Found on the border between Utah and Idaho, Bear Lake’s distinct turquoise color led to its nickname. The color comes from the reflection of limestone deposits suspended in the lake.

Featuring over 35 craters of hardened lava, Craters of the Moon National Monument can be found 18 miles southwest of Arco, Idaho.

In 1893, Katharine Lee Bates was a lecturer at the Colorado School of Science when she visited Pikes Peak, and the view inspired her to write a poem that became “America the Beautiful.”

At 2,540 miles, not only is the Missouri River the longest to cross the Rockies, but it is also the longest river in the U.S.

Evel Knievel used a rocket bike in an attempt to clear the 500-foot-deep, quarter-mile-wide Snake River Canyon, but was thwarted when his parachute deployed too early.

The Rockies stretch about 3,000 miles, from British Columbia in the northwest to New Mexico in the southeast. Mount Robson, at 12,970 feet, is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies.

Trail Ridge Road covers 48 miles through Rocky Mountain National Park, from Estes Park in the east to Grand Lake in the West.

Yellowstone National Park sits atop a supervolcano. The park features a 30- by 45-mile crater that was formed by an eruption 640,000 years ago.

The scenic Going-to-the-Sun Road stretches 51 miles in Montana, across the Continental Divide and alongside the cliffs of Glacier National Park.

Established in Colorado Springs in 1954, the Air Force Academy is the youngest of the five military service academies.

The Red Rocks Amphitheater is a legendary music and events venue known for its natural beauty, nestled within stacks of large, red rocks.

The Great Salt Lake in northern Utah fluctuates in size — from between 2,400 square miles, to 950 square miles — but it remains the Western Hemisphere's largest inland body of saltwater.

Santa Fe was settled in 1607 — 13 years before the Plymouth Colony was founded. Santa Fe’s Palace of Governors is also the oldest public building in America.

Mount Elbert’s peak of 14,440 feet makes it the highest point in the Rocky Mountains. It is the second-highest peak in the contiguous U.S., behind California’s Mount Whitney.

Since 2013, the city of Boise has celebrated the New Year by dropping a 17-foot-long fiberglass potato.

The Sundance Film Festival has been held annually in Park City since 1984. Drawing over 46,000 attendees annually, Sundance is the largest independent film festival in the U.S.

Founded exactly 100 years after the United States itself, Colorado’s official nickname is the Centennial State.

As of 2024, the United States has hosted the Olympics eight times. The 2002 Winter Games were held in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The Four Corners monument is the only place in the United States where four states touch: Colorado to the northeast, New Mexico to the southeast, Arizona to the southwest, and Utah to the northwest.

The 13th step of the Colorado Capitol in Denver is exactly 5,280 feet above sea level. In 2003, a plaque was added to commemorate the measurement.