Rocky Mountain foothills. At Navajo State Park the main attraction is the
long Navajo Reservoir that extends well into New Mexico. Barr Lake State Park is
lined with cottonwoods, marshes, and aquatic plants, and its southern half has
been designated as a wildlife refuge to shelter animals and birds in a number
and variety unequaled elsewhere in Colorado. Some 4,900 hectares (12,100 acres)
of spring-watered meadows, forested ridges, and massive rock formations comprise
Mueller State Park and Wildlife Area.
Denver maintains more than 50 parks in
the mountains west of the city. The parks offer excellent recreational
facilities.
D | Other Places to Visit |
Other tourist attractions in Colorado
include a suspension bridge that spans the deep chasm of the Royal Gorge of the
Arkansas River. There are also large, red rock monoliths in the Garden of the
Gods near Colorado Springs and in Red Rocks Park near Denver. There are hot
mineral springs at Pagosa Springs and Hot Sulphur Springs. Dozens of ghost towns
are scattered throughout the mountains. A few others, such as Central City, have
been restored and now prosper as summer resorts or gambling venues. The United
States Mint, in Denver, produces more than five billion coins each year. There
are free tours of the entire production process, from stamping to counting and
bagging. Colorado is the nation’s leading ski-resort region, with more than two
dozen major ski areas, including those in Aspen, Steamboat Springs, Telluride,
and Vail.
E | Sports |
The four major-league professional sports
franchises in Colorado all play in Denver; they are the Denver Broncos football
team, the Denver Nuggets basketball team, the Colorado Rockies baseball team,
and the Colorado Avalanche hockey team.
F | Annual Events |
Major events during the summer include a
program of opera and theater at Central City and an outdoor music festival at
Red Rocks Park. Colorado is home to several well known film festivals: the Aspen
Filmfest presents American independent and foreign films, documentaries, and
short subjects in early fall; the Telluride Film Festival features four days of
independent films in early August; and the Denver International Film Festival,
in October, premieres works from around the world.
The state also has its share of grueling
outdoor events, including an automobile race to the top of Pikes Peak on July
Fourth, and the Leadville 100, a 100-mi (161-km) footrace through the Sawatch
Mountain range.
Many local rodeos, fairs and other
festivals are held during the summer. They include the Colorado State Fair in
Pueblo, which begins in late August and features old-fashioned bake-offs,
livestock shows, and musical entertainment; the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, in
June, featuring old-school bluegrass yodelers and new folk artists; the Annual
Rocky Mountain Ragtime Festival, in Boulder, with dozens of performers during
the four-day event; and the Music and Blossom Festival and Royal Gorge Rodeo,
one of the state’s oldest rodeos, in Canon City in May. The Steamboat Springs
Winter Carnival is in February.
VII | GOVERNMENT |
Colorado has had only one constitution
since it became a state in August 1876. It has been amended many times since its
adoption. An amendment to the constitution may be proposed by the legislature,
by initiative, or by a constitutional convention. To become effective, an
amendment must be approved by a majority of the people voting on the issue in an
election.
A | Executive |
The executive branch of the state
government is headed by a governor, who is elected for a term of four years. The
governor appoints most state department and division heads and commissioners.
The governor also has the power to veto any laws except those that the voters
approve by direct referendum. Other elected executive officials are the
lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and treasurer, all of
whom are elected for four-year terms.
B | Legislative |
The General Assembly, as the state
legislature is called, consists of a 35-member Senate and a 65-member House of
Representatives. Senators are elected for four-year terms and representatives
for two-year terms. The General Assembly meets yearly in Denver. The governor
may also call special sessions. Bills vetoed by the governor can become law if
passed by two-thirds of each legislative house.
C | Judicial |
The highest court in Colorado is the
state supreme court, which is mainly a court of appeal. The seven supreme court
justices elect one of their number to serve as chief justice. In addition, there
are district courts, each of which has one or more judges. The governor appoints
judges to the state supreme court and to the district courts. After serving
provisional terms, appointees must run for election. Supreme court judges are
elected for ten-year terms and district court judges for six-year terms. Lower
courts include county, municipal, and police courts.
D | Local Government |
There are 63 counties in Colorado.
County officials include three or five elected commissioners, a clerk, sheriff,
coroner, treasurer, surveyor, assessor, and judge, justices of the peace, and
law enforcement officers. However, Denver County, which is coextensive with the
city of Denver, has no county government. The city and county are governed by a
mayor and council. Most cities have the mayor and council or council and city
manager form of municipal government.
