Colorado Fun Facts

Colorado State Capitol

Photo courtesy of cliff1066

  • The thirteenth step of the State Capitol Building is exactly one mile above sea level.
  • Colorado has 54 mountain peaks above 14,000 feet and the highest mean altitude of any state.
  • Colorado has more microbreweries per capita than any other state.
  • Colfax Avenue in Denver is the longest continuous street in the U.S.
  • The highest paved road in North America is the road to Mt. Evans, climbing to 14,258 feet above sea level.
  • The world's first rodeo was held July 4, 1869 in Deer Trail.
  • Fruita, Colorado was the home of Mike the Headless Chicken, who lived for a year and a half after having his head cut off in 1945.
  • The world's largest natural hot springs pool is located in Glenwood Springs, CO.
  • More than one third of the land in Colorado is federal public land.
 Great Sand Dunes Park  

 

  • The tallest sand dunes in the U.S. are at Great Sand Dunes Park outside Alamosa.
  • The teddy bear was allegedly invented by the staff at the Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs to cheer up Theodore Roosevelt after an unsuccessful hunting trip.
  • Colorado has about 500 ghost towns.
  • Colorado is the only state ever to turn down hosting the Olympic Games.
  • All the water in Colorado flows out of the state and none flows in.
  • The world's highest suspension bridge spans the Royal Gorge at 1,053 feet above the Arkansas River.
    • Photo courtesy of Ed Siasoco

     

      

    You may be a Coloradan if

    ...you're actually proud of "South Park."
    ...you go anywhere else on Earth and the air feels "sticky."

    Black Bear

    Photo courtesy of Bess Sadler


    ...you always know the elevation where you are.
    ...your bridal registry is at REI.
    ...you take up snowboarding at age 75.
    ...a bear on your front porch doesn't bother you.
    ...when people from back East tell you they have mountains too and you just laugh.
    ...you tell your husband to pick up granola on his way from and he stops at the daycare.
    ...you carry your $3,000 mountain bike on top of your $500 car.
    ...you get depressed after one day of cloudy weather.
    ...you know what the Continental Divide is.
    ...you think that formal wear is ironed denim.
    ...you think north means "mountains to the left" and south is "mountains to the right."
    ...it snows 5 inches and you don't expect school to be canceled.