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101-476: Volunteers for PWV attend an offsite three-day training session every five years, and are asked to perform at least six patrols (hiking, backpacking, or on horseback) during each hiking season, which runs from January through September. In addition to performing patrols, PWV volunteers perform other duties such as clearing weeds, trailhead hosting, and collecting forest usage data for the USFS. Poudre Wilderness Volunteers

202-689: A gunman killed 10 people , including a police officer, in a King Soopers supermarket in Boulder . In an instance of anti-LGBT violence , a gunman killed 5 people at a nightclub in Colorado Springs during the night of November 19–20, 2022. Four warships of the U.S. Navy have been named the USS Colorado . The first USS Colorado was named for the Colorado River and served in the Civil War and later

303-787: A group of Cherokee crossed through the county following the North Fork of the Poudre to the Laramie Plains on their way to California along a route that became known as the Cherokee Trail . The area of county was officially opened to white settlement following negotiations with the Cheyenne and Arapaho in the 1858 Treaty of Fort Laramie , by which time the area was part of the Nebraska Territory . The first U.S. settlers arrived that same year in

404-426: A household in the county was $ 48,655, and the median income for a family was $ 58,866. Males had a median income of $ 40,829 versus $ 27,859 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 23,689. About 4.30% of families and 9.20% of the population were below the poverty line , including 6.80% of those under age 18 and 4.40% of those age 65 or over. Larimer was long a Republican stronghold. Between 1920 and 2004,

505-648: A major industry in Colorado. This period became known locally as the Carnation Gold Rush . Poor labor conditions and discontent among miners resulted in several major clashes between strikers and the Colorado National Guard , including the 1903–1904 Western Federation of Miners Strike and Colorado Coalfield War , the latter of which included the Ludlow massacre that killed a dozen women and children. Both

606-546: A party led by Antoine Janis from Fort Laramie . Janis, who had visited the area near Bellvue in 1844 and proclaimed it "the most beautiful place on earth", returned to file his official claim and helped found the first U.S. settlement in present-day Colorado, called Colona, just west of Laporte. Nearly simultaneously, Mariano Medina established Fort Namaqua along the Big Thompson River just west of present-day Loveland . The first irrigation canals were established along

707-628: A rapid decline in the organization's power, with membership waning significantly by the end of the 1920s. Colorado became the first western state to host a major political convention when the Democratic Party met in Denver in 1908. By the U.S. census in 1930 , the population of Colorado first exceeded one million residents. Colorado suffered greatly through the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl of

808-636: A significant portion of the extreme weather occurs in the least populated areas of the state. Thunderstorms are common east of the Continental Divide in the spring and summer, yet are usually brief. Hail is a common sight in the mountains east of the Divide and across the eastern Plains, especially the northeast part of the state. Hail is the most commonly reported warm-season severe weather hazard, and occasionally causes human injuries, as well as significant property damage. The eastern Plains are subject to some of

909-539: A trail have never been in the mountains or on a trail before and they are all excited to be in our beautiful wild lands! We hike at the kid’s pace, stopping to smell, touch and explore the wonders of nature that interest the kids. 58 trails, organized by region and interest, providing maps, elevation profiles, and points of interest, are presented on the Trails pages Current trail condition reports are available. Trails by Interest include: Trails by Area include: In 1995,

1010-414: A volunteer organization that was named Poudre Wilderness Volunteers (PWV) after the major river that flows through the district. No organization magically springs, full-blown, into the world. Much planning, experimenting, trial and error, and gathering of information is involved. But before any of that happens, one person has to have an idea, an inspiration, which is so compelling that it must be pursued. In

1111-498: A volunteer ranger for the USFS, Charles Bell, who patrolled the trails of what is now the Canyon Lakes Ranger District, became extremely worried about the cuts to the ranger district’s budget over the previous three years – from 3 full-time persons and 30 seasonal employees down to just 1 full-time person and 2 part-timers to look after its extensive backcountry and wilderness areas. With USFS support, he decided to form

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1212-514: Is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado . As of the 2020 census , the population was 359,066. The county seat and most populous city is Fort Collins . The county was named for William Larimer, Jr. , the founder of Denver . Larimer County comprises the Fort Collins, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area . The county is located at the northern end of the Front Range , at the edge of

1313-617: Is a state in the Western United States . It is one of the Mountain states , sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona , New Mexico , and Utah . It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas to the east, and Oklahoma to the southeast. Colorado is noted for its landscape of mountains , forests , high plains , mesas , canyons , plateaus , rivers , and desert lands. It encompasses most of

