When you look at the map of Colorado, it has a rectangular shape. It's rare to find a state in the U.S. that looks so neat, with only Colorado and its northern neighbor Wyoming being the two exceptions!

So, when you first study U.S. maps, finding Colorado feels like a simple shape-finding exercise, like spotting a square. When you ask a child, "Where is Colorado?" they can easily point to that square that looks like it was drawn with a ruler. It stands out that much.

However, digging deeper reveals something interesting. While it appears to be a perfect rectangle on the map, the Earth is round, so in reality, it is slightly trapezoidal, narrowing a bit at the top! This is because the distance between longitudes decreases as you move north in the Northern Hemisphere.

It's like baking a square loaf of bread that slightly shrinks at the top while cooling? So, on a flat map, it looks exactly rectangular, but when you place it on a globe, it is subtly tilted. Moreover, in the days before GPS, the borders were drawn as if they were straight lines, but if you look closely, there are actually 697 bends!

What seemed like a straight line drawn with a pencil turns out to be a jagged line pretending to be a precise straight line.

The name Colorado comes from the Spanish word for red, "Colorado." When you see places like the Grand Canyon, red sandstone formations, and Red Rocks, the name fits perfectly. The area is 269,837 km², and the population was 5,773,714 as of 2020. The land is vast, and the population is relatively small, so while traveling, you might drive for a long time without seeing another car.

This state was granted statehood in 1876, the centennial year of American independence, which is why it is called the "Centennial State." You can often see the number 1876 on Colorado license plates. It feels like it holds a special position in American history as the "centennial commemorative state."

If you enjoy classical music, you might have heard of the Aspen Music Festival, which is also located in Colorado. The sight of world-class performers gathering to play in a resort filled with mountain and woodsy scents is truly a combination of nature and art. Even I, living in Denver, consider going every summer but often hold back after seeing the ticket prices (laughs), but those who have been all say, "The music you hear in that air is just different."

Ultimately, Colorado's rectangular map is a symbol in itself. It gives a precise and solid impression, yet when you look closely, it is not a perfect square, which is its charm. It's like a friend who seems gruff on the outside but is surprisingly humorous once you get to know them. While there are no perfect straight lines in the world, Colorado is a state that embodies the humanity of being "almost rectangular."

If you ever play a game of finding states on a U.S. map, Colorado will likely be the first one to catch your eye. It contains the massive ridges of the Rocky Mountains, red rocks, the beauty of nature, and the vibrancy of cities all within its neat frame.