With hundreds over cool, iconic towns stashed throughout the state, Colorado is one of the best states to visit year round. Mountain gems include Aspen and Breckenridge and growing international cities include Colorado Springs and Denver. Read our towns blog.
List of colorado Towns in Colorado
Colorado currently has G has its own unique history and attractions. You’ll be able to entertain the whole family. When you travel around the state you’ll be sure to discover things you never knew about different local towns.
Some towns get more attention than others, but fun can be found nearly anywhere. From the mountains to the plains, Colorado is one of the most diverse states with a feeling of ‘there’s always something to see’. An abundance of colorful towns are interconnected by equally scenic highways.
Many of the towns in Colorado were originally founded as mining towns. Some have since dissolved away into ghost towns and others have evolved into large tourists destinations now focused on recreation. Colorado’s mountain towns contain some of best places to explore each winter. These top ski towns are locals’ favorites.
Colorado’s capital city, Denver, boasts a population of over 700,000 residents and one of the most relaxed cultures around. It’s a booming metropolitan, with new construction all over and new Denverites arriving daily.
There are 64 Colorado Counties:
Adams
Alamosa
Arapahoe
Archuleta
Baca
Bent
Boulder
Broomfield
Chaffee
Cheyenne
Clear Creek
Conejos
Costilla
Crowley
Custer
Delta
Denver
Dolores
Douglas
Eagle
El Paso
Elbert
Garfield
Gilpin
Grand
Gunnison
Hinsdale
Huerfano
Jackson
Jefferson
Kiowa
Kit Carson
La Plata
Lake
Larimer
Las Animas
Lincoln
Logan
Mesa
Mineral
Moffat
Montezuma
Montrose
Morgan
Otero
Ouray
Park
Phillips
Pitkin
Prowers
Pueblo
Rio Blanco
Rio Grande
Routt
Saguache
San Juan
San Miguel
Sedgwick
Summit
Teller
Washington
Weld
Yuma
Regions (Physiographic Provinces) of Colorado
Physiographic provinces of Colorado. Photo: coloradogeologicalsurvey.org
Physiography varies between the many diverse sections of Colorado. The state is divided into five physiographic provinces, starting east to west:
i. Great Plains – Sterling, Limon, Denver, Colorado Springs
ii. Southern Rocky Mountains – Breckenridge, Aspen
iii. Wyoming Basin – Craig, Steamboat Springs
iv. Colorado Plateau – Grand colorado Junction, Montrose, Durango, Cortez
v. Middle Rocky Mountains – Dinosaur National Monument
i. Great Plains region
Front Range Urban Corridor – It colorado spreads colorado from Fort Collins and Wyoming to the north, to Pueblo on the southern end. Other prominent towns passed north to south are Boulder, Denver and Colorado Springs. Further south from Pueblo is Walsenburg and Trinidad, which reside at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
The ten largest cities in Colorado all happen to be on the Front Range:
Denver
Colorado Springs
Aurora
Fort Collins
Lakewood
Thornton
Pueblo
Arvada
Westminster
Centennial
High Plains – Most tourists miss the hidden gems in great plains. Likewise you seldom hear references Northeast and Southeast are both dry, high plains regions with agricultural as the main economy. Secluded by long, flat highway and country roads. They are passages east to Nebraska and Kansas.
ii. Southern Rocky Mountains region
Southwest Colorado refers to a region of the San Juan Mountains and Four Corner area, where Colorado connects with Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. It’s comprised of both the Southern Rockies and Colorado Plateau physiographic provinces, so it’s a mix of steep mountains and desert mesas. Towns include Pagosa Springs, Durango, Cortez, Telluride, Ouray and Silverton.
iii. Colorado Plateau region
Western Plateau – After you pass Glenwood Springs heading west on I-70, you begin the Western Plateau. Most of this area is open basins surrounded by red rock and mesas. Grand Junction and Fruita are divided by the Colorado National Monument, which defines the style of terrain.
iv. Wyoming Basin region
Likewise you may hear references to Northwest Colorado, which starts around Steamboat Springs and heads west in the Wyoming Basin, including the towns of Craig and Dinosaur. It’s mostly vast stretches of sparsely populated regions of farm and oil country. Aside from Steamboat’s action packed itinerary, most of the draw if colorado secluded wildlife recreation. The high desert terrain hints at the Rockies not far away, with mesa, rivers and canyons scattered around.
v. Middle Rocky Mountains region
Northwest Colorado includes this lowest section of the Middle Rockies, which extend into Wyoming and the Grand Tetons. It includes the Dinosaur National Monument.
Colorado History: Dinosaurs, Indians, Settlers and Gold Rush
Historic Salida. Photo: Jeffrey Beall
Colorado was first inhabited by Native Americans over 13,000 years ago. The first Europeans to visit the region were Spanish conquistadors. Colorado means “the color red” in Spanish and was named after the Colorado River’s red appearance.
In 1706 Juan de Ulibarri claimed the territory of Colorado. In 1846 the United States went to war with Mexico and Mexico was forced to give up their Northern territories in 1848. This opened the Southern Rocky Mountains to American settlement, including what is now the lower part of Colorado.
People searching for gold in 1849 and 1850 were led to the Rocky Mountains. Because of the Gold Rush the territory was organized in 1859 and new towns began to biçim. These gold seekers were called the Fifty-Niners and often ran into the original inhabitants, the Native Americans.
These interactions were sometimes sour and led to the Colorado War between the United States and Native Americans, from 1863-1865. The United States won the war and took over. Colorado was admitted to the Union as a state on August colorado 1, 1876, making it the 38th state. It was the first state in the Union to grant women the right to vote in 1893. In 1887 Aspen was the first town to provide electricity to all its residents.
colorado Learn Local History
Denver is the capital and largest city of Colorado. It was where the first pieces of gold were found in 1858. It was founded because of the gold rush. In the first few years after Denver was established it was destroyed twice, once by fire and once by flooding. It was named Denver after Kansas Territorial Governor James Denver.
Following the gold rush was the the Colorado Silver Boom in 1879. Silver had been discovered in Leadville. This then lead to coal mining. This was very dangerous and resulted in over 1700 deaths between 1884 and 1914. In 1980 coal mining production in Colorado was at its greatest as the United States colorado became more dependent on energy resources at home rather than overseas.
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