Background:
Colorado celebrates its 150th anniversary of statehood in 2026. It became the 38th state in the Union on August 1, 1876.
Colorado is renowned for its breathtaking landscapes and the awe-inspiring beauty of the majestic Rocky Mountains. The name “Colorado” comes from “colored red (or ruddy)”, which is how Spanish explorers described the silt of the Colorado River.
Nicknamed the Centennial State, Colorado joined the Union 100 years after the United States declared independence from Great Britain. Its average elevation is approximately 6,800 feet, the highest of all the states.
Colorado is known for its world-renowned ski areas and resorts and more than 39,000 miles of hiking trails. It has many state parks and four national parks: Rocky Mountain, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Great Sand Dunes, and Mesa Verde. Forest preserves, national monuments, and wildlife areas also provide endless opportunities for four-season adventures. Colorado has hundreds of ghost towns, numerous craft breweries, and many museums such as the History Colorado Center, Denver Art Museum, Ute Indian Museum, the Cripple Creek Historic District Museum, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum. It is also home to a thriving local food movement, which includes a collaboration of food hubs and nonprofit organizations dedicated to expanding access to locally grown and produced foods.
The numerous archaeological sites throughout Colorado speak to the richness and complexity of the people who have shaped the state’s heritage. Ancestral Puebloans built many spectacular stone villages called cliff dwellings in the southwestern part of the state. Many other Native American Tribes including the Ute, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Apache, Comanche, Kiowa, Pawnee, Shoshone and Lakota have and continue to call Colorado home.