Colorado 1876 Mug

The state was named after the Colorado River by Spanish explorers. US Army officer and amateur explorer Zebulon Pike was recruited by the United States government in 1806 to locate the source of the Mississippi River and to check out Spanish settlements in New Mexico. Even though his recorded location for the source of the Mississippi was extremely inaccurate and allegedly got lost in his expedition, he did explore much of what would become the American Southwest. When he reached what is now Colorado Springs, he named a mountain after himself, Pikes Peak, which remains a symbol for the city as well as the state to this day.