1414-485: Is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and has no paid staff The mission of Poudre Wilderness Volunteers is to assist the Canyon Lakes Ranger District of the United States Forest Service in managing and protecting wilderness and backcountry areas within its jurisdiction. To achieve this mission, Poudre Wilderness Volunteers recruits, trains, equips and fields citizen volunteers to serve as wilderness rangers and hosts for

1515-512: Is a mix of high plains, foothills, and mountains. Northwest and west Colorado are predominantly mountainous, with some desert lands mixed in. Southwest and southern Colorado are a complex mixture of desert and mountain areas. The climate of the Eastern Plains is semi-arid ( Köppen climate classification : BSk ) with low humidity and moderate precipitation, usually from 15 to 25 inches (380 to 640 millimeters) annually, although many areas near

1616-806: Is drained by the Colorado River. The South Park of Colorado is the region of the headwaters of the South Platte River. In south-central Colorado is the large San Luis Valley , where the headwaters of the Rio Grande are located. The northern part of the valley is the San Luis Closed Basin , an endorheic basin that helped created the Great Sand Dunes . The valley sits between the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and San Juan Mountains . The Rio Grande drains due south into New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico. Across

1717-659: Is flat and rolling land. East of the Rocky Mountains is the Colorado Eastern Plains of the High Plains , the section of the Great Plains within Colorado at elevations ranging from roughly 3,350 to 7,500 feet (1,020 to 2,290 m). The Colorado plains are mostly prairies but also include deciduous forests , buttes , and canyons. Precipitation averages 15 to 25 inches (380 to 640 mm) annually. Eastern Colorado

1818-533: Is generally accessed through artesian wells . Heavy usage of these wells for irrigation purposes caused underground water reserves to decline in the region. Eastern Colorado also hosts a considerable amount and range of livestock, such as cattle ranches and hog farms. Roughly 70% of Colorado's population resides along the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains in the Front Range Urban Corridor between Cheyenne, Wyoming , and Pueblo, Colorado . This region

1919-739: Is higher than the high elevation points of 18 states and the District of Columbia. The Continental Divide of the Americas extends along the crest of the Rocky Mountains. The area of Colorado to the west of the Continental Divide is called the Western Slope of Colorado . West of the Continental Divide, water flows to the southwest via the Colorado River and the Green River towards the Gulf of California . Within

2020-521: Is known as "The Western Slope") are the cities of Grand Junction , Durango , and Montrose . Download coordinates as: To the west of the Great Plains of Colorado rises the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains . Notable peaks of the Rocky Mountains include Longs Peak , Mount Blue Sky , Pikes Peak , and the Spanish Peaks near Walsenburg , in southern Colorado. This area drains to the east and

2121-459: Is more complex than states outside of the Mountain States region. Unlike most other states, southern Colorado is not always warmer than northern Colorado. Most of Colorado is made up of mountains, foothills, high plains, and desert lands. Mountains and surrounding valleys greatly affect the local climate. Northeast, east, and southeast Colorado are mostly the high plains, while Northern Colorado

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2222-510: Is partially protected from prevailing storms that blow in from the Pacific Ocean region by the high Rockies in the middle of Colorado. The "Front Range" includes Denver, Boulder , Fort Collins , Loveland, Castle Rock , Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Greeley, and other townships and municipalities in between. On the other side of the Rockies, the significant population centers in western Colorado (which

2323-546: Is presently mainly farmland and rangeland, along with small farming villages and towns. Corn , wheat , hay , soybeans , and oats are all typical crops. Most villages and towns in this region boast both a water tower and a grain elevator . Irrigation water is available from both surface and subterranean sources. Surface water sources include the South Platte , the Arkansas River , and a few other streams. Subterranean water

2424-457: Is the highest point in Colorado and the Rocky Mountains of North America. Colorado is the only U.S. state that lies entirely above 1,000 meters elevation. The point where the Arikaree River flows out of Yuma County, Colorado , and into Cheyenne County, Kansas , is the lowest in Colorado at 3,317 feet (1,011 m) elevation. This point, which is the highest low elevation point of any state,

2525-557: Is today the State of Colorado has been inhabited by Native Americans and their Paleoamerican ancestors for at least 13,500 years and possibly more than 37,000 years. The eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains was a major migration route that was important to the spread of early peoples throughout the Americas. The Lindenmeier site in Larimer County contains artifacts dating from approximately 8720 BCE. The Ancient Pueblo peoples lived in

2626-432: Is very prone to droughts. Most of the precipitation comes from thunderstorms, which can be severe, and from major snowstorms that occur in the winter and early spring. Otherwise, winters tend to be mostly dry and cold. In much of the region, March is the snowiest month. April and May are normally the rainiest months, while April is the wettest month overall. The Front Range cities closer to the mountains tend to be warmer in

