38th
state of the
United States of America, admitted to the Union in 1876. Located in the Midwestern United States, rectangular in shape, bounded on the north by
Wyoming and
Nebraska, on the east by
Nebraska and
Kansas, on the south by
New Mexico and
Oklahoma, and on the west by
Utah. Roughly bisected in a north-south direction by the
Rocky Mountains.
The origin of the name "Colorado" is Spanish for "colored red." The name first referred to the Colorado River.
Population (2000): 4,250,000 (est.)
State capital: Denver
State nickname: The Centennial State
State motto: Nil sine numine (Nothing without Providence)
State animal: Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep
State bird: Lark bunting
State fish: Greenback cutthroat trout
State flower: Blue columbine
State folk dance: Square dance
State fossil: Stegosaurus
State gemstone: Aquamarine
State grass: Blue Grama grass
State insect: Colorado hairstreak butterfly
State tree: Colorado blue spruce
Sources: New York Public Library Desk Reference, State of Colorado home page at http://www.state.co.us