COLORADO

constituent state of the United States of America. It is classified as one of the Mountain states, although only about one-half of its approximately 104,091 square miles (269,596 square kilometres) lies in the Rocky Mountains. It borders Wyoming and Nebraska on the north, Nebraska and Kansas on the east, Oklahoma and New Mexico on the south, and Utah on the west. Colorado was admitted to the Union on Aug. 1, 1876, as the 38th state. The capital is Denver. Colorado's history is written in the names of its cities, towns, mountain ranges, and passes. Indian and Spanish names alternate with those of frontier Americans, and many ghost towns are reminders of the thousands of prospectors and homesteaders who streamed into the territory in the mid-19th century to pursue dreams of gold and grain bonanzas. The vast cattle ranges and agricultural acreage fed by huge irrigation projects are characteristic of modern Colorado, as are the diversified industries and the educational and research facilities in its urban centres. Chibehan Tsatchela, or Tatchila Indian people of the Pacific coast of Ecuador. They live in the tropical lowlands of the northwest, where, along with the neighbouring Cayapa, they are the last remaining aboriginal group. The Colorado are linguistically related to the Cayapa, although their Chibchan languages are mutually unintelligible. The Colorado are fishermen and slash-and-burn agriculturists. Their staple crop is plantain, but cassava, yams, cacao, peppers, corn (maize), rice, and other crops are also grown. They also hunt and keep some domestic animals. Fishing often is undertaken with the use of poisons extracted from forest plants. Game hunters originally relied on blowguns firing clay pellets, but these have been largely replaced by shotguns. From the mid-20th century, the Colorado ways of life underwent further drastic changes, as many were induced to work on the plantations of local colonists and in urban areas. Some 2,000 Colorado were left in the late 20th century. Those who remain in the forest live scattered in single-family houses, consisting usually of thatched roofs supported by posts and lacking walls. Men traditionally wear a knee-length wraparound kilt and a square of cotton cloth over the shoulders; women wear an ankle-length wraparound cotton skirt and a shawl tied at the neck. Their religious practices are a mixture of shamanism and Roman Catholicism. The Colorado were so named because of their use of red pigment. Men covered their entire bodies with red pigment, while women painted only their faces. Their hair was also treated with red dye and sculpted to look helmetlike. The southern Mountain region. constituent state of the United States of America, lying in the west-central United States astride the Rocky Mountains. It is bounded on the north by Wyoming and Nebraska, on the east by Nebraska and Kansas, on the south by Oklahoma and New Mexico, and on the west by Utah. The capital is Denver. The original inhabitants of Colorado were Plains and Great Basin Indians, particularly the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Ute. The area was claimed by Spain in 1706 but later passed in large part to France. Eastern Colorado was part of the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803. The remainder was in Spanish, then Mexican hands until 1848. Gold was discovered in 1859 and touched off a population boom, but by the 1890s much of the original mining area had been vacated. In the meantime U.S. statehood was achieved in 1876. Colorado can be divided into three physiographic regions: the plains of eastern Colorado, a part of the Great Plains where vegetation is mostly grass; the Colorado Piedmont, in central Colorado, where most of the state's population lives; and the southern Rocky Mountains and Colorado Plateau, in western Colorado, distinguished by mountain ranges and mesas that alternate with broad valleys and deep, narrow canyons. The central core of the Colorado Rockies is the Sawatch Range, which has a maximum elevation of 14,433 feet (4,399 m) at Mount Elbert. In eastern Colorado the plains receive only 15 to 20 inches (380 to 510 mm) of precipitation annually, while the Piedmont receives even less. Both the plains and the Piedmont have warm summers and cold, harsh winters. Precipitation increases with elevation in the Rockies, and heavy snowfalls are common. The population of Colorado is relatively homogeneous. Persons of Hispanic origin make up one-eighth of the population. About four-fifths of the population resides in the Piedmont region, leaving low population densities on the plains and in the mountains. The urban portion of the population is high, and, like other states in the West, Colorado is a fast-growing state. Its annual growth rate from 1970 to the mid-1990s was generally well above the national average, largely owing to migration from other states. Agriculture is heavily dependent on irrigation but remains a basic asset of the economy. Major crops include alfalfa (lucerne), wheat, corn (maize), and sorghum. Colorado is a national leader in cattle production and contributes large numbers of hogs and sheep. Important products of mining and quarrying include molybdenum, petroleum, and coal. Service industriesin the business, financial, health, and other sectorsbecame prominent in the late 20th century. The trade, communications, and government (including military) sectors also are major sources of employment and income. Manufacturing remains an important segment of the economy, however. Major industries include the production of machinery, electrical instruments, and military systems and components; printing and publishing; and the processing of food and related products. Tourism is a major source of income for the state. Skiing is the principal winter sport that attracts visitors, and summer tourism is concentrated on national and state parks, including the renowned Rocky Mountain National Park. Colorado is the home of several universities and of the U.S. Air Force Academy, which is located at Colorado Springs. There are also several scientific research centres in the state. The highest of Colorado's numerous mountain passes is on Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park at 12,183 feet (3,713 m). Rail services link most urban and mining centres, and the Denver International Airport is a national air hub. Area 104,100 square miles (269,619 square km). Pop. (1970) 2,209,596; (1990) 3,294,394; (1996 est.) 3,822,676. Additional reading Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of Colorado, Colorado: A Guide to the Highest State (1941, reprinted as The WPA Guide to 1930s Colorado, 1987), addresses numerous aspects of the state's geography and history; it is also available in a new revised edition (1970). Mel Griffiths and Lynnell Rubright, Colorado (1983), is a systematic look at the state's geography. Reference atlases include Kenneth A. Erickson and Albert W. Smith, Atlas of Colorado (1985); DeLorme Mapping Company, Colorado Atlas & Gazetteer, 4th ed. (1998); and Thomas J. Noel, Paul F. Mahoney, and Richard E. Stevens, Historical Atlas of Colorado (1993). Geo. R. Eichler, Colorado Place Names (1977); and Maxine Benson, 1001 Colorado Place Names (1994), combine geography and local history. Cornelia Fleischer Mutel and John C. Emerick, From Grassland to Glacier: The Natural History of Colorado (1984), describes various Colorado ecosystems. Philip L. Fradkin, A River No More: The Colorado River and the West (1981), examines the role of water in the Colorado basin. Gleaves Whitney, Colorado Front Range: A Landscape Divided (1983), traces the rapid growth along the Front Range corridor. Historical treatments include Carl Ubbelohde, A Colorado History, 6th ed. (1988); Carl Abbott, Stephen J. Leonard, and David McComb, Colorado: A History of the Centennial State, rev. ed. (1982); Marshall Sprague, Colorado (1976, reissued 1984); and Robert G. Athearn, The Coloradans (1976). Colorado Magazine (quarterly), publishes current historical research. John L. Dietz