2727-561: The Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819. The treaty took effect on February 22, 1821. Having settled its border with Spain, the U.S. admitted the southeastern portion of the Territory of Missouri to the Union as the state of Missouri on August 10, 1821. The remainder of Missouri Territory, including what would become northeastern Colorado, became an unorganized territory and remained so for 33 years over

2828-574: The Asiatic Squadron , where it was attacked during the 1871 Korean Expedition . The later three ships were named in honor of the state, including an armored cruiser and the battleship USS Colorado , the latter of which was the lead ship of her class and served in World War II in the Pacific beginning in 1941. At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor , the battleship USS Colorado was located at

2929-521: The Colorado Eastern Plains along the border with Wyoming . Larimer County was created in 1861, and was named after General William Larimer . Unlike that of much of Colorado, which was founded on the mining of gold and silver , the settlement of Larimer County was based almost entirely on agriculture , an industry that few thought possible in the region during the initial days of the Colorado Gold Rush . The mining boom almost entirely passed

3030-547: The Great Lakes region to hunt across the High Plains of Colorado and Wyoming . The Spanish Empire claimed Colorado as part of Nuevo México . The U.S. acquired the territorial claim to the eastern Rocky Mountains with the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803. This U.S. claim conflicted with the claim by Spain to the upper Arkansas River Basin . In 1806, Zebulon Pike led a U.S. Army reconnaissance expedition into

3131-696: The Provisional Government of the Territory of Jefferson on August 24, 1859, but this new territory failed to secure approval from the Congress of the United States embroiled in the debate over slavery. The election of Abraham Lincoln for the President of the United States on November 6, 1860, led to the secession of nine southern slave states and the threat of civil war among the states . Seeking to augment

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3232-605: The Rocky Mountains was a major migration route for early peoples who spread throughout the Americas. In 1848, much of the Nuevo México region was annexed to the United States with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo . The Pike's Peak Gold Rush of 1858–1862 created an influx of settlers. On February 28, 1861, U.S. President James Buchanan signed an act creating the Territory of Colorado , and on August 1, 1876, President Ulysses S. Grant signed Proclamation 230 , admitting Colorado to

3333-632: The Sangre de Cristo Range to the east of the San Luis Valley lies the Wet Mountain Valley . These basins, particularly the San Luis Valley, lie along the Rio Grande rift , a major geological formation of the Rocky Mountains, and its branches. The Western Slope of Colorado includes the western face of the Rocky Mountains and all of the area to the western border. This area includes several terrains and climates from alpine mountains to arid deserts. The Western Slope includes many ski resort towns in

3434-699: The Southern Rocky Mountains , as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains . Colorado is the eighth most extensive and 21st most populous U.S. state. The United States Census Bureau estimated the population of Colorado at 5,877,610 as of July 1, 2023, a 1.80% increase since the 2020 United States census. The region has been inhabited by Native Americans and their ancestors for at least 13,500 years and possibly much longer. The eastern edge of

3535-545: The Territory of New Mexico , and the Territory of Utah . On April 9, 1851, Hispano settlers from the area of Taos settled the village of San Luis , then in the New Mexico Territory , as Colorado's first permanent Euro-American settlement , further cementing the traditions of New Mexican cuisine and New Mexico music in the developing Southern Rocky Mountain Front . In 1854, Senator Stephen A. Douglas persuaded

3636-574: The U.S. Congress to divide the unorganized territory east of the Continental Divide into two new organized territories, the Territory of Kansas and the Territory of Nebraska , and an unorganized southern region known as the Indian Territory . Each new territory was to decide the fate of slavery within its boundaries, but this compromise merely served to fuel animosity between free soil and pro-slavery factions. The gold seekers organized

3737-542: The Union as the 38th state. The Spanish adjective "colorado" means "colored red" or "ruddy". Colorado is nicknamed the " Centennial State " because it became a state 100 years (and four weeks) after the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence . Denver is the capital, the most populous city , and the center of the Front Range Urban Corridor . Colorado Springs is the second most populous city of

3838-502: The Union cause. In 1862, a force of Texas cavalry invaded the Territory of New Mexico and captured Santa Fe on March 10. The object of this Western Campaign was to seize or disrupt Colorado and California's gold fields and seize Pacific Ocean ports for the Confederacy. A hastily organized force of Colorado volunteers force-marched from Denver City, Colorado Territory , to Glorieta Pass , New Mexico Territory, in an attempt to block

