Colorado

a state of the American Union. It was admitted in 1876, and is known as the Centennial State. It lies four square, and is bounded by four straight lines. It is included between the 37th and 41st parallels. The eastern line follows the 102d meridian, and the west line the 109th meridian. The northern boundary is shorter therefore than the southern boundary. Colorado and Wyoming are the only states in the Union that are bounded by four straight lines. The area is 103,925 square miles.

THE PLAIN REGION. That eastern third of the state, or that part east of the Rocky Mountains, is a part of the great treeless plain of North America. It is divided into two sections. The northern part lies in the upper valley of the south Platte, the southern, in the valley of the Arkansas. The soil is fertile, but insufficiently supplied with moisture. Dust blanket cultivation has done much for the country. The waters of the mountains have been utilized to convert large areas in the valleys into alfalfa meadows and orchards, but the supply is limited. The state has but 280 square miles of water. Large areas are still waiting for man to devise a way of obtaining water, all that is needed to render them enormously productive. The lowest point in this section is 3,047 feet above sea level.

THE MOUNTAIN REGION. The western two-thirds of the state is in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. There are 200 peaks over 13,000 feet high, including the highest in the United States, if we except Mt. Whitney of California. One of the most noted is Pike's Peak in full view of Denver. The Main Rockies traverse the state from north to south in two lines or ranges that separate and approach again, inclosing great valleys shaped like links in a chain. Named from the north, they are North Park, Middle Park, South Park, and San Luis Park. South Park, the smallest of the four, is 8,000 feet high, and is as large as Rhode Island. In addition to these, there are many smaller parks to the westward, some of them as large as an ordinary Illinois county. Among these are Monument Park and the Garden of the Gods. The latter is near Colorado Springs, and is so called from the countless number of water-worn monumental pillars.

RIVER SYSTEMS. Colorado shares honors with Wyoming and Minnesota as the source of the head waters of river systems. The Platte and the Arkansas have been mentioned. They carry the waters of eastern Colorado to the Mississippi. The waters of the western section go by way of the Grand Canon to the Gulf of California and the Pacific Ocean. San Luis Park is drained by way of the Rio Grande into the Gulf of Mexico.

SCENERY. Colorado is famous as a scenic state. Towering mountain peaks, terraces, gorges, and canons a mile deep, mesas, waterfalls, sculptured rocks, fertile valleys, and upland forests give a variety of impressive scenery. Compared with Colorado, Switzerland is a mere suggestion. The air is bracing and unsurpassed, whether for pleasure or for health. The mountains of Colorado are now the greatest inland resort in the world. Few parts of the world give the observer a larger idea of the greatness of the universe.

MINERALS. The mineral wealth of the state is beyond computation. In gold, silver, zinc, and lead, its resources exceed that of any other state in the Union. Its iron wealth is supposed to be exceeded only by that of Minnesota. Its coal is second only to that of Pennsylvania. In copper the state ranks third. Porcelain, clay, mercury, platinum, building stone, petroleum, and gas are found in apparently inexhaustible quantities. The annual product of the mines and smelters of the state is not far from $100,000,000.

INDUSTRIES. As might be expected the leading manufactures of the state are the smelting and refining of ores, making of steel rails, and foundry products. With timber and iron at hand, a carbuilding industry has grown up. Flour milling, meat packing, and brewing are large industries.

AGRICULTURE. About two-thirds of the total area of the state is available for grazing and farming. About three-fourths of the lands under crop, or over 1,600,000 acres, are irrigated. The largest irrigated tracts are in the vicinity of Greeley and in San Luis Park. It is thought that the irrigated area can be more than doubled. Over $10,000,000 worth of alfalfa hay is produced on these lands. Wheat, potatoes, and sugar beets of superior quality are now important crops. Peach, pear, and plum, and especially apple orchards are well established in the irrigated valleys. The Arkansas valley is famous for musk-melons, which are shipped in carloads to the city markets. In 1904, 1182 cars of Rocky Ford cantaloupes were shipped.

Stock raising and dairying are important and growing interests. The long-horned Texas cattle that took care of themselves in winter have given way largely to improved breeds. The production of milk, butter, and cheese has kept pace with the increase in the production of hay.

EDUCATION. An excellent system of public instruction includes common schools, high schools, a normal school at Greeley, a school of mining at Golden, an agricultural school at Fort Collins, and a university at Boulder. Money is plentiful and is spent for schools ungrudgingly.

THE FRANCHISE, POPULATION, ETC. Women vote on an equality with men and are eligible to all offices. Many are country superintendents of schools. The population in 1900 was 539,700, very largely of American birth. A map of the state shows that the counties, especially in the western part, are as irregular in outline as the state is regular. The boundaries follow the natural mountain ranges that surround the parks. A number of county names are suggestive. Boulder, Cheyenne, Custer, Delta, El Paso, Kit Carson, Mesa, Mineral, Park, Pueblo, and Yuma are far more expressive than the names of presidents or railroad magnates never identified with the locality. The metropolis of the state is Denver, reserved for a separate article. Pueblo, Leadville, and Cripple Creek, are mining towns; Colorado Springs and Boulder are health resorts. Pueblo is called the Pittsburg of the West. Denver is the capital.

STATISTICS. The following statistics are the latest to be had from trustworthy sources: