Appearing within a ribbon on Colorado’s state seal, the motto “Nil Sine Numine” is Latin for “nothing without deity.” (Slightly differing translations include “nothing without God” or “nothing without providence.”) The phrase appears in “Aeneid,” the epic poem written by Virgil celebrating Rome’s past and the Roman mission to civilize the world under divine guidance.

In January 1980, a fourth-grade class at McElwain School in Thornton, Colorado, began a campaign to choose an official state fossil. With help from senator Polly Baca-Barragan, a bill was introduced in January 1981, and in 1982, the stegosaurus was officially chosen. Stegosaurus fossils had been found throughout the western U.S., including Colorado.

In 1971, the Libertarian Party was founded in Westminster, Colorado, in the home of Luke Zell, the party’s first chair. Nine years later, the Libertarian Party became the third-largest political party in the United States when their presidential candidate Edward Clark received 1% of the national vote.

The Jefferson Territory was established at the same time as the city of Denver in 1859. Named for Thomas Jefferson, the territory only officially existed for two years until the creation of the Colorado Territory in 1861. Today, Colorado has a county named after Jefferson that is the state’s fourth-largest by population.

The first major gold rush in Colorado took place beginning in 1858, but as it peaked the next year, the fortune seekers came to be known as “Fifty-Niners.” Over 100,000 people rushed to the region near Pike’s Peak in Colorado where an abundance of gold was first found. It was the second-largest gold rush in U.S. history, after the California gold rush of 1849.

First held in 1974, the Telluride Film Festival is held annually in the Colorado mountain town over Labor Day weekend. Over the years, films such as “Slumdog Millionaire,” “The Crying Game,” “My Dinner With Andre,” and “Twin Peaks” have all premiered at Telluride. Michael Moore debuted his first film, “Roger and Me” at Telluride, winning Best In Show.

The Rocky Mountains are home to some of America’s tallest mountains but not the single tallest — that would be Denali in Alaska. However, Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes National Park does claim the tallest sand dune in North America, Hidden Dune, which stands 742 feet tall. The national park is located in the foothills of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains.

As of 2023, neither the Colorado Rockies baseball team nor the Denver Nuggets basketball team have won a championship. The Broncos football team has won three Super Bowls, but they all were after the Colorado Avalanche hockey team brought Colorado its first major professional sports championship, the 1996 Stanley Cup. The Avalanche franchise began as the Quebec Nordiques in 1972, before moving to Colorado in 1995.

While only 175 miles of the river are actually within the state of Colorado, the Rio Grande spans about 1,900 miles in total. The Rio Grande is the fourth-longest river in the United States by length of main stem, behind the Missouri, Mississippi, and Yukon rivers. The state’s namesake, the Colorado River, ranks fifth.

At 54 square miles, Denver International Airport is the biggest airport by land area in North America. It’s second in size only to the world’s largest airport, Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd International Airport. Nicknamed DIA, Denver's airport is also double the size of the second-largest airport in the U.S., Dallas-Fort Worth. DIA is home to North America’s longest public-use runway, which stretches over three miles in length.

The Mile High City gets its nickname from its elevation, but most of downtown Denver is actually situated just below 5,280 feet. If you want to stand precisely at one mile above sea level, head to the Colorado state capitol — specifically, the 13th step of the staircase leading to the building’s entrance.

Colorado is known for its high elevations — after all, its capital, Denver, is nicknamed “the Mile High City.” But the state’s lowest point is found along the Arikaree River in Yuma County. At 3,315 feet above sea level, it would be the highest point in 20 other states.

Measuring 14,440 feet tall, Mount Elbert is the highest peak in Colorado and the second-highest in the continental United States, behind Mount Whitney in the Sierra Nevadas. Elbert is a neighbor of Colorado’s next-tallest peak, the aptly named Mount Massive. Elbert’s summit is reachable via a 4.5-mile trail that rises 4,500 feet in elevation. Colorado has 58 “fourteeners,” or peaks above 14,000 feet.

These days, Colorado is known for its independent craft beer scene, but the state is also where the Coors Brewing Company was founded in 1872. The first Coors brewery opened in 1873 west of Denver in Golden; it remains the largest single brewing facility in the world. Coors merged with Molson in 2005 to become Molson Coors, but the company is still based in Golden.

The appropriately named John Denver penned the 1972 hit song “Rocky Mountain High” after he spent a night at Colorado’s Williams Lake watching a meteor shower. The lyric “coming home to a place he’d never been before” references the fact that John and his wife had just made a home in Aspen. The song is one of two official state songs of Colorado.

The world-famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre is located In Morrison, Colorado, about 15 miles west of downtown Denver. Red Rocks opened in 1941 and has hosted many of the biggest acts in music, including the Beatles in August 1964. The venue is naturally nestled among two giant red boulders that frame the stage.

Adopted in 1911, the state flag of Colorado features a red letter “C,” two blue stripes, one white stripe, and a yellow circle within the “C.” The red and blue colors were chosen to match the national flag. The yellow symbolizes Colorado’s abundant sunshine, and the white mimics the snow of the snow-capped Rockies.

When you visit Colorado’s stunning Red Rocks, you might see why the state’s name was derived from the Spanish word for “colored red.” However, the state’s name actually originated with the Colorado River, which explorers named for the reddish-brown silt the water carried down the mountains. The name was chosen for the new Colorado territory when it was established in 1861.

Only two states border more states than Colorado: Missouri and Tennessee each border eight, while Colorado borders seven. Starting from due north and going clockwise, Colorado borders Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. Nevada, however, lies just west of Utah. In Colorado’s southwest corner is the Four Corners Monument — the only point in the U.S. where four states meet.

The term "14ers" applies exclusively to mountain peaks that are more than 14,000 feet above sea level. There are 58 such peaks in Colorado. Some climbers attempt to climb all 58, so if your friend in the Mile High City says they're collecting 14ers, they're headed out to the Rocky Mountains.

A century after the United States officially became a nation, Colorado joined in. Prior to that, portions of Colorado were part of the Nebraska and Kansas territories, before the territory of Colorado was established in 1861. In 1876, Colorado became the 38th state; hence, its nickname, “The Centennial State.” The state also goes by the moniker “Colorful Colorado,” due to its majestic landscape.