Colorado for Kids
Elevation
Colorado has the highest mean altitude of any state in the union. Colorado's capitol, Denver, is known as the Mile High City due to the fact that it is exactly one mile above sea level — that's 5,280 feet . At a mile high, water boils at 202 degrees instead of 212 degrees, which means it takes four minutes instead of three to soft boil an egg. Why the differences between sea level and a mile up? Because there's less atmospheric pressure — the air is less dense.
See the table below for the elevations of Colorado's cities.
|
City
|
Elevation in Feet
|
|
Leadville
|
10,152
|
|
Monarch
|
10,125
|
|
Fairplay
|
9,950
|
|
Copper Mountain
|
9,720
|
|
Victor
|
9,695
|
|
Breckenridge
|
9,602
|
|
Cripple Creek
|
9,508
|
|
Silverton
|
9,305
|
|
Twin Lakes
|
9,220
|
|
Keystone
|
9,166
|
|
Divide
|
9,165
|
|
Silver Creek
|
9,120
|
|
Silver Plume
|
9,100
|
|
Snowmass Village
|
9,100
|
|
Dillon
|
9,087
|
|
Frisco
|
9,042
|
|
Winter Park
|
9,040
|
|
Crested Butte
|
8,908
|
|
Creede
|
8,838
|
|
Rico
|
8,827
|
|
Telluride
|
8,792
|
|
Silverthorne
|
8,751
|
|
Lake City
|
8,658
|
|
Fraser
|
8,574
|
|
Georgetown
|
8,512
|
|
Central City
|
8,496
|
|
Grand Lake
|
8,437
|
|
Woodland Park
|
8,437
|
|
Vail
|
8,380
|
|
Red Feather Lakes
|
8,342
|
|
Glendevey
|
8,292
|
|
Nederland
|
8,233
|
|
South Fork
|
8,208
|
|
Walden
|
8,099
|
|
Powderhorn
|
8,080
|
|
Black Hawk
|
8,056
|
|
Almont
|
8,018
|
|
Lake George
|
7,968
|
|
Buena Vista
|
7,955
|
|
Granby
|
7,939
|
|
Fort Garland
|
7,932
|
|
Aspen
|
7,907
|
|
Westcliffe
|
7,888
|
|
Antonito
|
7,882
|
|
Del Norte
|
7,879
|
|
Minturn
|
7,847
|
|
Ouray
|
7,811
|
|
Bailey
|
7,750
|
|
Gunnison
|
7,703
|
|
Chipita Park
|
7,695
|
|
Saguache
|
7,694
|
|
Nathrop
|
7,690
|
|
Hot Sulphur Springs
|
7,680
|
|
Monte Vista
|
7,663
|
|
Vallecito
|
7,635
|
|
Mosca
|
7,562
|
|
Moffat
|
7,561
|
|
Alamosa
|
7,544
|
|
Idaho Springs
|
7,524
|
|
Estes Park
|
7,522
|
|
Poncha Springs
|
7,465
|
|
Avon
|
7,430
|
|
Beaver Creek
|
7,400*
|
|
Cascade
|
7,375
|
|
Kremmling
|
7,362
|
|
Edwards
|
7,226
|
|
Palmer Lake
|
7,225
|
|
Redstone
|
7,190
|
|
Pagosa Springs
|
7,105
|
|
Salida
|
7,080
|
|
Evergreen
|
7,040
|
|
Mancos
|
7,030
|
|
La Veta
|
7,013
|
|
Norwood
|
7,006
|
|
Ridgway
|
6,988
|
|
Monument
|
6,961
|
|
Mesa Verde National Park
|
6,960**
|
|
Dolores
|
6,936
|
|
Bayfield
|
6,892
|
|
Weston
|
6,849
|
|
Pine
|
6,754
|
|
Steamboat Springs
|
6,728
|
|
Elbert
|
6,720
|
|
Basalt
|
6,620
|
|
Eagle
|
6,600
|
|
Durango
|
6,523
|
|
Crawford
|
6,520
|
|
Idledale
|
6,466
|
|
Ignacio
|
6,445
|
|
Cotopaxi
|
6,364
|
|
Manitou Springs
|
6,320
|
|
Cedaredge
|
6,264
|
|
Meeker
|
6,239
|
|
Castle Rock
|
6,210
|
|
Cortez
|
6,201
|
|
Craig
|
6,186
|
|
Walsenburg
|
6,182
|
|
Carbondale
|
6,170
|
|
Franktown
|
6,153
|
|
Trinidad
|
6,019
|
|
Colorado Springs
|
6,008
|
|
Livermore
|
5,884
|
|
Dinosaur
|
5,858
|
|
Sedalia
|
5,824
|
|
Montrose
|
5,806
|
|
Glenwood Springs
|
5,763
|
|
Eldorado Springs
|
5,762
|
|
Golden
|
5,674
|
|
Paonia
|
5,645
|
|
Mesa
|
5,639
|
|
Fountain
|
5,546
|
|
Lakewood
|
5,450
|
|
Aurora
|
5,435
|
|
Wheat Ridge
|
5,410
|
|
Broomfield
|
5,400
|
|
