See Also: Geography of Colorado
See Also: State of Colorado
History of Colorado
This is a . The counties of Colorado are important components of government since the State has no secondary civil subdivisions such as Township s. Two counties, the City And County Of Denver and the City And County Of Broomfield , have Consolidated City And County Governments .
The FIPS county code is the five-digit Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code which uniquely identifies counties and county equivalents in the United States. The three-digit number is unique to each individual county within a state, but to be unique within the entire United States, it must be prefixed by the state code. This means that, for example, while Adams County , Colorado is 001, Belknap County , New Hampshire and Alachua County , Florida are also 001. To uniquely identify Adams County, Colorado, one must use the state code of 08 plus the county code of 001; therefore, the unique nationwide identifier for Adams County, Colorado is 08001. The links in the column FIPS County Code are to the Census Bureau Info page for that county.1
The sortable table below lists all the historic Counties of the Territory Of New Mexico , the Territory Of Utah , the Territory Of Kansas , and the extralegal Territory Of Jefferson that previously existed within the boundaries of the present State Of Colorado , as well as the three defunct counties of the Territory Of Colorado and the three defunct counties of the State Of Colorado . The table includes the following information:
- The official name of the county,
- The territory or state,
- The date the county was created,
- The date the county was abolished or excluded from the Territory Of Colorado , and
- Historical notes.
No organized counties of the District Of Louisiana , the Territory Of Missouri , or the Territory Of Nebraska existed within the present boundaries of the State Of Colorado .
- Larimer County is the home of the most ancient known Archaeological Site in the Rocky Mountain region. The Lindenmeier Site includes artifacts more than 13,000 years old.
- Costilla County was the first area within the present State of Colorado to be settled by Europeans in 1851 .
- Taos County , created by the Territory Of New Mexico in 1852 , was the first organized county to extend into the area of the present State of Colorado.
- Arapahoe County , created by the Territory Of Kansas in 1855 , was the first county created exclusively within the area of the present State of Colorado.
- Of the 17 original counties created by the Territory Of Colorado in 1861 , only Gilpin County and Clear Creek County have retained their original boundaries.
- Guadalupe County was the first Colorado county to be renamed in 1861 .
- Las Animas County was the first Colorado county to be created (in 1866 ) after the original 17 counties.
- Greenwood County was the longest lived former Colorado county, existing four years from 1870 to 1874 .
- Carbonate County was the shortest lived former Colorado county, existing only two days in 1879 before being dissolved.
- Las Animas County is the most extensive Colorado county.
- The City And County Of Broomfield is the least extensive Colorado county.
- El Paso County is the most populous Colorado county.
- San Juan County is the least populous Colorado county.
- The City And County Of Denver is the most densely populated Colorado county.
- Hinsdale County is the least densely populated Colorado county.
- Lake County has the highest point in Colorado at the summit of Mount Elbert at elevation (the highest point in the entire Rocky Mountains .)
- Yuma County has the lowest point in Colorado where the Arikaree River flows into Kansas at elevation (the highest low point of any U.S. State .)
- The following twelve Colorado counties have a county seat with the same name as the county:
- Of all 64 Colorado counties, only Conejos County has a county seat that is not an incorporated municipality.
- The name of each of the following two Colorado counties forms one part of the name of its county seat:
- Weld County has the most incorporated municipalities of any Colorado county with 31.
- The following nine Colorado counties have no incorporated municipalities other than the county seat:
- The City And County Of Denver and the City And County Of Broomfield are the only two Colorado counties with Enclave s.
- Arapahoe County , Boulder County , and Jefferson County are the only three dismembered Colorado counties with Exclave s.
- Delta County and the City And County Of Denver each border only three counties.
- Jefferson County borders ten counties.
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