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All Countries > United States > Colorado
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. "Colorado," Microsoft® Encarta® 97 Encyclopedia.
Last Revised: November 11, 2007 06:36 PM. |
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. 
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.
