The US state of Colorado is located in the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau on the western edge of the Great Plains overlooking the Rocky Mountains. Colorado State is part of the Mountain States within the Western United States.
The state was named for the Colorado River, that early explorers from Spain named the Rio Colorado for the red colored silt the river carried from the mountains. On the 1st of August, 1876, U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant signed a proclamation admitting Colorado as the 38th state. The state of Colorado is referred to as the "Centennial State" since it was admitted to the Union as the 38th state during 1876, the centennial year of the United States Declaration of Independence.
The state of Colorado shares its border with Wyoming in the north, the state of Nebraska to the northeast, the state of Kansas to the east, the state of Utah to the west, New Mexico in the south, and a small portion of Oklahoma towards the south. The four states of New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah meet at one common point referred to as the Four Corners, which is called the heart of the American Southwest. The state of Colorado is among only three U.S. states with no natural borders, the others being neighboring Wyoming and Utah.
Colorado State is noted for its vivid landscape of forests, mountains, mesas, high plains canyons, plateaus, desert lands and rivers. The 2010 United States Census tallied the state population at 5,029,196 as of the 1st of April, the year 2010, an increase of 16.92% since the 2000 United States Census. The capital and most heavily populated city within Colorado State is Denver. Inhabitants of the state of Colorado are properly known as "Coloradans", even though the archaic term "Coloradoan" is still used.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that the total state product in the year 2010 was $257.6 billion. Per capita personal income during 2010 was $51,940, ranking the state of Colorado 11th in the country. The economy of Colorado broadened from its mid-19th century roots in mining when irrigated agriculture developed, and by the late 19th century, raising livestock had become significant. Early industry was based on the extraction and processing of agricultural products and minerals. Existing agricultural products are wheat, cattle, dairy products, corn, and hay.
The state of Colorado has significant hydrocarbon resources. As per the Energy Information Administration, the state of Colorado hosts seven of the Nation's 100 largest natural gas fields and two of its 100 largest oil fields. Conventional and unconventional natural gas output from several Colorado basins normally account for over half of annual U.S. natural gas production. Colorado's oil shale deposits hold an estimated 1 trillion barrels (160 km3) of oil - nearly as much oil as the entire world's proven oil reserves; the economic viability of the oil shale, on the other hand, has not been demonstrated.
The ridges and eastern plains of Colorado's high Rocky Mountain provides wind power, while there is a potential for geothermal power development because the mountain regions offer much geologic activity. Most parts of the state are sunny and able to produce solar power. Major rivers flowing from the Rocky Mountains offer hydroelectric power resources. Corn grown in the flat eastern area of Colorado provides potential resources for production of Ethanol.