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Portal:Colorado

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The Colorado Portal

Colorado is the state of the United States of America that encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the high western edge of the Great Plains. Admitted to the Union on August 1, 1876, Colorado became the 38th U.S. state. Colorado ranks 21st in population, eighth in total area, and first in mean elevation among the 50 U.S. states. Fifty-five of the 124 highest major mountain peaks of North America rise in Colorado. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of the State of Colorado was 5,957,493 on July 1, 2024, an increase of +3.18% since the 2020 United States Census. Denver is the state capital, the most populous city, and the heart of the most populous metropolitan area of the Rocky Mountain Region. Colorado Springs is the state's second most populous city. While the population of the Front Range Urban Corridor exceeds five million, many rugged portions of the state remain pristine wilderness.

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Colorado Events

  • Wikimedia US Mountain West Spring 2025 online meeting, Tuesday, May 13, 2025, 8:00-9:00 PM MDT
  • Wikimedia US Mountain West Summer 2025 online meeting, Tuesday, August 12, 2025, 8:00-9:00 PM MDT
  • Wikimedia US Mountain West Autumn 2025 online meeting, Tuesday, November 11, 2025, 8:00-9:00 PM MST
Previous events:

Colorado events

Colorado Facts

Class 2. John Hickenlooper (D) (2021–)
Class 3. Michael Bennet (D) (2009–)
1. Diana DeGette (D) (1997–)
2. Joe Neguse (D) (2019–)
3. Lauren Boebert (R) (2021–2025)
4. vacant
5. Doug Lamborn (R) (2007–2025)
6. Jason Crow (D) (2019–)
7. Brittany Pettersen (D) (2023-)
8. Yadira Caraveo (D) (2023–)

State Symbols

State flag: Flag of the State of Colorado                State seal: Great Seal of the State of Colorado
State motto: NIL SINE NUMINE (LatinNothing without providence)
State nickname: The Centennial State
State slogan: Colorful Colorado
State amphibian: Western Tiger Salamander
(Ambystoma mavortium)
State bird: Lark Bunting
(Calamospiza melanocoryus Stejneger)
State cactus: Claret Cup Cactus
(Echinocereus triglochidiatus)
State fish: Greenback Cutthroat Trout
(Oncorhynchus clarki somias)
State flower: Rocky Mountain Columbine
(Aquilegia caerulea)
State grass: Blue Grama
(Bouteloua gracilis)
State insect: Colorado Hairstreak Butterfly
(Hypaurotis cysaluswas)
State mammal: Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep
(Ovis canadensis)
State pets: Colorado shelter pets
(Canis lupus familiaris & Felis catus)
State reptile: Western Painted Turtle
(Chrysemys picta bellii)
State tree: Colorado Blue Spruce
(Picea pungens)
State fossil: Stegosaurus
(Stegosaurus armatus)
State gemstone: Aquamarine
State mineral: Rhodochrosite
State rock: Yule Marble
State soil: Seitz soil
State folk dance: Square Dance
State ship: USS Colorado (SSN-788)
State songs: Where the Columbines Grow & Rocky Mountain High
State sport: Pack Burro Racing
State highway route marker:
Route marker for Colorado State Highway 5
State tartan:
Colorado State Tartan
Commemorative U.S. coin:
Commemorative U.S. stamp:
Colorado Statehood stamp

Subcategories

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Category puzzle
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There are 17 National Natural Landmarks in U.S. state of Colorado, one of which extends into Wyoming. They cover areas of geological, biological and historical importance, and include lakes, mountains, rock formations and numerous fossil sites. The landmarks are located in 14 of the state's 64 counties. Five counties each contain all or part of two NNLs, while two landmarks are split between two counties. The first two designations, Slumgullion Earthflow and Summit Lake, were made in 1965, while the most recent designation, Glenwood Caverns and Iron Mountain Hot Springs, was made in 2023. Natural Landmarks in Colorado range from 60 to 380,000 acres (24.3 to 153,780.5 ha; 0.1 to 593.8 sq mi) in size. Owners include private individuals and several municipal, state and federal agencies.

The National Natural Landmarks Program is administered by the National Park Service, a branch of the Department of the Interior. The National Park Service determines which properties meet NNL criteria and, after notifying the owners, makes nomination recommendations. The Secretary of the Interior reviews nominations and, based on a set of predetermined criteria, makes a decision on NNL designation or a determination of eligibility for designation. Both public and privately owned properties can be designated as NNLs. Owners may object to the nomination of the property as a NNL. This designation provides indirect, partial protection of the historic integrity of the properties via tax incentives, grants, monitoring of threats, and other means.

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Dr. Caroline Spencer
Dr. Caroline Spencer
Caroline Spencer (October 30, 1861 – September 16, 1928) was an American physician and suffragist who campaigned extensively for women's rights, both in her home state of Colorado and on the national level. She was one of many Silent Sentinels who demonstrated in front of the White House, and also participated in Watchfires, during the final months before the Nineteenth amendment was passed. She was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2006. (Full article...)

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One of four example estimates of the plutonium (Pu-239) plume from the 1957 fire at the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant.
The Rocky Flats Plant, a former United States nuclear weapons production facility located about 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Denver, caused radioactive (primarily plutonium, americium, and uranium) contamination within and outside its boundaries. The contamination primarily resulted from two major plutonium fires in 1957 and 1969 (plutonium is pyrophoric, and shavings can spontaneously combust) and from wind-blown plutonium that leaked from barrels of radioactive waste. Much lower concentrations of radioactive isotopes were released throughout the operational life of the plant from 1952 to 1992, from smaller accidents and from normal operational releases of plutonium particles too small to be filtered. Prevailing winds from the plant carried airborne contamination south and east, into populated areas northwest of Denver.

The contamination of the Denver area by plutonium from the fires and other sources was not publicly reported until the 1970s. According to a 1972 study coauthored by Edward Martell, "In the more densely populated areas of Denver, the Pu contamination level in surface soils is several times fallout", and the plutonium contamination "just east of the Rocky Flats plant ranges up to hundreds of times that from nuclear tests." As noted by Carl Johnson in Ambio, "Exposures of a large population in the Denver area to plutonium and other radionuclides in the exhaust plumes from the plant date back to 1953." (Full article...)

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National Parks in Colorado

The 23 national parks in Colorado:

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Hikers at the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

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