STATE SEAL -adaptation of the Territorial Seal and approved by the State in 1877 with the addition of the "State of Colorado" and the figures "1876" in the seal.

STATE MOTTO -"Nil Sine Numine", translates to "Nothing without Providence". In the early mining days some said it meant "nothing without a new mine".

COLORADO -Spanish origin meaning "colored red". Colorado has been nicknamed the "Centennial State" as it became a state in 1876, 100 years after the signing of the nation's Declaration of Independence.

STATE CAPITOL BUILDING -22 years in the building, it was completed in 1908. The doom is painted with 177 ounces of 24K gold leaf.

STATE ANIMAL -Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep, Ovis canadensis, adopted May 1961. Found only in the Rockies, usually above timberline.

STATE FLOWER -white and lavender Columbine, Aquilegia caerules, adopted April 1899

STATE TREE -Colorado Blue Spruce, Picea pungens, adopted March 1939, first discovered on Pikes Peak

STATE BIRD -Lark Bunting, Calamospiza melanocorpyus Stejneger, adopted April 1931, migrant bird living in plains region and mountains up to 8,000 feet from April to September

STATE FOSSIL -Stegosaurus -designated in 1982, lived 150 million years ago during the Mesozoic era in the Jurassic period (picture on next page)

STATE GEMSTONE -Aquamarine, adopted April 1971, crystals range in color from light blue to pale and deep aquarmarine, located in the mountain peaks of Mount Antero and White Mountain (picture on next page)

STATE GRASS -Blue Grama, adopted in May 1987, native grass on both sides of the Continental Divide (picture on next page)

STATE INSECT -Hairstreak Butterfly, Hypaurotis cysaluswas, adopted in April 1996, found on both sides of the Continental Divide at 6,500 to 7,500 feet (picture on next page)

STATE SONG -"Where the Columbines Grow" by A.J. Fynn, 1915, adopted in May 1915

"Tis the land where the columbines grow,
Overlooking the plains far below,
While the cool summer breeze in the evergreen trees.
Softly sings where the columbines grow."

STATE FOLK DANCE -Square Dance, adopted in March 1992

LAND AREA -104,247 square miles and ranks 8th in the largest states of the US

MAJOR RIVERS -Colorado, Arkansas, South Platte

FIRST NEWSPAPER -Rocky Mountain News, founded April 1859

FIRST GOLD PANNED -near Denver at the mouth of Dry Creek in 1858

COLORADO GOLD RUSH -1859, west and south of Denver

FIRST MAJOR GOLD STRIKE -1859, Idaho Springs, discovered by George Jackson

CRIPPLE CREEK -richest gold discovery in the nation

FIRST MAJOR SILVER LODE -Georgetown, 1864

FIRST RAILROAD -1870, standard gauge Denver Pacific from Denver to Cheyenne, Wyoming

OLDEST NON-INDIAN TOWN -San Luis, 1851, south central Colorado north of the New Mexico border

FIRST CHURCH -Our Lady of Guadalupe, 1858, at Conejos in the San Luis Valley

AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL -song written by Katherine Bates, a New England school teacher, was inspired by her visit to the Rocky Mountains in 1893

CAPTAIN ZEBULON PIKE -1806, first official explorer to sight Pikes Peak, a later landmark for pioneers heading west that led to the words, "Pikes Peak or Bust" as gold seekers sought their fortunes

WORLD'S LARGEST PIECE OF SILVER -discovered east of Aspen from the Smuggler Mine, 1,840 pounds, featured at the Chicago Worlds Fair in 1893

HOPE DIAMOND -owned by Evalyn Walsh, daughter of Thomas Walsh who discovered the Camp Bird Mine in Ouray

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