Colorado is the eighth-largest state in terms of landmass. While its geographic diversity and natural resources have been an economic boon as well as a draw for tourism, the state’s government has made efforts to diversify the economy over the past decades. Its admission as the 38th state, in 1876, the same year as the centennial of the Declaration of Independence, earned its nickname the Centennial State.
Colorado is home to some of the country’s tallest mountains, and has the highest mean elevation of any U.S. state. Whether tourists come to the state as skiers flocking to Aspen and Vail, outdoor enthusiasts traveling through the Rocky Mountains or the Great Plains or fans of the rapidly developing pot tourism industry, the state’s investments have paid off in the form of billions of tourism dollars per year.
