Colorado: A Geography

Colorado―seen as "the" place to ski, the ideal environment to live in, and a source of energy the country needs desperately―is best understood, write the authors of this descriptive and interpretive geography, as part of its regional setting. Water that flows from Colorado's snowfields supplies irrigation water for crops as far away as California. Tourists have a stake in Colorado's environment, as well as its economy. Colorado's vast energy and mineral resources cannot be developed without consideration of the impact on surrounding states. And many aspects of Colorado's future are dependent on influences that come from beyond the state's political boundaries. Colorado, incorporating the most recent (1980) census data and illustrated with more than 200 photographs, tables, and figures, is the only up-to-date geography of the state available. The authors look at Colorado first from the perspective of the physical setting it shares with its neighbors and then examine the interaction of people with the land. They also analyze Colorado's major industries―agriculture, tourism, mining, and manufacturing―and describe such Colorado phenomena as the way population tends to aggregate along the eastern slope of the mountains and how this population concentration has affected agriculture, water use, and industrial development. Numerous examples illustrate the practical workings of the complex interrelationships between Colorado's environment and its inhabitants. The book is designed to serve both as a text for courses in Colorado and Rocky Mountain geography, and as an authoritative source of information about the state for newcomers, as well as long-time residents.