Colorado is located in the Rocky Mountain region of the country. Colorado entered statehood in 1876 and was nicknamed the “Centennial State.” The state is well known for its magnificent scenery of mountains, rivers and plains. The state population was nearly 5 million in 2008, a 14% increase since 2000. Denver is the capital of Colorado and the state's most populous city. The Denver-Aurora-Boulder combined metro area, (includes the City and County of Denver and nine suburban counties), contains more than two-thirds of the state's population. Boulder, Fort Collins and Greeley follow as metropolitan statiscal areas.