Littleton
|
5,389
|
|
Strasburg
|
5,386
|
|
Englewood
|
5,369
|
|
Limon
|
5,365
|
|
Lyons
|
5,362
|
|
Olathe
|
5,356
|
|
Hotchkiss
|
5,351
|
|
Rifle
|
5,345
|
|
Boulder
|
5,344
|
|
Arvada
|
5,340
|
|
Louisville
|
5,337
|
|
Canon City
|
5,332
|
|
Westminster
|
5,300
|
|
Denver
|
5,280
|
|
Lafayette
|
5,236
|
|
Rangely
|
5,230
|
|
Florence
|
5,191
|
|
Bellvue
|
5,124
|
|
Fort Collins
|
5,003
|
|
Loveland
|
4,982
|
|
Delta
|
4,953
|
|
Longmont
|
4,942
|
|
Platteville
|
4,825
|
|
Palisade
|
4,724
|
|
Clifton
|
4,722
|
|
Greeley
|
4,664
|
|
Pueblo
|
4,662
|
|
Grand Junction
|
4,597
|
|
Fruita
|
4,503
|
|
Stratton
|
4,414
|
|
Springfield
|
4,365
|
|
Fort Morgan
|
4,324
|
|
Brush
|
4,231
|
|
Burlington
|
4,167
|
|
Yuma
|
4,131
|
|
La Junta
|
4,066
|
|
Idalia
|
3,965
|
|
Sterling
|
3,939
|
|
Las Animas
|
3,893
|
|
Lamar
|
3,622
|
|
Wray
|
3,516
|
Source: Colorado Ski Resort Guide, coloradoskicountry.com
** Source: National Weather Service, Pueblo, Colorado
Weather
Colorado's varied terrain and location in the middle of the Rocky Mountain West result in quick-changing weather nearly all year round. You'll find four distinct seasons, mild temperatures and 300 days of annual sunshine.
Each year Colorado receives:
• More than 300 inches of snow at the mountain resorts
• 16.5 inches of precipitation (8 down low and 23 up high)
• 33 percent humidity
• First snow in September (though it usually snows somewhere in the state every month, except maybe August)
|
Average high/low SUMMER Temperatures (Fahrenheit)
|
|
|
April
|
May
|
June
|
July
|
August
|
September
|
|
Aspen
|
49/20
|
61/29
|
72/34
|
79/40
|
77/39
|
69/32
|
|
Burlington
|
61/33
|
71/43
|
82/54
|
88/59
|
85/57
|
76/48
|
|
Denver
|
61/34
|
70/43
|
81/52
|
88/58
|
85/56
|
76/47
|
|
Durango
|
61/26
|
71/33
|
83/41
|
87/49
|
84/47
|
76/39
|
|
Steamboat Springs
|
51/23
|
62/31
|
72/38
|
77/45
|
75/43
|
68/35
|
|
Average high/low WINTER Temperatures (Fahrenheit)
|
|
|
October
|
November
|
December
|
January
|
February
|
March
|
|
Aspen
|
58/23
|
42/13
|
33/4
|
31/0
|
35/2
|
40/12
|
|
Burlington
|
66/36
|
51/24
|
41/15
|
40/13
|
44/17
|
51/23
|
|
Denver
|
66/36
|
52/25
|
44/17
|
43/16
|
46/20
|
52/25
|
|
Durango
|
65/29
|
51/20
|
41/10
|
38/6
|
44/13
|
52/20
|
|
Steamboat Springs
|
57/26
|
42/16
|
32/7
|
31/5
|
35/7
|
41/14
|
Changing Leaves
Colorado is known for its amazing colors during the autumn season. The legendary aspen trees turn the slopes of the Rocky Mountains gold in mid-September and continue until mid-October. Autumn color at lower elevations reaches its apex in October.
Why the Leaves Turn
An Indian legend holds that celestial hunters turn the leaves yellow by cooking meat over an open fire and splattering fat all over the trees. Western science offers a less colorful explanation: the leaves simply stop producing chlorophyll, the chemical that makes them look green (and that nourishes the tree). Yellow pigment that has been overshadowed all summer by the chlorophyll now emerges from hiding. In other words, the leaves' warm-weather covering wears off to reveal the natural surface underneath; yellow is the leaves' true color.