Map Of Colorado

The map of Colorado shows just how beautiful the state is. Colorado consists of the Colorado Plateau, the southern Rocky Mountains, and the Great Plains. Geographically, Colorado is the 8th largest state in the United States, the first being Alaska with a total size of 665,000 square miles.

Population wise, however, Colorado is the 21st most populous state with an estimated population of 5.5 million residents. The most populous state in the Union is actually California with 39.5 million people. To learn more about Colorado, and to see the map of this beautiful state, check out this guide.

My district is centered around the progressive college town of Boulder, Colorado, and the high-tech U.S. 36 corridor. It goes from the well-established suburbs of northwest Denver in Adams County to the beautiful mountain towns of Vail and Breckenridge and the majestic Western Slope of the Rocky Mountains. – Jared Polis

Maps of Colorado

As you can see in the map above, the Rocky Mountains take up about half of the state of Colorado (just like we said above). You might also be surprised to notice that Colorado’s borders are manmade and set as opposed to many other states who use natural borders such as lakes, rivers, etc. Below is a chart of the top ten most populated cities in the state of Colorado. What’s interesting is that the majority of these cities can all be found around and near the Denver metropolitan area. Obviously, there are exceptions to this, like Pueblo and Fort Collins, but you get the point.

Top 10 Most Populated Cities in Colorado (as of 2014)
City NameDate of IncorporationCountyPopulationTotal Area
1DenverDecember 3, 1859The City and County of Denver663 thousand154,000 square miles
2Colorado SpringsJune 19, 1886El Paso County450 thousand195,000 square miles
3Aurora May 5, 1903Arapahoe County, Adams County, and Douglas County353 thousand154,000 square miles
4Fort CollinsFebruary 12, 1883Larimer County156 thousand55,000 square miles
5Lakewood June 24, 1969Jefferson County150 thousand44,000 square miles
6Thornton June 12, 1956Adams County and Weld County130 thousand36,000 square miles
7Arvada August 24, 1904Jefferson County and Adams County113 thousand38,000 square miles
8Westminster May 24, 1911Adams County and Jefferson County112 thousand33,000 square miles
9PuebloNovember 15, 1885Pueblo County108 thousand54,000 square miles
10Centennial February 7, 2001Arapahoe County107 thousand29,000 square miles

Colorado has a total of 64 different counties, as you can see on the map above. Two of those counties, the City and County of Denver, as well as the City and County of Broomfield have consolidated county and city governments. That means the government operates both the county and the city as a whole. Here is a list of all 64 Colorado counties:

  1. Adams
  2. Alamosa
  3. Arapahoe
  4. Archuleta
  5. Baca
  6. Bent
  7. Boulder
  8. Broomfield
  9. Chaffee
  10. Cheyenne
  11. Clear Creek
  12. Conejos
  13. Costilla
  14. Crowley
  15. Custer
  16. Delta
  17. Denver
  18. Dolores
  19. Douglas
  20. Eagle
  21. Elbert
  22. El Paso
  23. Fremont
  24. Garfield
  25. Gilpin
  26. Grand
  27. Gunnison
  28. Hinsdale
  29. Huerfano
  30. Jackson
  31. Jefferson
  32. Kiowa
  33. Kit Carson
  34. Lake
  35. La Plata
  36. Larimer
  37. Las Animas
  38. Lincoln
  39. Logan
  40. Mesa
  41. Mineral
  42. Moffat
  43. Montezuma
  44. Montrose
  45. Morgan
  46. Otero
  47. Ouray
  48. Park
  49. Phillips
  50. Pitkin
  1. Prowers
  2. Pueblo
  3. Rio Blanco
  4. Rio Grande
  5. Routt
  6. Saguache
  7. San Juan
  8. San Miguel
  9. Sedgwick
  10. Summit
  11. Teller
  12. Washington
  13. Weld
  14. Yuma

In 1861, Colorado became its own territory and began making counties. Here are the original 17 counties of Colorado:

  • Summit
  • Larimer
  • Weld
  • Boulder
  • Gilpin
  • Clear Creek
  • Jefferson
  • Arapahoe
  • Douglas
  • Lake
  • Conejos
  • Costilla
  • Park
  • Fremont
  • El Paso
  • Pueblo
  • Huerfano

All About Colorado

A picture of the Colorado mountains. Image source: Pixabay

Colorado was named after the Colorado River, which the Spanish explorers named Rio Colorado for the red dirt that was carried from the mountains down the river, so Colorado essentially means the color red. In 1861, Colorado was its own territory, and on August 1, 1976, President Ulysses Grant admitted Colorado into the United States as the 38th state to join the union. Colorado has the moniker “the Centennial state” because they became a state a century after the United States Declaration of Independence was signed.

Facts About Colorado

Here are some random, funny, somewhat odd, and super cool facts about Colorado:

  • The capital of Colorado is Denver
  • The total population of Colorado (estimated for 2017) is 5.6 million
  • Colorado’s highest elevation is Mount Elbert, which is in Lake County at 14,440 feet
  • Colorado’s lowest elevation is the Arikaree River at 3,317 feet
    • This point is actually the highest low elevation point of any state in the union and is actually higher than Washington DC
  • Colorado is in the Mountain time zone
  • Colorado is the only US state that is entirely above 1,000 feet
  • Even though Colorado is very mountainous, it is not very seismologically active
    • Its largest earthquake was a magnitude 5.7 that was recorded in 1973
    • Its second largest was a 5.3 recorded in 2011
      • The epicenter was 9 miles away from the city of Trinidad
  • Colorado is the only US state to turn down the Olympic games
    • 1976 Winter Olympics were planned to take place in Denver but they canceled at the last minute
  • Denver claims to have invented the cheeseburger (thank you Denver!)
  • The federal government owns over 1/3 of the land in Colorado
  • The United States Air Force Academy is in Colorado Springs
  • Pueblo, Colorado has 4 living recipients of the Medal of Honor
  • The world’s largest rodeo, the Western Stock show, takes place in Denver
  • The “pinto bean” capital of the world is in Dove Creek
  • Colorado is one of the states that is part of the 4 corner states
    • The 4 corner states are: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah
  • The first license plate in the US was issued in Denver
  • It’s illegal to throw snowballs in Aspen, Colorado
  • The first teddy bear was invented in Colorado
    • It was invented to honor Theodore Roosevelt
  • Jolly Ranchers were invented by a Colorado native resident
  • The first rodeo in the United States took place in Deer Trail, Colorado
  • It is illegal to hit obstacles while skiing and snowboarding in Vail, Colorado
  • The first stegosaurus fossil was found in Colorado in 1876
  • No president has been born in Colorado
  • It is illegal to ride your horse while under the influence of alcohol or drugs