3939-597: The Ute Indian reservation in southwestern Colorado. The Ute people were removed from the San Juan Mountains the following year. The United States Congress passed an enabling act on March 3, 1875, specifying the requirements for the Territory of Colorado to become a state. On August 1, 1876 (four weeks after the Centennial of the United States ), U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant signed a proclamation admitting Colorado to

4040-470: The free Territory of Colorado . The original boundaries of Colorado remain unchanged except for government survey amendments. In 1776, Spanish priest Silvestre Vélez de Escalante recorded that Native Americans in the area knew the river as el Rio Colorado for the red-brown silt that the river carried from the mountains. In 1859, a U.S. Army topographic expedition led by Captain John Macomb located

4141-528: The president and chief surveyor of the Colorado Central. Likewise, Wellington (founded in 1903) was named for a railroad employee. The Greeley, Salt Lake, and Pacific Railroad arrived three years later as a subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railroad , with the intention of creating a transcontinental line over Cameron Pass . Although the line was never extended over the mountains, it opened up

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4242-526: The question of slavery . After 11 years of war, Spain finally recognized the independence of Mexico with the Treaty of Córdoba signed on August 24, 1821. Mexico eventually ratified the Adams–Onís Treaty in 1831. The Texian Revolt of 1835–36 fomented a dispute between the U.S. and Mexico which eventually erupted into the Mexican–American War in 1846. Mexico surrendered its northern territory to

4343-581: The 1913–1914 Coalfield War and the Denver streetcar strike of 1920 resulted in federal troops intervening to end the violence. In 1927, the 1927-28 Colorado coal strike occurred and was ultimately successful in winning a dollar a day increase in wages. During it however the Columbine Mine massacre resulted in six dead strikers following a confrontation with Colorado Rangers . In a separate incident in Trinidad

4444-553: The 1930s with the construction of the Colorado Big Thompson Project following the Great Depression , sort of a third boom for the agricultural industry around Fort Collins. This project collected and captured Western Slope water, and carried it over to the Front Range Colorado counties of Boulder , Larimer, and Weld , along with extensive water storage and distribution system, which significantly extended

4545-463: The 1930s, but a major wave of immigration following World War II boosted Colorado's fortune. Tourism became a mainstay of the state economy, and high technology became an important economic engine. The United States Census Bureau estimated that the population of Colorado exceeded five million in 2009. On September 11, 1957, a plutonium fire occurred at the Rocky Flats Plant , which resulted in

4646-399: The Green River briefly crosses over into Colorado. The Western Slope of Colorado is drained by the Colorado River and its tributaries (primarily the Gunnison River , Green River , and the San Juan River ). The Colorado River flows through Glenwood Canyon , and then through an arid valley made up of desert from Rifle to Parachute , through the desert canyon of De Beque Canyon , and into

4747-423: The Poudre in the 1860s. In 1862 the settlement established by Janis became a stagecoach stop along the Overland Stage Route which was established because of threats of attacks from Native Americans on the northern trails in Wyoming. In 1861, Laporte was designated as the first county seat after the organization of the Colorado Territory . In 1862, the United States Army established an outpost near Laporte that

4848-409: The Rocky Mountains and towns west to Utah. It is less populous than the Front Range but includes a large number of national parks and monuments. The northwestern corner of Colorado is a sparsely populated region, and it contains part of the noted Dinosaur National Monument , which not only is a paleontological area, but is also a scenic area of rocky hills, canyons, arid desert, and streambeds. Here,

4949-527: The Southwestern United States. In 1864, Territorial Governor John Evans appointed the Reverend John Chivington as Colonel of the Colorado Volunteers with orders to protect white settlers from Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors who were accused of stealing cattle. Colonel Chivington ordered his troops to attack a band of Cheyenne and Arapaho encamped along Sand Creek. Chivington reported that his troops killed more than 500 warriors. The militia returned to Denver City in triumph, but several officers reported that

5050-421: The Territory. The Union Pacific linked up with the Central Pacific Railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah , on May 10, 1869, to form the First transcontinental railroad . The Denver Pacific Railway reached Denver in June of the following year, and the Kansas Pacific arrived two months later to forge the second line across the continent. In 1872, rich veins of silver were discovered in the San Juan Mountains on

5151-466: The Texans. On March 28, the Coloradans and local New Mexico volunteers stopped the Texans at the Battle of Glorieta Pass , destroyed their cannon and supply wagons, and dispersed 500 of their horses and mules. The Texans were forced to retreat to Santa Fe. Having lost the supplies for their campaign and finding little support in New Mexico, the Texans abandoned Santa Fe and returned to San Antonio in defeat. The Confederacy made no further attempts to seize