E | National Representation |
Colorado elects two U.S. senators and
seven members of the House of Representatives. The state casts nine electoral
votes in presidential elections.
VIII | HISTORY |
A | Early Inhabitants |
Tools and campsites found by
archaeologists in eastern Colorado indicate that humans appeared in present-day
Colorado as early as 10,000 bc.
The first people known to have settled in what is now southwestern Colorado are
called the Anasazi, who seem to have entered the area in about 1500 bc. Little is known today about the
early Anasazi, but a flourishing Anasazi culture existed in Colorado between
ad 300 and ad 1300. Archaeologists divide Anasazi
culture into two major periods, the Basket Maker period and the Pueblo
period.
In southwestern Colorado the Basket
Maker period lasted from about 1500 bc to about ad 700. The Basket Makers were (as the
name implies) very skilled at making baskets, which they used for storing food,
cooking, and carrying water. At first they lived mainly in shallow caves on the
tops of mesas (plateaus that have eroded), where they grew corn, squash, beans,
and other crops. In about 500 bc
they began to live in shallow, roofed-over pits, make pottery, and use pots as
well as baskets.
The Pueblo period lasted from about 700
to 1300. The peoples of this period built houses of stone and adobe (sun-dried
brick) and lived in pueblos, or villages, on the mesas. By about 1100 they were
living in elaborate pueblos of several stories. In about 1200 these peoples
moved from the mesa pueblos into new pueblos built along the canyon walls just
below the overhanging rims of the mesas. These peoples are sometimes referred to
as Cliff Dwellers. Toward the end of the 13th century increasing population,
changing climate, decreasing natural resources, and a severe drought forced the
Anasazi to move. It is thought that the Pueblo people of today are their
descendants.
By the early 18th century, other Native
American groups were living in what is now Colorado, including the Cheyenne,
Arapaho, Kiowa, Comanche, and the Ute. The Ute moved from Utah east into the
Colorado plains, where they lived at the highest altitude of any Native American
group—often at 3,000 m (10,000 ft) above sea level. The Ute traded elk and deer
hides for horses and hardware with the Spanish and with Pueblo people of the Río
Grande Valley.
B | Spanish and French Exploration |
The Spanish were the first Europeans to
reach Colorado, and Spain formally claimed the entire region early in the 18th
century. Various Spanish expeditions entered Colorado, including the 40 soldiers
led by Juan de Ulibarri in 1706 and the expedition of Father Francisco Atanasio
Dominguez and Father Silvestre Velez de Escalante in 1776. French interest in
Colorado dates from 1682, when the French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur
de La Salle, claimed for France all the land between the Allegheny Mountains and
the Rocky Mountains. La Salle, who never went west of the Mississippi River
himself, named the vast region Louisiana (Louisiane, in French), after Louis
XIV, the king of France. French trappers and traders ventured into Colorado
during the 18th century.
C | Early 19th Century |
In 1803 France sold the Louisiana
Territory, including Colorado, to the United States. In 1806 James Wilkinson,
the governor of the Louisiana Territory, sent Zebulon Montgomery Pike to explore
the region and to survey its boundaries. Pike led the first U.S. expedition into
Colorado and explored southeastern Colorado and the San Luis Valley, but the
Spanish arrested him when he crossed into Spanish territory. The boundary
between Spanish America and the United States remained in dispute until 1819,
when the Adams-Onis Treaty gave southern and western Colorado to Spain and
northern and eastern Colorado to the United States. Another U.S. exploration
party in 1820 under Stephen H. Long investigated the area’s resources. Long
reported that the eastern Colorado plains constituted part of one great
desert.
In the 1820s and 1830s hardy traders
and fur trappers, called mountain men, began pushing into Colorado in search of
beaver and other fur-bearing animals. Trading posts were built and both the
Native Americans and the mountain men traded furs and manufactured goods. One of
the most famous trading posts was Bent’s Fort on the Arkansas River, where
American hunter, trapper, and scout Kit Carson occasionally lived. By the 1840s,
however, the beaver trade in Colorado had declined. The posts were abandoned one
by one, although Bent’s Fort was, for a time, a post on the Santa Fe Trail, the
overland trade route extending from western Missouri to Santa Fe in present-day
New Mexico.
D | Colorado and Mexico |
When Mexico gained its independence
from Spain in 1821 it assumed ownership of western and southern Colorado. In
order to secure the frontier, the Mexican government awarded large amounts of
land to Mexican citizens who were willing to establish colonies in the San Luis
Valley and other border areas, but few settlers moved there. Mexico was forced
to cede its territories in what later became the southern part of the United
States, including Colorado, to the United States following the end of the
Mexican War in 1848. The U.S. government recognized the original Mexican land
grants, and colonists, mostly Spanish and Mexican, began to settle in the San
Luis Valley during the 1850s.
E | Gold Rush |
In 1858 gold was discovered in Cherry
Creek in what is now downtown Denver by a party of prospectors led by William
Green Russell. Mining camps appeared at Denver and Auraria, now a part of
Denver, that same year. Thousands of hopeful prospectors flocked to Colorado. By
the spring of 1859 the Colorado gold rush was at its height, and “Pikes Peak or
Bust” was the slogan for many westbound adventurers. In 1859 John Gregory made
an even richer strike at Clear Creek, and nearby Central City quickly became a
boomtown. Mining camps also developed at Fairplay, Georgetown, Gold Hill, and
Breckenridge. But by 1861 the gold rush was over, and thousands of luckless
miners left the mountains.
F | Colorado Territory |
At the start of the gold rush most of
the eastern section of Colorado was a part of the Kansas Territory. In 1859
Coloradans established Jefferson Territory, but the U.S. Congress, preoccupied
with the growing hostility between North and South, failed to recognize it.
Jefferson Territory existed until 1861, when Congress created the Colorado
Territory on February 28. William Gilpin was appointed the first territorial
governor and Congress selected the name Colorado. Colorado City was the
first territorial capital, but the legislature quickly began meeting in Denver.
Golden was then chosen as the capital in 1862, but the legislature continued to
meet mainly in Denver, which finally became the permanent capital in 1867.
G | White Expansion and Warfare |
The discovery of gold had drawn
thousands of Midwesterners to the “Pikes Peak or Bust” gold rush. Although many
left quickly, in the early 1860s those who remained, especially farmers, slowly
began encroaching on Native American hunting areas. Denver itself had been built
in 1858 on lands that Congress had reserved for the Cheyenne and Arapaho
peoples, some of whom raided the stage routes between Denver and the Missouri
River. During the Civil War (1861-1865), most of the federal troops posted in
Colorado were withdrawn, leaving Colorado without adequate defenses against the
raids. At that time the Ute lived in the mountain and plateau regions, and the
Cheyenne and Arapaho controlled most of the plains.
To retaliate for a series of earlier
Cheyenne and Arapaho attacks that had killed isolated settlers, the Third
Colorado Cavalry, led by U.S. Colonel John M. Chivington, attacked a village of
sleeping Cheyenne and Arapaho at dawn on November 29, 1864, killing as many as
several hundred men, women, and children. Known as the Sand Creek Massacre, this
attack caused nationwide concern for the plight of Native Americans in the West.
Nevertheless, in 1867, regular army troops forced all of the Native Americans
except the Southern Utes off the Colorado plains and onto reservations in
Oklahoma.
H | Statehood |
The first bill for Colorado’s statehood
was introduced in Congress in 1864, but it died when Colorado voters rejected
the proposed state constitution. Subsequent efforts at statehood were lost in
the fight between President Andrew Johnson and Republicans in the U.S. Congress
over how the defeated Southern states should be treated after the Civil War.
Johnson vetoed statehood, partly because the territory’s population was too
small. Congress did approve a Colorado statehood bill on March 3, 1875. A state
convention at Denver adopted a proposed state constitution on March 14, 1876,
and on July 1 the voters approved it by a three-to-one margin. Colorado became
the 38th state to join the Union on August 1, 1876, and John L. Routt, the last
territorial governor, was elected the first governor of the state of
Colorado.
I | Early Growth of the State |
The state’s economy and its population
grew rapidly in the 1870s and 1880s. The population increased from about 40,000
in 1870 to more than 412,000 in 1890. In the late 1860s cattle ranching began on
Colorado’s unsettled eastern plains. In the 1870s cattle barons like John Wesley
Iliff amassed fortunes raising cattle on the open range. Sheep ranchers
attempted to graze sheep, but most of them were forced out by the cattle
ranchers and had to move to poorer rangelands in western Colorado. Thousands of
farmers also settled in the eastern part of the state in the 1870s and 1880s,
acquiring land under the Homestead Law of 1862, which provides 65 hectares (160
acres) to settlers if they remained on the land for five years. Farmers clashed
with ranchers, as both groups tried to fence off water holes and the better
sections of the range. Farmers adopted new farming techniques, including
drought-resistant crops and tilling that conserved moisture; these techniques
allowed them to farm land that did not receive much water. In 1870 irrigation
projects were begun at Union Colony, now Greeley, and elsewhere.
