Colorado Symbols

Colorado The word “Colorado” means ‘colored red’ in Spanish. The state of Colorado was named after the Colorado River, which Spanish explorers named ‘Rio Colorado’, meaning ‘colored river’ for the red silt the river carried from the mountains.

Colorado State Flag The colors of the Colorado State Flag represent the environmental features of the state. White = Snow Gold = Sunshine Red = Red Soil Blue = Clear Blue Skies

Columbine – Colorado State Flower The white and lavender Rocky Mountain Columbine was designated the official state flower of Colorado in 1899. It was discovered in 1820 on Pike’s Peak by mountain climber Edwin James.

Colorado Hairstreak Butterfly The Colorado hairstreak butterfly was designated the official state insect of Colorado in 1996. It is native to the American southwest on both sides of the Continental Divide. Their primary diet consists of tree sap, raindrops and aphid honeydew. It depends on the Gambel Oak as a favorite roost of adults and the usual food source for caterpillars.

Colorado State Animal The Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep was designated official state animal of Colorado in 1961. Named for their massive, curling horns (which can grow to 50 inches in length) and known for their agility and perfect balance, these animals are found only in the Rockies in extremely rugged terrain. Their horns are not shed annually like the antlers of deer or elk.

Greenback Cutthroat Trout The Greenback Cutthroat Trout was designated the official state fish of Colorado in 1994. Indigenous to many small streams and rivers throughout most of Colorado, this beautiful fish was on the verge of extinction as a result of pollution and competition from species of trout introduced to Colorado waters by humans.

Stegosaurus Fossil In 1982, the Stegosaurus was designated the official state fossil of Colorado. Colorado is where the very first stegosaurus fossil was found in 1876. This dinosaur lived in Colorado during the Mid-Jurassic to Late Cretaceous period. It was a large herbivore.

Colorado State Gemstone - Aquamarine Aquamarine was recognized officially as the state gemstone of Colorado in 1971. This gemstone is found in the mountain peaks of Mount Antero and White Mountain.

State Sport – Snowboarding and Skiing Snowboarding and Skiing were designated as the official recreational sports of Colorado in 2008.

Denver – Colorado State Capital The Capital City of Colorado USA. Located in the South Platte River Valley, Denver is the capital city of Colorado. Denver’s nickname is the “The Mile-High City” because its official elevation is exactly one mile above sea level.

The Centennial State Colorado State Nickname Colorado’s official nickname is The Centennial State because it became the 38th state of the United States in 1876. 100 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Seal of Colorado – Colorado State Seal The first General Assembly of the State of Colorado approved the state seal in 1877. Only the Colorado Secretary of State is authorized to affix the Great Seal of Colorado to any document. The Latin motto “Nil Sine Numine” means “Nothing without the Deity” is Colorado’s official motto. At the bottom of the seal we see the year 1867 which is the year that Colorado came into statehood. At the top of the seal is the “eye of God” in a triangle with golden raysradiating from the sides. This symbol, of Masonic origin, is also found on the Great Seal of the United States (reverse); it can be found on the back of a one-dollar bill. Below the eye of God is a Roman fasces symbolizing a republican form of government; a fasces is a set of rods bound in a bundle which contains an axe (in ancient Rome, the bodyguards of a magistrate carried fasces as smbols of the magistrate’s imperium_. On the Colorado state seal, the statute specifies tha t the rods bound together symbolize strength lacking in a single rod, and the axe represents authority and leadership. The left diagonal of the ribbon binding the fasces bears the word “UNION”: the right diagonal bears the word “Constitution”.