So, you’re looking for some Colorado real estate in Summit County in Breckenridge, Keystone, or Copper Mountain? Here’s a crash course on Colorado facts that will make you feel like you’ve been here for decades. When you become a Coloradan or a Coloradoan, you’ll have something in common with almost five million people in a state where Nil sine Numine (Nothing without Providence) is the motto.
If you buy a Breckenridge CO vacation home, you’d best know that the Colorado Blue Spruce that covers the mountains is the State Tree. During a hiking near Breckenridge real estate, you may see why the Lark Bunting is the State Bird and the Rocky Mountain Columbine is the State Flower. If you wander into the higher elevations, you may see the State Animal: The Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep, the ones with the large spiraling horns.
Not only are we located in the center of the Continental Divide but we’re just a tad west of being in the center of the entire state. The exact center is 30 miles northwest of Pike’s Peak in Park County next door.
Colorado means “ruddy” or “red” in Spanish, a reference to the waters of the Colorado River. Its 103,717 square miles are divided into 64 counties with the most populous being El Paso County and its 600,000 people. It is located around Colorado Springs, the second largest city after the capital City of Denver. The next largest cities are Aurora, Lakewood, Fort Collins, Thornton, Westminster, Arvada, Pueblo, and Centennial.
Just as important are the 71,000 acres of State forest and 160,000 acres of State Parks. Boasting the highest mean elevation of any state, Colorado has more than 1,000 peaks over 10,000 feet high and 54 over 14,000 called Fourteeners. Pike’s Peak, the most well-known, was discovered by United States Army Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike in 1806.
Historically a mining and agricultural state, new service industries, medical providers, and manufacturing of food, print matter, machinery, and electrical instruments are important to the modern economy. Farming is still big, however, with livestock, corn, hay, and wheat being the primary foodstuffs that come out of the state.
The state is bordered by Arizona, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wyoming. It was Juan de Ulibarri who claimed the territory for Spain in 1706—two hundred years after the original Spanish explorers came this way. During the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, the United States obtained eastern Colorado. Then in 1845 when Texas became a state in the Union and after the 1848 Mexican War, the central and western portions became part of the U.S. territory.
For more specific information and expert real estate assistance, contact Jonna Beardsley at (970) 453-2200.