In the mountains, mining remained the
chief economic activity. Between 1870 and 1880 silver was discovered at several
different places in Colorado. In particular, rich deposits of lead carbonate
(cerussite) that contained large amounts of silver were found at Leadville. The
economic and political life of Colorado revolved around silver. After 1878
silver prices were high enough to create great fortunes for Horace A. W. Tabor,
John Routt, and other Coloradans, who became known as “carbonate kings.”
When whites began to settle and mine in
western Colorado in the 1870s, the Ute, who had only occasionally raided white
settlements in Colorado, became increasingly hostile. In September 1879 a band
of Utes killed U.S. Indian Agent Nathan C. Meeker and ten other men at the White
River Agency in northwestern Colorado. After further conflict, in which many
soldiers died, the Ute disbanded, and all but a very few were expelled from
Colorado.
J | Silver Crisis |
In 1873 the U.S. Congress had passed
the Coinage Act, which authorized the U.S. Treasury to stop minting silver
dollars. This had decreased the demand for silver just as new silver strikes in
Colorado, Nevada, and other Western states increased the supply, and silver
prices dropped rapidly. Silver-mining companies in Colorado and the other
Western states vehemently protested against the Coinage Act, which they called
the “Crime of ‘73.” For nearly 25 years silver interests in Western states urged
Congress to begin the unlimited coinage of silver dollars, a position called
free silver. Congress authorized the treasury to buy and coin a limited amount
of silver dollars in 1878 and 1890, which helped the Colorado silver mining
industry, but production still overwhelmed the market. Meanwhile, Colorado’s
farmers, like farmers throughout the West, suffered when overproduction around
the world pushed farm prices down to their lowest level since the 1860s.
In 1893 a major economic depression hit
the United States. Congress repealed the silver-purchasing act of 1890 and
Colorado’s silver mines immediately closed when silver prices fell far below
profitable working levels. The free-silver issue continued to dominate politics
in Colorado and across the nation and the Populist Party and the Democratic
Party attracted support in Colorado during the 1890s by supporting free-silver
policies. In 1896 both parties supported the Democratic Party candidate for
president, Nebraska editor William Jennings Bryan, but his defeat by Republican
William McKinley effectively killed the free-silver movement.
K | Gold Mining |
During the problems in the Colorado
silver-mining industry, new deposits of gold were discovered at Cripple Creek in
1891, and for many years Cripple Creek was one of the world’s leading
gold-mining regions. Gold mining helped compensate for the state’s silver-mining
troubles and depressed farm economy. Some old silver mines were found to contain
recoverable gold.
L | Labor Troubles |
Although mining made some of the
company owners rich and supported much of the economy, Colorado miners did not
always feel they got enough of the rewards. In 1880 at the Chysolite mine in
Leadville, miners struck after they were told they could not talk while on the
job. Mine owners organized a private army and persuaded the governor to declare
martial law. They forced the strike leaders out of the area and the strike
ended.
Other, more violent strikes followed.
At Cripple Creek in 1893 miners struck after mine owners tried to increase the
work day from eight to ten hours. In 1903 another strike broke out at Cripple
Creek; it was settled only after the governor sent troops.
The worst strike occurred near Ludlow
in 1913 and 1914 at coal mines owned by John D. Rockefeller. Striking miners,
many of them Greek and Slavic immigrants, had built a tent settlement after they
had been evicted from company-owned housing. On April 20, 1914, National Guard
troops attempted to clear the camp, but the miners resisted; 39 people were
killed in the ensuing battle. Ten days of near civil war followed, as armed
miners tried to destroy mine property, while militia and private guards tried to
protect it. The violence ended only after President Woodrow Wilson sent troops
to the area.
M | World War I and After |
Prosperity did not return to Colorado
until after World War I began in 1914. Britain, France, and the other Allied
Powers needed raw materials, especially metal and food products, and Colorado’s
economy grew by supplying them, especially after the United States entered the
war in 1917. The state’s mining industry was greatly expanded, and new mineral
resources, such as molybdenum and tungsten, were also developed. The economic
boom continued into the 1920s.
Several years of good rainfall
encouraged many farmers to extend cultivation to the drier parts of the plains.
Oil production, which had started in the 1860s, approached 5 million barrels in
the 1920s with the opening of new fields near Fort Collins and Craig. In 1930
Colorado had more than one million people for the first time in its
history.
