Colorado Facts
DID YOU KNOW?
• Colorado is one of the sunniest states in the country, with Denver averaging 300+ days of sunshine every year.
• The Great Sand Dunes National Monument is home to the tallest sand dune in North America, just outside of Alamosa, Colorado. This bizarre 85,000-acre park containing 750-foot sand peaks was the creation of ocean waters and wind more than one million years ago.
• The Royal Gorge Bridge is the highest suspension bridge in the world at 1,053 feet above the Arkansas River in Canyon City, Colorado.
• The world’s largest natural hot springs pool is located in Glenwood Springs, spanning over 2 blocks.
• Colorado isn’t just loaded with gold mines, it has one of the only working diamond mines in the U.S. In 1996, Colorado found the 5th largest diamond in the U.S. In 1894, a mine near Aspen uncovered the largest silver nugget ever found in the world, weighing more than a ton.
• The cheeseburger was invented in Denver. Louis Ballast trademarked the name Cheeseburger in 1935.
• Colorado contains 75% of the land area of the U.S. with an altitude over 10,000 feet. There are 54 Fourteeners in Colorado. The world’s largest flat-top mountain is in Grand Mesa. Pikes Peak, elevation 14,109 feet, is the easternmost fourteener in the United States.
• Colorado has around 500 ghost towns, which is almost the same amount as currently active towns (around 650).
• The famous Stanley Hotel in Estes Park is claimed to be the inspiration behind Stephen King’s novel The Shining. Rumor has it that this hotel is actually haunted.
• Colorado is home to 7 major military bases including The United States Air Force Academy which is located in Colorado Springs.
• Deep in the mountains of southwestern Colorado, Ouray is home to the world’s first park devoted exclusively to the sport of ice climbing, opening in 1995.
• The World’s First Rodeo took place on July 4th, 1869 in Deer Trail, about 60 miles east of Denver, Colorado.
• Leadville is the highest incorporated city in the United States at 10,430 feet elevation.
• Colorado contains 75% of the land area of the U.S. with an altitude over 10,000 feet.
• Colorado has 222 state wildlife areas. State parks: 42 (160,000 ac.). Denver has the largest city park system in the nation with 205 parks in City limits and 20,000 Acres of parklands in the nearby mountains.
• There are nearly 20 rivers whose headwaters begin in Colorado. Colorado is one of only two states in the United States in which all the water in the state flows out of the state and none flows in (also Hawaii).
• The Mount Evans Scenic Byway (State Highway 5) is the highest paved road in North America going from Idaho Springs to the top of Mount Evans. Not for the faint of heart, this narrow road without guardrails climbs up to a staggering 14,130 ft. above sea level.
• Colfax Avenue in Denver is the longest continuous street in America.
• Colorado is home to 26 ski resorts, with many ski areas average well over 350 inches of snowfall per year.
• The Pike’s Peak Cog Railway is the highest railroad in the United States, at 14,110 feet.
• With an average elevation of 6800 ft, Colorado is the highest state in America!
• The world’s largest flat-top mountain is in Grand Mesa, Colorado.
• The 13th step of the state capital building in Denver is exactly 1 mile high above sea level.
• The Dwight Eisenhower Memorial Tunnel is the highest automobile tunnel in the world at 11,000, traveling underneath the Continental Divide for 1.7 miles.