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5252-408: The U.S. with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo after the war in 1848; this included much of the western and southern areas of Colorado. Most American settlers first traveled to Colorado through the Santa Fe Trail , which connected the U.S. to Santa Fe and the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro southward. Others were traveling overland west to the Oregon Country , the new goldfields of California , or

5353-399: The Union as the 38th state and earning it the moniker "Centennial State". The discovery of a major silver lode near Leadville in 1878 triggered the Colorado Silver Boom . The Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890 invigorated silver mining, and Colorado's last, but greatest, gold strike at Cripple Creek a few months later lured a new generation of gold seekers. Colorado women were granted

5454-442: The Western Slope can be found at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, Western Colorado University in Gunnison, Fort Lewis College in Durango, and Colorado Mountain College in Glenwood Springs and Steamboat Springs. The Four Corners Monument in the southwest corner of Colorado marks the common boundary of Colorado, New Mexico , Arizona , and Utah ; the only such place in the United States. The climate of Colorado

5555-447: The Western Slope. Grand Junction and Durango are the only major centers of television broadcasting west of the Continental Divide in Colorado, though most mountain resort communities publish daily newspapers. Grand Junction is located at the juncture of Interstate 70 and US 50, the only major highways in western Colorado. Grand Junction is also along the major railroad of the Western Slope, the Union Pacific . This railroad also provides

5656-499: The alpine snow melts by mid-August except for a few snow-capped peaks and a few small glaciers. The Colorado Mineral Belt , stretching from the San Juan Mountains in the southwest to Boulder and Central City on the front range, contains most of the historic gold- and silver-mining districts of Colorado. The 30 highest major summits of the Rocky Mountains of North America are all within the state. The summit of Mount Elbert at 14,437.6 feet (4,400.58 m) elevation in Lake County

5757-403: The arid desert of Grand Valley , where the city of Grand Junction is located. Also prominent is the Grand Mesa , which lies to the southeast of Grand Junction; the high San Juan Mountains, a rugged mountain range; and to the north and west of the San Juan Mountains, the Colorado Plateau . Grand Junction, Colorado , at the confluence of the Colorado and Gunnison Rivers, is the largest city on

5858-401: The availability of the USFS land teaching basic Leave No Trace skills as well as trail safety. PWV also will hold in-town sessions to help educate. PWV has a ‘tool kit’ of activities that they can use, including map-and-compass lessons and always one of three interactive, in-depth curricula: "Aquatic Macroinvertebrates", "Mammals in Our Mountains" or "We Need Trees". Most of the kids taken on

5959-616: The best performance by a Democrat since the days of Woodrow Wilson and William Jennings Bryan . In 2020, Joe Biden's margin of victory was even greater. Larimer County is a state-level bellwether county ; as of the 2020 election , it has voted for the statewide winner in every election since 1948 , when Harry Truman carried Colorado without it. Fort Collins is home to Colorado State University . Colorado Colorado ( / ˌ k ɒ l ə ˈ r æ d oʊ , - ˈ r ɑː d oʊ / KOL -ə- RAD -oh, -⁠ RAH -doh , other variants; Spanish: [koloˈɾaðo] )

6060-432: The boundaries of the new Territory of Colorado exclusively by lines of latitude and longitude , stretching from 37°N to 41°N latitude, and from 102°02′48″W to 109°02′48″W longitude ( 25°W to 32°W from the Washington Meridian ). After 163 years of government surveys, the borders of Colorado were officially defined by 697 boundary markers and 697 straight boundary lines . Colorado, Wyoming , and Utah are

6161-463: The burn area. The year 2022 results were similar. Larimer County awarded PWV the 2009 Environmental Stewardship Award on December 6, 2009. Larimer County awarded PWV the 2020 Environmental Stewardship Award for its Kids in Nature program Larimer County awarded PWV the 2022 Environmental Stewardship Award This Colorado -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Larimer County Larimer County

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6262-415: The case of the Poudre Wilderness Volunteers, that person is Chuck Bell. While volunteering for the Forest Service, he saw a vital need for ordinary citizens to assist the Forest Service in maintaining the wilderness. The Cameron Peak Fire in 2020 was the largest wildfire in Coloroado history. It destroyed and burned over 209,000 acres of the Roosevelt National Forest. With those flames came the destruction of

6363-413: The confluence of the Green River with the Grand River in what is now Canyonlands National Park in Utah . The Macomb party designated the confluence as the source of the Colorado River. On April 12, 1861, South Carolina artillery opened fire on Fort Sumter to start the American Civil War . While many gold seekers held sympathies for the Confederacy , the vast majority remained fiercely loyal to

