Official and Traditional Colors of Colorado
Colorado state colors are Blue and White, based on the 1911 state flag. Includes HEX, RGB, CMYK, and Pantone codes plus the history and symbolism behind each color.
Official color palette of Colorado
State color reference
- Official colors
- Blue and White
- Official since
- Traditional (based on 1911 state flag)
- Primary use
- State Flag, state government branding, state agency insignia
- Known for
- Blue representing Colorado's famous deep blue high-altitude sky; white representing the snow-capped Rocky Mountain peaks visible across the state's Front Range and western slope
Color Specifications
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Blue
Represents the deep, vivid blue skies of Colorado's high-altitude environment — among the clearest and most intensely blue in the continental United States due to the state's average elevation of 6,800 feet; also matches the blue of the United States flag, honoring Colorado's admission to the Union in 1876 as the Centennial State
White
Represents the permanent snowpack and glaciers of the Rocky Mountains, whose white peaks are visible from virtually every populated area of Colorado; white also evokes the winter skiing culture and the silver mining heritage of the Colorado Territory that drove early settlement
WCAG Contrast Checker
Accessibility compliance for Blue and White
White
on Blue background
Blue
on White background
WCAG 2.1 Standards:
- AA Normal Text: 4.5:1 minimum
- AA Large Text: 3:1 minimum
- AAA Normal Text: 7:1 minimum
- AAA Large Text: 4.5:1 minimum
Developer Export
Copy-paste ready code snippets
CSS Variables
/* CSS Variables for Colorado */
:root {
--colorado-blue: #002868;
--colorado-white: #FFFFFF;
}Tailwind CSS Config
// tailwind.config.js
module.exports = {
theme: {
extend: {
colors: {
'colorado': {
'blue': '#002868',
'white': '#FFFFFF',
}
}
}
}
}SCSS Variables
// SCSS Variables for Colorado
$colorado-blue: #002868;
$colorado-white: #FFFFFF;
Colorado is home to 58 of the nation's 96 mountains over 14,000 feet — the 'fourteeners' whose snow-white peaks against deep blue sky inspired the state's traditional colors and remain Colorado's most iconic visual image
Official Designation and History
Colorado does not have officially legislated state colors designated by a separate statute. However, blue and white have become the universally recognized traditional state colors through their prominent appearance on the Colorado state flag, which was adopted by the Colorado General Assembly on June 5, 1911. The flag features three equal horizontal bands — blue on top, white in the middle, and blue on the bottom — with a circular red disc bearing the letter C in gold overlaid at the center, a design that places blue and white as its dominant structural colors within broader state color traditions.
The Colorado state flag has undergone several modifications since its initial 1911 adoption, with the most significant revisions occurring in 1929 and 1964. The 1929 revision standardized the proportions of the flag and specified that the blue bands must match the blue of the United States flag. The 1964 revision specified that the gold in the letter C must match the color of the Colorado state flower, the Rocky Mountain columbine, whose yellow stamens correspond to the gold tone. Throughout all revisions, blue and white remained the flag's dominant background colors.
The 1911 Flag Adoption
The Colorado state flag was designed by Andrew Carlisle Johnson and adopted by the Colorado General Assembly on June 5, 1911, thirty-five years after Colorado achieved statehood in 1876. The original design specified three horizontal stripes of blue, white, and blue with a large letter C in red filled with gold. The choice of blue and white as the flag's field colors was deliberate, referencing both the sky-and-snow imagery of the Rocky Mountain landscape and Colorado's alignment with the national blue-and-white color traditions drawn from the United States flag.
1929 and 1964 Revisions
The Colorado General Assembly revised the state flag in 1929 to standardize the flag's proportions and explicitly specify that the blue must match the blue of the United States flag — the same deep navy PMS 286 used in the Stars and Stripes. A further revision in 1964 addressed the gold specifications, but the blue and white bands remained unchanged. Colorado Revised Statutes § 24-80-904 currently governs the state flag's design, describing the blue and white bands and their proportional relationships as the foundational elements of the flag's composition.
