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) PART II - PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF COLORADO A, Location and Size The location of Colorado with reference to its surrounding states and its longitude and latitude is shown on exhibit Colorado is a western state, its eastern boundary being approximately 170 miles west of the geographic center of the 48 contiguous states. Colorado's northern boundary is approxi- mately 340 miles from the Canadian border and its southern boundary is approxi- mately 340 miles from the closest point on the Mexican border, The southwest corner of the state is about 700 miles from the nearest point on the Pacific Ocean. Colorado, with an area of 104,247 square miles, ranks eighth in size among the 50 states. Colorado is 387 miles east to west and 276 miles north to south. In shape, the state is nearly rectangular. Although primarily a mountain state, nearly 40 percent of its area comprises the eastern plains. The principal features of Colorado geographically are its inland continental location in the middle latitudes and the mountains and ranges extending north and south approximately through the middle of the state. With an average altitude about 6,800 feet above sea level, Colorado is the highest state in the Union. Roughly three-quarters of the nation's land above 10,000 feet altitude lies within its borders, This high land is literally the summit of the continent, and from it four of the nations' major rivers, the Colorado, the Rio Grande, the Arkansas, and the Platte, flow outward through eighteen other states. B. Topography The vast expanse of land that slopes gradually eastward from the Rocky Mountains has long been known as the Great Plains. This part of the state is an almost flat surface dissected by countless shallow valleys. The plains' surface slopes gently from an altitude of 6,000 to 7,000 feet near the mountains to 0335