Colorado Facts

How many facts do you know about this beautiful state?

• Colorado was organized as a territory on Feb. 28, 1861.
• Grand County became a county on Feb. 2, 1874.
• Colorado became the 38th state on Aug. 1, 1876. The total population was approximately 100,000.
• The state’s population was estimated in 2008 to be 4,939,456.
 The population of Grand County in 2008 was estimated at 13,781.
• A golf ball flies on average ten percent farther in Colorado, due to the high altitude.
• There are nearly 20 rivers whose headwaters begin in Colorado. No rivers flow into Colorado. The source of all water in Colorado is from either rain or snow.
• Denver has the largest city park system in the nation with 205 parks in city limits and 20,000 acres of parks in the nearby mountains. Winter Park Resort is a Denver-owned city park.
• Colorado has more microbreweries per capita than any other state.
• Colfax Avenue in Denver is the longest continuous street in America.
• Colorado ranks second in the country for number of certified scuba divers.
• Colorado is home to 54 “fourteeners,” mountains 14,000ft above sea level.
• Mount Elbert is the highest mountain in Colorado at 14,433ft.
• Longs Peak, in Rocky Mountain National Park, is number 15 at 14,255ft.
• The highest point in Grand County is Pettingal Peak at 13,535ft. The lowest point is on the Colorado River near Radium at 7,200ft.

What is the difference between a mountain and a foothill?
The plains of Colorado have an altitude of from 4,000ft to 5,400ft. (Denver is at 5280ft. That is why, of course, it is called The Mile High City.) The next level, called the foothills, is between 5,400ft and 7,900ft, from Golden and Evergreen on up to Idaho Springs. Above 7,900ft the foothills grow up to be mountains.