Geography of Colorado

Later surveys attempted to correct some of these mistakes but in 1925 the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that the earlier demarcation was the official boundary.

[3] Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah are the only states that have their borders defined solely by straight boundary lines with no natural features.

[9] As is common in mountainous and adjacent areas, microclimates exist and weather is strongly influenced by orography.

Winter wheat is a typical crop and most small towns in the region boast both a water tower and a grain elevator.

The bulk of Colorado's population lives along the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains in the Front Range Urban Corridor.

Just south but on the west side of the Continental Divide is Middle Park, drained by the Colorado River.

To the south lies the San Luis Valley, the headwaters of the Rio Grande, which drains into New Mexico.

These basins, particularly the San Luis Valley, lie along the Rio Grande Rift, a major tectonic feature.

The Rockies are snow-covered only in the winter; most snow melts by mid-August with the exception of a few small glaciers.

Further east are the ski resort communities of Aspen, Vail, Crested Butte, and Steamboat Springs.

The northwestern corner of Colorado bordering Northern Utah and Western Wyoming is mostly sparsely populated rangeland.