6464-416: The construction of the large processing plant of the Great Western Sugar Co. in Loveland. In the following decade, the sugar beet industry brought large numbers of German emigrants from the Russian Empire to the county. The neighborhoods of Fort Collins northeast of the Poudre were constructed largely to house these new families. A significant increase in the agricultural productivity of the region came in

6565-400: The county by. It would take the introduction of irrigation to the region in the 1860s to bring the first widespread settlement to the area. At the time of the arrival of Europeans in the early 19th century, the present-day county was occupied by Native Americans , with the Utes occupying the mountainous areas and the Cheyenne and Arapaho living on the piedmont areas along the base of

6666-425: The county in 1877 when the Colorado Central Railroad extended a line north from Golden via Longmont to Cheyenne . The town council of Fort Collins designated right-of-way through the center of town (and through the campus of the unbuilt college) for the line, creating a contentious issue to this day. Along the new railroad sprung up the new platted towns of Loveland and Berthoud , named respectively after

6767-416: The county. The population density was 97 people per square mile (37 people/km ). There were 105,392 housing units at an average density of 40 units per square mile (15 units/km ). The racial makeup of the county was 91.44% White , 0.66% Black or African American , 0.66% Native American , 1.56% Asian , 0.08% Pacific Islander , 3.41% from other races , and 2.19% from two or more races. 8.27% of

6868-409: The disputed region. Colonel Pike and his troops were arrested by Spanish cavalrymen in the San Luis Valley the following February, taken to Chihuahua , and expelled from Mexico the following July. The U.S. relinquished its claim to all land south and west of the Arkansas River and south of 42nd parallel north and west of the 100th meridian west as part of its purchase of Florida from Spain with

6969-417: The entire Great Basin and all lands drained by the rivers Green , Grand , and Colorado . The federal government of the U.S. flatly refused to recognize the new Mormon government because it was theocratic and sanctioned plural marriage . Instead, the Compromise of 1850 divided the Mexican Cession and the northwestern claims of Texas into a new state and two new territories, the state of California ,

7070-476: The first campus buildings. In 1873, Robert A. Cameron and other members of the Greeley Colony established the Fort Collins Agricultural Colony , which greatly expanded the grid plan and population of Fort Collins. One of the primary goals of the early citizens of the county was the courting of railroads . County residents were disappointed when the Denver Pacific Railroad bypassed the county in 1870 in favor of Greeley . The first railroad finally arrived in

7171-565: The foothills. French fur trappers infiltrated the area in the early decades of the 19th century, soon after the area became part of the United States with the Louisiana Purchase and was organized as part of the Missouri Territory . In 1828 William H. Ashley ascended the Cache la Poudre River on his way to the Green River in present-day Utah . The river itself received its name in the middle 1830s from an obscure incident in which French-speaking trappers hid gunpowder along its banks, somewhere near present-day Laporte or Bellvue . In 1848

7272-479: The infamous Columbine High School massacre in 1999 which made international news, where two gunmen killed 12 students and one teacher, before committing suicide. The incident has spawned many copycat incidents . On July 20, 2012, a gunman killed 12 people in a movie theater in Aurora . The state responded with tighter restrictions on firearms, including introducing a limit on magazine capacity. On March 22, 2021,

7373-567: The interior of the Rocky Mountains are several large parks which are high broad basins. In the north, on the east side of the Continental Divide is the North Park of Colorado . The North Park is drained by the North Platte River , which flows north into Wyoming and Nebraska. Just to the south of North Park, but on the western side of the Continental Divide, is the Middle Park of Colorado , which

7474-428: The irrigable growing season and brought substantial additional land under irrigation for the first time. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 2,634 square miles (6,820 km ), of which 2,596 square miles (6,720 km ) is land and 38 square miles (98 km ) (1.4%) is water. As of the census of 2000, there were 251,494 people, 97,164 households, and 63,156 families residing in

7575-617: The local and state Democrat and Republican parties , particularly in the governor's office and city governments of Denver, Cañon City , and Durango . A particularly strong element of the Klan controlled the Denver Police . Cross burnings became semi-regular occurrences in cities such as Florence and Pueblo. The Klan targeted African-Americans, Catholics , Eastern European immigrants, and other non-White Protestant groups. Efforts by non-Klan lawmen and lawyers including Philip Van Cise led to

7676-673: The mayor was accused of deputizing members of the KKK against the striking workers. More than 5,000 Colorado miners—many immigrants—are estimated to have died in accidents since records were first formally collected following an 1884 accident in Crested Butte that killed 59. In 1924, the Ku Klux Klan Colorado Realm achieved dominance in Colorado politics. With peak membership levels, the Second Klan levied significant control over both

