Colorado, the state with the highest mean altitude (6,800 feet) of all 50 states — did you know that? — has a mix of highs and flows.
Our spectacular region stretches around the Four Corners and across the breadth of the Colorado Plateau, deep into Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona. Wherever we go, we’re looking at a lot of outdoor real estate and a lot of questions. And each time we explore new territory, more questions.
That’s why Adventure Pro came up with this quiz to test your outdoor knowledge of our region while helping you learn more about the places we explore, starting with Colorado. The answers to the quiz are found at the bottom of the page.
Quiz: Outdoor Colorado
1) How many of Colorado’s 54 14,000-foot peaks (14ers) are located in the San Juan Mountain Range?
2) Which tributary of the San Juan River is the last free-flowing river in Colorado?
3) The world’s largest flat-top mountain is located in western Colorado southeast of Grand Junction. What’s its name?
4) Where are the tallest sand dunes in America?
5) Which peak is recognized as the most advertised mountain in Colorado?
6) Colorado’s highest point is Mount Elbert near Leadville at 14,433 feet. What is Colorado’s lowest point?
Pop Question: Which Colorado feature has appeared in more than a dozen movies including “How the West Was Won” and “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”?
The Answers
1) Thirteen of Colorado’s 14ers are located in the San Juan Mountain Range: Uncompahgre, Wetterhorn, Redcloud, Sunshine, Handies, San Luis, Sunlight, Windom, Eolus, Sneffels, El Diente, Wilson Peak and Mount Wilson. The highest, Uncompahgre Peak (14,309 feet), is also the sixth highest of the 14ers.
2) The 126-mile-long Animas River gets its start near the ghost town of Animas Forks and flows past Silverton and Durango before entering New Mexico, where it flows through Aztec before reaching its confluence with the San Juan River at Farmington.
3) Grand Mesa reaches a maximum elevation of 11,333 feet and covers an area of about 500 square miles and has more than 300 lakes scattered across its top.
4) The Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is located north of Alamosa in the San Luis Valley.
5) Wilson Peak is depicted on cans and bottle labels of Coors beer.
6) Colorado’s lowest point is where the Arickaree River flows into Kansas at 3,315, the highest low point of all 50 states.
Pop Answer: The movie star is the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, which has been in continuous operation since 1881, the same year Billy the Kid was shot and killed in New Mexico.
