Though Denver, its capitol city, is nationally known as the Mile High City, the entirety of the State of Colorado resides at an elevation above 3,200 feet. The average elevation in Colorado is 6,800 feet above sea level. Colorado’s Mt. Elbert, at just under 14,500 feet, is the highest summit in the entire Rocky Mountains, and the state boasts 550 peaks that are over 13,000 feet in elevation.

Colorado’s defining geographic feature is the mountain, and the most iconic of mountain ranges in North America is the Rocky Mountains. Though the Rockies stretch from northern British Columbia in Canada into northern New Mexico in the southwestern United States, they are most closely associated with Colorado. It is in within Colorado that the Rocky Mountains make their most impressive rise out of the continental floor below, and the Continental Divide – the point at which waters in North America flow either east towards the Atlantic Ocean or west towards the Pacific – snakes through the peaks of this majestic range. 

Though it might not seem like it, Colorado isn’t all mountains. In fact, the bulk of the state’s roughly 4.5 million people reside on the eastern plains of the Rocky Mountains, protected as they are from harsh winter storms. The Denver metropolitan area sits in the eastern foothills of the Rockies and is home to over two million Colorado residents. To the west of the Rockies lies a large, flat basin, drained by the Colorado River. Across the board, Colorado’s climate is generally cool and dry, but it does experience severe weather occurrences. For instance, Colorado’s eastern plains lie in "Tornado Alley," and the western plains are prone to droughts. Of course, every place in Colorado is on notice for heavy snowfall.

Colorado has a relatively narrow economy, but it is one of the wealthiest states in the nation. Its average per capita income of just over $34,000 per year ranks eighth overall. Traditionally Colorado’s economy was supported by agriculture and natural resource extraction, but its tourism and service industries are large and growing economic engines as are the high tech and scientific research sectors. Denver is an important financial and transportation center. One of Colorado’s major employers is the federal government. It is home to several national organizations, including North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Air Force Academy, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Denver branch of the United States Mint.