Basic Information About Colorado

Colorado is a western U.S. state known for the Rocky Mountains, high elevation, ski towns, and a fast-growing Front Range urban corridor — one of the clearest examples anywhere in the country of a state whose geography and public identity are essentially inseparable.

Capital and Largest City

Denver serves as both the state capital and largest city, sitting at exactly 5,280 feet above sea level — a mile high, the origin of its "Mile High City" nickname — right at the edge where the Great Plains meet the Rocky Mountain foothills.

Highest Mean Elevation of Any State

Colorado has the highest average elevation of any U.S. state, a distinction that follows directly from having more land above 10,000 feet than any other state in the country — even its lowest point, along the Arkansas River near the Kansas border, sits higher than the highest point in over a dozen other states.

Nickname and Statehood

Colorado is nicknamed the Centennial State because it entered the Union on August 1, 1876, the 38th state, almost exactly one hundred years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Not Only Alpine

Colorado is often associated with mountains first, but the eastern half of the state is High Plains geography — flatter, drier, and heavily agricultural — while the major mountain and canyon country concentrates in the central and western regions.

The Front Range Corridor

The state's largest population concentration sits along the Front Range, including Denver, Aurora, Boulder, Fort Collins, and Colorado Springs — the corridor where most of Colorado's politics, growth, and economic activity now take place.

Why Elevation Defines the State

Colorado contains many of the highest towns, mountain passes, and paved roads in the entire country, and that elevation shapes everything from climate to water supply to how quickly visitors realize the state's outdoor culture is tied to genuine altitude, not just attractive mountain views.