Colorado, which was incorporated into the United States as the 38th state on August 1, 1876, takes its name from the Colorado River, which rises in Rocky Mountain National Park northwest of Denver. The Spanish explorers gave their name to the Colorado River (colorado means reddish in Spanish). During the gold rush, the initially friendly relationship between Native Americans and settlers changed from the early 1850s. Reports of gold discoveries in California attracted increasing numbers of settlers who trekked across the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains to reach California. In June 1858, gold was also found near Cherry Creek (present-day Denver). The first settlements were founded and the gold rush had also arrived in Colorado. With the expansion of the rail network in the early 1870s, the capital city of Denver consolidated its central position. When the silver boom hit in 1879, Leadville and Aspen became Colorado’s major mining towns. Colorado is now one of the most economically successful states in the USA. As of the 2000 census, the largest ancestry group is German at 22% (including Switzerland and Austria). Check topschoolsoflaw.com for brief history of the state of Colorado.