7777-478: The midst and aftermath of the Civil War, many discouraged prospectors returned to their homes, but a few stayed and developed mines, mills, farms, ranches, roads, and towns in Colorado Territory. On September 14, 1864, James Huff discovered silver near Argentine Pass , the first of many silver strikes. In 1867, the Union Pacific Railroad laid its tracks west to Weir, now Julesburg , in the northeast corner of

7878-516: The naval base in San Diego, California, and thus went unscathed. The most recent vessel to bear the name USS Colorado is Virginia-class submarine USS Colorado (SSN-788) , which was commissioned in 2018. Colorado is notable for its diverse geography, which includes alpine mountains, high plains, deserts with huge sand dunes, and deep canyons. In 1861, the United States Congress defined

7979-788: The new Mormon settlements of the State of Deseret in the Salt Lake Valley , avoided the rugged Southern Rocky Mountains , and instead followed the North Platte River and Sweetwater River to South Pass (Wyoming) , the lowest crossing of the Continental Divide between the Southern Rocky Mountains and the Central Rocky Mountains. In 1849, the Mormons of the Salt Lake Valley organized the extralegal State of Deseret , claiming

8080-470: The only Democratic presidential candidate to win a majority of votes in the county was Lyndon Johnson in 1964. However, increasing urbanization, as well as the influence of Colorado State University, caused the Republican margins to decline steadily in the 1990s and early 2000s. In 2008, Barack Obama became the first Democrat to carry the county with the majority of the vote since 1964, and in so doing recorded

8181-473: The only states that have their borders defined solely by straight boundary lines with no natural features. The southwest corner of Colorado is the Four Corners Monument at 36°59′56″N , 109°2′43″W . The Four Corners Monument , located at the place where Colorado, New Mexico , Arizona , and Utah meet, is the only place in the United States where four states meet. Approximately half of Colorado

8282-620: The plains and into the foothills, there is a wide variety of climate types. Locations merely a few miles apart can experience entirely different weather depending on the topography. Most valleys have a semi-arid climate, not unlike the eastern plains, which transitions to an alpine climate at the highest elevations. Microclimates also exist in local areas that run nearly the entire spectrum of climates, including subtropical highland ( Cfb/Cwb ), humid subtropical ( Cfa ), humid continental ( Dfa/Dfb ), Mediterranean ( Csa/Csb ) and subarctic ( Dfc ). Extreme weather changes are common in Colorado, although

8383-561: The political power of the Union states , the Republican Party -dominated Congress quickly admitted the eastern portion of the Territory of Kansas into the Union as the free State of Kansas on January 29, 1861, leaving the western portion of the Kansas Territory, and its gold-mining areas, as unorganized territory. Thirty days later on February 28, 1861, outgoing U.S. President James Buchanan signed an Act of Congress organizing

8484-444: The population of Colorado resides, lies in a pronounced precipitation shadow as a result of being on the lee side of the Rocky Mountains. In summer, this area can have many days above 95 °F (35 °C) and often 100 °F (38 °C). On the plains, the winter lows usually range from 25 to −10 °F (−4 to −23 °C). About 75% of the precipitation falls within the growing season, from April to September, but this area

8585-441: The population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 97,164 households, out of which 31.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.60% were married couples living together, 7.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.00% were non-families. Of all households 23.40% were made up of individuals, and 6.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size

8686-554: The purpose of educating the public, and provides other appropriate support to these wild areas. The Kids in Nature (KIN) program connects kids with nature and fosters environmental awareness, respect, and land stewardship through fun educational programs and direct experience. The project goals are to: The KIN program provides ranger-guided hikes with organizations and established groups. PWV leads small groups of children with their adult leaders or adult family members, enlightening them to

8787-469: The quarrying of stone for the railroad at Stout , furnishing another industry for the region. The brief attempt at the mining of gold in the region centered at the now ghost town of Manhattan in the Poudre Canyon . The early growth of agriculture, which depended highly on direct river irrigation, experienced a second boom in 1902 with the introduction of the cultivation of sugar beets , accompanied by

8888-483: The right to vote on November 7, 1893, making Colorado the second state to grant universal suffrage and the first one by a popular vote (of Colorado men). The repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act in 1893 led to a staggering collapse of the mining and agricultural economy of Colorado, but the state slowly and steadily recovered. Between the 1880s and 1930s, Denver's floriculture industry developed into