But the Great Depression, the economic
hard times of the 1930s, hit Colorado and the rest of the nation hard. There was
widespread unemployment in the state, and many people, including bankers and
farmers, went bankrupt. In addition, between 1932 and 1937 a prolonged drought
struck the Great Plains. There was little or no water for crops, soil erosion
was extensive, and many farms were abandoned. Farm prices throughout the nation
dropped to very low levels. In an attempt to help farmers and those without
work, Colorado and the federal government created programs to build highways and
public buildings. Despite the general economic stagnation during the 1930s, the
state’s mineral production increased. Silver and gold mining grew after 1934,
when the Silver Purchase Act and the Gold Reserve Act were passed by the U.S.
Congress. The price of gold increased, and unemployed people panned for gold in
streams miners had originally worked in 1859.
N | Recent Developments |
As a result of government policies
during the Great Depression as well as World War II, which the United States
entered in 1941, the state entered a boom that lasted 40 years. Farming
recovered briefly during the war, but manufacturing greatly increased, and
Denver became a “second Washington,” with government offices, defense plants,
and training camps. Colorado Springs and other cities also thrived.
After the war, population grew rapidly,
especially in Denver and its suburbs. Between 1940 and 1960 the state’s
population increased by more than 600,000 people, to more than 1.7 million, and
Denver, Adams, and Jefferson counties accounted for nearly half of the increase.
By 1980, over 80 percent of Coloradans lived between Fort Collins and Pueblo,
and in 1993 the Denver, Boulder, and Greeley metropolitan regions together
topped 2 million people. As the population grew, so did the problems of
urbanization, including pollution, transportation, and crime.
By contrast, rural, eastern Colorado
lost population. Mirroring a nationwide pattern, agriculture slumped in the late
1940s after wartime demand for food products vanished. Family farms were
replaced by large agricultural businesses. The population decrease affected
every aspect of rural counties, from business to medical care to schools. By the
mid-1950s manufacturing had replaced agriculture as the state’s most important
economic activity. Eventually, the region lost political power when the state
legislature was reapportioned to reflect the shift in population.
Mining, like agriculture, did not do
well. Oil and natural-gas production increased in northeastern, northwestern,
and southwestern Colorado during and after the war, but then declined. Two more
brief mining rushes temporarily stimulated Colorado’s economy. From 1946 to 1963
uranium mining was important in western Colorado. Then, after the Organization
of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) raised oil prices in 1973, creating an
energy crisis, Colorado oil shale seemed to provide some answers, although that
industry declined when Exxon sold its interest in 1982. Both times Grand
Junction expanded and then contracted rapidly.
Environmental concerns began
transforming Colorado in the 1970s. Growth, population, and pollution became
major political issues. In 1972 a bill to fund the proposed 1976 Winter Olympics
was defeated, which seemed to indicate that the progrowth attitude was changing.
How water was to be used became an important issue. The area east of the
Continental Divide had more than 90 percent of the population and 63 percent of
the land, but the western part of the state had the large majority of the water.
Questions included how water should be allocated between rural or urban areas
and how water management projects would affect the environment.
Tourism, the service industries,
federal money, and other smaller industries became the new pillars of the
Colorado economy. Skiing, in particular, grew after the war. Skiing gave old
mining communities like Aspen, Telluride, and Breckenridge a new life, and
created towns such as Vail.
In 1992 Colorado voters captured
national attention after they approved an amendment to the state constitution
that prohibited local governments from passing laws that protected civil rights
for homosexuals. The amendment had been sponsored to repeal Aspen, Boulder, and
Denver ordinances that gave homosexuals the right to fight housing and job
discrimination in court. The amendment was immediately challenged in court,
however, and in 1994 the Colorado State Supreme Court ruled that the amendment
was unconstitutional. That ruling was appealed to the Supreme Court of the
United States, which in May 1996 upheld the Colorado State Supreme Court
decision overturning the amendment.
In 1999 the deadliest school shooting
in the nation’s history took place at Columbine High School in Littleton,
Colorado. Two heavily armed students killed 13 people and wounded 23 others at
the school before killing themselves. The incident became the subject of an
Academy Award-winning documentary, Bowling for Columbine (2002) by
director Michael Moore, and subsequently had a significant impact on security
methods and procedures used at schools across the nation.
Colorado elected its first Hispanic
senator, Democrat Ken Salazar, in the 2004 elections. Salazar’s ancestors lived
in Colorado before it became a state. Colorado’s other U.S. senator, Wayne
Allard, was a Republican. He was first elected to the Senate in 1996.
The history section of this article was
contributed by Duane A. Smith. The remainder of the article was contributed by
Thomas P. Huber.
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