The Lamar register., 1906-10-17
COLORADO FACTS
PRESENTED BY UNITED STATES
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.
A FAVORED COMMONWEALTH
Highest State in the Union-Greatest
Western Mining State-Deveiop-
ment Of Agriculture, Manufactures
and Railroads.

and Railroads.
Colorado has the highest average
elevation of all the States-6,S00 feet
says Mr. Henry Gannett of the United
States Geological Survey, in the
Gazetteer of Colorado bulletin No.
291)) which he has just brought out.
It's height above sea level is perhaps
the most characteristic thing about
this favored commonwealth. for its
other peculiarities might be thought
by the fanciful to follow naturally
its ore treasures, its life-giving atmos-
phere, its enfranchised women. The
lowest point is over 5000 feet and the
highest 1900 feet above sea level.
In general terms. the eastern third
of Colorado is composed of high
| plains, the middle third of the Rocky
mountains, and the western third of
plateaus stepping down toward Colo
RADIO river. The plains rise from an
altitude of 5000 to 1000 feet at the
east boundary of the state to over G,000
| to 5000 at the foot of the mountains.
| Their surface is rolling and in some
places broken. From the western
most of the mountain ranges the coun-
| try descends in series of plateauS.
some of which are horizontal and 9TH
various directions. Most of the
streams, whether perennial or not. are
in canons cut to varying depths. This
| plateau region is drained entirely by
| tributaries of Colorado river. The
| higher of these plateaus are well wa
tered and covered with forests, but as
one descends the region becomes more
desert like, the lowest parts of the
plateau having all the aspects of
| desert.
The principal rivers are North
| Platte. South Platte. Arkansas. Rio
Grande. Yampa, White, Grand, Gun
nison. Dolores and San Juan. None
of these streams is navigable. They
| head in the mountains. and with steep
and rugged courses flow to the plains
or plateaus. With their numerous
| branches in the mountain country of
| Colorado, these rivers probably fur
nish more abundant supply of water
| for irrigation purposes than the
| streams of any other state in the arid
| region.
In spite of its great elevation, the
temperature of Colorado is but slightly
| lower than in regions of the same lat
| itude near sea level, because the iso-
thermal lines are carried up by the
great mass OF country. The range OF
| temperature between day and night,
| between summer and winter, and be-
ttxa. ha f,h. lou.
| ature recorded. is very great. far
greater than in the Mississippi valley
or on the Atlantic coast. The state
lies within the arid region.
These facts and MANY others rolat-
| ing to the history. agriculture, manu-
features, mining. and mapping of Col
orado are briefly set forth by Mr.. Can
nett in his Introductory chapter.
| The population in 1905 was probably
not far from 100000. of which fifty-five
per cent were males and forty-five per
cent females. The number of foreign
born was seveOeen per cent. to eighty
| three ger cent. of native born. In liter
| acy the people of Colorado are ex-
| ceeded by those of only nine other
| states and territories.
Measured by the value of its prod
uct, mining is the most important in
| dustry OF the state. In 1902 the output
| of Colorado mines had value of $40,-
| 603, 2S6. being exceeded only by Penn
| sylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and West
Virginia. OF all the western states
and territories Colorado is easily first
In mineral production.
Owing to the location of the state
within the arid region, agriculture is
| in large part limited by the supply of
water for irrigation. The total num-
| Der of farms in the state in 1900 was
| 24.7OO, and their total value was s161,-
| 045. 1O1. The average value per farm
was $500. The value of all farm
products in 1900 was s33,04s,576, an
| average per farm of s1.33S. The aver
age number of acres per farm was 3s4,
which IS more than twice the size of
the average farm in the United States.
| About seventy-seven per cent. of all
farms were owned by their occupants,
fourteen per cent. being rented on
! shares, and nine per cent. rented for
cash. OF the cultivated land, 1,611,271
acres. or seventy-one per cent. were
under irrigation. The area irrigated
was "a per cent. of the total area OF
| the state.
Manufacturers are assuming great
proportion in Colorado. In 1900 there
! were $3.50 manufacturing establish
lishments of all kinds, with capital
| of SCI, S25,472. They employed 24,725
wage-earners and paid them s15,146,
667. The cost of the materials used
was s66. SS6,O16 and the value of the
production s1O2 ,s3O137. showing a net
increase in value produced by manu-
facture Of $35,944,121.
In 1904 Colorado contained 1876
miles of railway, which is 2.33 per
cent of the entire mileage of the
/ United States.
There are fourteen forest reserves
in the state. comprising most of the
mountain and plateau country. The
total area of land thus reserved is 49,
| 236 square miles, or seventeen per
cent. of the total area.
| An interesting point brought out by
Mr.. Gannett is the fact that the Hay
den survey published in 1876 a topo-
graphic and geologic atlas of the
state, which in subsequent years had
| n powerful influence in its develop
ment. Since the commencement of
topographic work by the present Geo
logical Survey much detailed work has
been done, thirty-four sheets upon a
scale OF .125,000 and eighteen sheets
upon n scale of 1:62. 500 having been
/ M. ~ 4 l.,