Text on Colorado State Coffee Gift Mug:

Colorado, state in the western United States. The Rocky Mountains, or Rockies, form the most dominant physical feature of the state. To the west of the Rockies lie the high plateaus of the Colorado Plateau, and to the east are the Great Plains. High, rugged mountains and plateaus occupy fully two-thirds of the state, and make Colorado a state of striking beauty. All of Colorado is more than 1,000 m (3,300 ft) above sea level. The state, with an average elevation of 2,070 m (6,800 ft), is the highest of all the states. The mountains and plateaus are rich in gold, silver, and other minerals and are the source of most of the state’s water. The mountains have played a major role in the development of Colorado, most recently by attracting a steady flow of tourists, but they have also been a barrier to travel, communication, and settlement. Except for small cities and towns in the sheltered river valleys and mountain basins, most of western Colorado is sparsely populated.