8989-405: The rivers are semi-humid climate. The area is known for its abundant sunshine and cool, clear nights, which give this area a great average diurnal temperature range . The difference between the highs of the days and the lows of the nights can be considerable as warmth dissipates to space during clear nights, the heat radiation not being trapped by clouds. The Front Range urban corridor, where most of

9090-471: The significant plutonium contamination of surrounding populated areas. From the 1940s and 1970s, many protest movements gained momentum in Colorado, predominantly in Denver. This included the Chicano Movement , a civil rights , and social movement of Mexican Americans emphasizing a Chicano identity that is widely considered to have begun in Denver. The National Chicano Youth Liberation Conference

9191-477: The so-called battle was a blatant massacre of Indians at peace, that most of the dead were women and children, and that the bodies of the dead had been hideously mutilated and desecrated. Three U.S. Army inquiries condemned the action, and incoming President Andrew Johnson asked Governor Evans for his resignation, but none of the perpetrators was ever punished. This event is now known as the Sand Creek massacre . In

9292-643: The southeast, ultimately either via the Mississippi River or the Rio Grande into the Gulf of Mexico . The Rocky Mountains within Colorado contain 53 true peaks and 58 named peaks that are 14,000 feet (4,267 m) or higher in elevation above sea level, known as fourteeners . These mountains are largely covered with trees such as conifers and aspens up to the tree line , at an elevation of about 12,000 feet (3,658 m) in southern Colorado to about 10,500 feet (3,200 m) in northern Colorado. Above this tree line, only alpine vegetation grows. Much of

9393-456: The state. Residents of the state are known as Coloradans , although the antiquated "Coloradoan" is occasionally used. Major parts of the economy include government and defense, mining, agriculture , tourism, and increasingly other kinds of manufacturing. With increasing temperatures and decreasing water availability, Colorado's agriculture forestry, and tourism economies are expected to be heavily affected by climate change . The region that

9494-495: The tracks for Amtrak 's California Zephyr passenger train, which crosses the Rocky Mountains between Denver and Grand Junction. The Western Slope includes multiple notable destinations in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, including Glenwood Springs , with its resort hot springs, and the ski resorts of Aspen , Breckenridge , Vail , Crested Butte , Steamboat Springs , and Telluride . Higher education in and near

9595-525: The trails that allow us to experience the breathtaking beauty of our wilderness. For over 25 years, Poudre Wilderness Volunteers has been protecting and maintaining trails in the mountains along the Front Range. In 2021, the call was bigger than ever: to rebuild what was lost in the fires. In 2021 over 200 members of the public and 50 PWV members came to the restoration workdays which resulted in 2400 hours of labor. PWV members did an additional 26 workdays in

9696-627: The valleys and mesas of the Colorado Plateau in far southwestern Colorado. The Ute Nation inhabited the mountain valleys of the Southern Rocky Mountains and the Western Rocky Mountains , even as far east as the Front Range of the present day. The Apache and the Comanche also inhabited the Eastern and Southeastern parts of the state. In the 17th century, the Arapaho and Cheyenne moved west from

9797-467: The winter due to Chinook winds which warms the area, sometimes bringing temperatures of 70 °F (21 °C) or higher in the winter. The average July temperature is 55 °F (13 °C) in the morning and 90 °F (32 °C) in the afternoon. The average January temperature is 18 °F (−8 °C) in the morning and 48 °F (9 °C) in the afternoon, although variation between consecutive days can be 40 °F (22 °C). Just west of

9898-532: The withdrawal of the Army. By that time, Mason and others had convinced the Colorado Territorial Legislature to designate the new town as the county seat. In 1870, the legislature designated Fort Collins as the location of the state agricultural college (later Colorado State University ), although the institution would exist only on paper for another 9 years while local residents sought money to construct

9999-400: Was 2.52 and the average family size was 2.99. In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.80% under the age of 18, 14.20% from 18 to 24, 30.70% from 25 to 44, 21.80% from 45 to 64, and 9.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 99.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.20 males. The median income for

10100-504: Was designated as Camp Collins . A devastating flood in June 1864 wiped out the outpost, forcing the Army to seek a better location. At the urging of Joseph Mason , who had settled along the Poudre in 1860, the Army relocated its post downstream adjacent to Mason's land along the Overland stage route. The site of the new post became the nucleus of the town of Fort Collins , incorporated in 1873 after

10201-486: Was held in Colorado in March 1969. In 1967, Colorado was the first state to loosen restrictions on abortion when governor John Love signed a law allowing abortions in cases of rape, incest, or threats to the woman's mental or physical health. Many states followed Colorado's lead in loosening abortion laws in the 1960s and 1970s. Since the late 1990s, Colorado has been the site of multiple major mass shootings , including

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