Colorado is the only state in history, to turn down the Olympics. In 1976 the Winter Olympics were planned to be held in Denver. 62% of all state Voters choose at almost the last minute not to host the Olympics, because of the cost, pollution and population boom it would have on the State Of Colorado, and the City of Denver.
The world’s largest flat-top mountain is in Grand Mesa. It has an area of about 500 square miles and stretches for about 40 miles east of Grand Junction between the Colorado River and the Gunnison River.
The highest suspension bridge in the world is over the Royal Gorge near Canon City. The Royal Gorge Bridge spans the Arkansas River at a height of 1,053 feet.
Colorado is the Rodeo capital of the world, The Worlds first Rodeo was held on 4th July 1869 in Deer Trail just east of Denver. Every January Denver hosts the worlds largest Rodeo called – The National Western Stock Show
The Colorado Rockies are part of the North America Cordillera, which stretches 3,000 miles from Alaska through Western Canada and the United States, into Northern Mexico. The centerpiece of this dramatic uplift are the peaks over 14,000 feet or the ‘Fourteeners’ as they are affectionately known by climbers. There are over 53 Fourteeners’ in Colorado, the most out of any other state in the US.
The Dwight Eisenhower memorial Tunnel between Clear Creek & Summit
counties is the highest auto tunnel in the world. Bored at an elevation of 11,000 feet under the Continental Divide, it is 8,960 feet long. The average daily traffic through the tunnel exceeds 26,000 vehicles.
In 1859, John Gregory discovered “The Gregory Lode” in a ravine near Central City. Within two weeks, the Gold Rush was on and within two months the population grew to 10,000 people all in search of their fortune. It came to be known as the richest square mile on earth. Continuing on the gold rush theme the world’s largest gold nugget in the US was discovered in state buildings in Denver.
Colorado boasts the highest continuously paved highway in the United States. Trail Ridge Road – (US-34) passes through Rocky Mountain National Park between Estes Park and Grand Lake, crossing the Continental Divide at 12,183 feet above sea level. Colorado is also home to the highest paved road in North America. The Road to Mt Evans off of I-70 from Idaho Springs climbs up to 14,258 feet above sea level.
Colorado has almost as many dead towns (about 500) as live ones (650). Mining booms and busts left the mountains littered with more than 300 ghost towns that fascinate locals and tourists. The eastern plains and western canyon lands are also haunted by more than 200 ghost towns.
Hidden 1,000 feet beneath the surface of the Rocky Mountains lies the largest untapped oil reserve in the world . On August 8, 2005 President Bush mandated its extraction. When the oil is extracted “America would become the world’s single biggest oil source, exceeding Saudi Arabia” (Wall Street Journal)
The first license plate on a car in the United States was issued in Denver, Colorado in 1908.
Some of today’s most notorious dinosaurs were first discovered on Dinosaur Ridge near Morrison, CO. Since these first-in-Colorado finds, Dinosaur Ridge has become one of the world’s most famous dinosaur fossil localities.
The U.S. federal government owns 36.6% of the land in Colorado.