Key milestones
Colorado admitted to the Union on August 1 as the 38th state, earning the nickname The Centennial State for its admission in the centennial year of American independence
Colorado state seal adopted, incorporating blue and white alongside the state's broader color palette in official imagery
Colorado General Assembly adopts the state flag on June 5, establishing blue and white as the flag's dominant structural colors through its horizontal band design
Colorado flag revised to explicitly specify that the blue bands must match the blue of the United States flag, standardizing PMS 286 as the official blue
Final revision to the Colorado state flag codifies all color specifications under Colorado Revised Statutes § 24-80-904, confirming the blue and white design that remains in use today
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What the Colors Represent
The blue and white of Colorado's traditional state colors are rooted in the state's most defining geographic feature: the Rocky Mountains. Colorado contains 58 of the United States' 96 mountains over 14,000 feet in elevation — known as 'fourteeners' — and the visual contrast of brilliant blue sky against white-capped mountain peaks is the single most iconic image associated with the state. This sky-and-snow imagery, encoded in the flag's blue and white bands, functions as a color shorthand for Colorado's entire geographic and cultural identity and aligns with national elevation comparisons in the highest-point-by-state ranking.
Blue in Colorado History
The specific blue used in the Colorado flag (PMS 286) is the same navy blue found in the United States flag, a deliberate choice made explicit in the 1929 flag revision. Colorado's association with blue extends beyond national symbolism, however. The state's average elevation of 6,800 feet — the highest mean elevation of any US state — produces an atmospheric clarity that makes the Colorado sky noticeably deeper and more saturated in blue than skies at lower elevations. This phenomenon, familiar to anyone who has experienced Colorado's high-altitude environment, gave the color a specifically local meaning long before its codification in state symbolism.
White in Colorado History
White on the Colorado flag represents the permanent snowfields and glaciers of the Rocky Mountains, which retain snowpack year-round on peaks above 11,000 feet. Colorado's winter sports industry, centered on world-famous ski resorts including Vail, Aspen, Breckenridge, and Telluride, has made white snow one of the state's most economically and culturally significant symbols. White also carries a historical resonance connected to Colorado's silver mining era: the great silver strikes of the 1870s and 1880s in Leadville, Aspen, and the San Juan Mountains brought tens of thousands of settlers to Colorado and were a primary driver of the state's rapid economic development following the 1876 statehood.
Usage in Flags, Seals, and Insignias
The blue and white colors dominate the Colorado state flag, which is governed by Colorado Revised Statutes § 24-80-904 and displayed at all state government buildings, the State Capitol in Denver, and official state functions. The Colorado state seal, adopted in 1877 and revised most recently in 1974, incorporates a broader palette that includes gold, green, and red alongside blue and white, but the state flag's blue-and-white bands remain the primary visual identity for Colorado in official state communications. Blue and white appear consistently in Colorado state highway signage, state park branding administered by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and official state government publications, reflecting the same civic identity found in the state motto page. The Colorado Office of Information Technology and various state agencies maintain brand guidelines specifying PMS 286 for official applications of the state's traditional blue, ensuring consistent representation across print and digital media.
Timeline
Colorado admitted to the Union on August 1 as the 38th state, earning the nickname The Centennial State for its admission in the centennial year of American independence
Colorado admitted to the Union on August 1 as the 38th state, earning the nickname The Centennial State for its admission in the centennial year of American independence
Colorado state seal adopted, incorporating blue and white alongside the state's broader color palette in official imagery
Colorado General Assembly adopts the state flag on June 5, establishing blue and white as the flag's dominant structural colors through its horizontal band design
Colorado General Assembly adopts the state flag on June 5, establishing blue and white as the flag's dominant structural colors through its horizontal band design
Colorado flag revised to explicitly specify that the blue bands must match the blue of the United States flag, standardizing PMS 286 as the official blue
Final revision to the Colorado state flag codifies all color specifications under Colorado Revised Statutes § 24-80-904, confirming the blue and white design that remains in use today
Final revision to the Colorado state flag codifies all color specifications under Colorado Revised Statutes § 24-80-904, confirming the blue and white design that remains in use today
"The blue and white of the Colorado flag are not arbitrary choices — they encode the state's most fundamental geographic reality: the deep blue of a high-altitude sky and the white of permanent mountain snow that Coloradans see every day of the year."
Quick Answers
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Sources
- Colorado Revised Statutes § 24-80-904 - State Flag
- Colorado State Archives - State Symbols
- Colorado General Assembly - Flag History
- History Colorado - State Symbols and Emblems
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