Colorado Shares a Unique Characteristic with Only Two Other States

Colorado is the kind of state that many take pride in. You see things like bumper stickers on cars celebrating the state, endless merchandise with the iconic Colorado flag on it, and even some Colorado-centric tattoos on some of its residents.

However, unlike states like New York, Florida, or even Ohio, you'll rarely find a person with a tattoo merely depicting the Centennial State's shape.

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Let's face it, despite being cool in almost every way, Colorado's shape is boring. In addition, its northern neighbor of Wyoming has an almost identical boring shape. This is not a coincidence, as both of these states, in addition to Colorado's western neighbor of Utah, all share a geographical characteristic that no other states in the country have.

Why Are Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah Such Boring Shapes?

The states of Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah are the only three in the nation that have boundaries defined only by lines of latitude and longitude and not any other geographical features.

However, while Colorado and Wyoming appear to be rectangular, neither are four-sided. In fact, Colorado has a total of 697 sides.

This is due to the fact that when these boundaries were established back in the 1800s, the surveyors relied solely on magnetic compasses and chains to create the outlines of the states. However, one must admit that the accuracy that they did accomplish is astounding given the limited tools available for the period.

So next time you look at a map of the United States, pay attention to how every other state has borders established by things like bodies of water and other geographical features, while Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah do not.