Exploring the State of Colorado

Colorado is a beautiful and historical state; the wide open plains, the glorious tall mountains, the history of its people that have shaped Colorado into what it is today. There is a lot to explore and learn when it comes to the Centennial State. Because of its history, Colorado is considered to be the meeting ground amongst three sections in the American West; the Atlantic Coast and Mississippi Valley, North and South, and Massachusetts and Virginia. These sections have shaped and developed the settlement and region in their own special ways.

The authors; Abbott, Leonard, and Noel explain on page 6 of the textbook, what they meant about Colorado being the meeting grounds. According to the authors, Colorado is also sectioned and is connected to the three major sections in the US through the great rivers and mountain ranges. The Southwest portion of the US is connected to Colorado through the Rio Grande River. The Colorado River is connected to the plateau country and Western Mountain range of the US. The South Platte River and the Arkansas River connects Colorado to the Great Plains, leaving Colorado to be the center point, also referred to as the meeting point for the major sections in the US.

The sectionals that divide the US and Colorado have impacted the Colorado settlement and developed the Colorado region. It was mentioned in the textbook that settlers began to build on the Colorado natural environment. The building that was taken place at the time was inviting people in and it slowly progressed to different activities and duties for people. The growth of Colorado has been improved and is flourishing through map development and the pathways that have naturally been formed in its environment. The sections have brought in ...

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...11). They were cliff dwellers and built adobe homes, hunted, grew crops, formed villages and learned to make pottery mostly in the Mesa Verde region from around 1050. They are essential to history as they are some of the first developers of the great cliff dwellings as well as the land amongst Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona. They left Colorado, thanks mainly to drought and war. However, they have returned numerous times since their disappearance in the 1200’s and their history continues on through their descendants (Abbott, Leonard, Noel, 2013, pp. 12).

Works Cited

Abbott, C., Leonard, S. J., & Noel, T. J. (2013). Colorado- A History of the Centennial State (5th ed., pp. 6, 11-12, 30). Boulder, CO: University Press of Colorado.

William Bent. (2001). In PBS - The West. Retrieved February 4, 2014, from http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/a_c/bent.htm