科罗拉多(Colorado)
美国落矶山区一州，不过只有一半左右土地处於落矶山范围。首府丹佛。科罗拉多的自然地貌分为三个部分︰平坦青草覆盖的高平原；在落矶山前与山脉平行的起伏不平、多丘陵的科罗拉多山麓地带；由许多崇山峻岭和高原组成的南落矶山和科罗拉多高原。全州平均高度为海拔2,072公尺，为地势最高的一个州。落矶山脉的厄尔柏峰海拔4,399公尺，为该州最高峰。16～17世纪，西班牙人和法国人先後来此。西班牙探险家看到落矶山上色彩斑斓的岩石，遂取名为「科罗拉多」，意为「红色的」。1803年美国通过路易斯安那购地协议取得该州东部大片土地後，开始对该州土地进行测绘和勘察。1859年该州发现金矿，掘金者蜂拥而至。1876年美国独立一百周年时建州，故有「百年州」之称，成为第三十八州。农业、肉牛、矿产和制造业都是重要的经济来源。旅游业也是该州重要的收入来源。面积269,619平方公里。人口约4,301,261（2000）。
English version：
Colorado
State (pop., 1997 est.: 3,893,000), western central U.S. Covering 104,247 sq mi (270,000 sq km), its capital is Denver. Lying astride the Rocky Mtns., the state has three physiographic regions: the plains, a semiarid segment of eastern Colorado; the Colorado Piedmont in the central part of the state, where most of the population lives; and the southern Rocky Mountains and mesas of western Colorado. Its large urban population has grown faster than the national average. Its original inhabitants were Plains and Great Basin Indians, including the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Ute. The area was claimed by Spain in 1706 but later passed in large part to France. eastern Colorado was part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803; the remainder stayed in Spanish and, after independence, in Mexican hands until 1848. Gold was discovered in 1859 and touched off a population boom. Organized as the territory of Colorado in 1861, it achieved U.S. statehood in 1876. Agriculture, cattle production, and mining, as well as manufacturing, are important to the economy. Government military installations and service industries have become prominent, and tourism (see Aspen, Boulder, Vail) is a major source of the state's income.
