Colorado is a state of the
Western United States encompassing most of the southern
Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado
Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains. It is the 8th most
extensive and 21st most populous U.S. state. The region has been
inhabited by Native Americans for more than 13,000 years, with the
Lindenmeier Site containing artifacts dating from approximately 11200 BC
to 3000 BC; the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains was a major
migration route for early peoples who spread throughout the Americas.
The state was named after the Colorado River, which early Spanish
explorers named the RÃo Colorado ("Red River") for the ruddy silt the
river carried from the mountains. Colorado is nicknamed the "Centennial
State" because it became a state one century after the signing of the
United States Declaration of Independence.
