Colorado (1983: Doomsday)

State of Colorado
Timeline: 1983: Doomsday
OTL equivalent: Northern and Eastern Colorado

Flag Coat of Arms Flag Coat of Arms Colorado - 7 Motto Nil sine numine (Latin) ("Nothing without Providence")
Capital	Ft. Collins
Largest city	Ft. Collins
Other cities	Greeley, Grand Junction, Goodview
Language   official	English
others	Spanish, various tribal languages
Demonym	Coloradan
Governor	Doug Hutchinson
Lt. Governor	Kelly Ohlson
Area	17,547 sq. mi.
Population	570,000 (2000 est.)
Established	August 1, 1876 (USA)
Annexation	to United States (restored)
date	1992
Currency	Buffalo Dollar

Colorado is a state of the United States of America. While much of the state is largely rural and is only lightly populated, the capital of Fort Collins is currently the largest city in the United States as local censuses state at a population of about 104,000, with an additional 80,000 in the Greater Fort Collins Metropolitan Area. The state population is estimated to be around 550,000.

History

Pre-Doomsday

The State of Colorado was the eighth most extensive and the highest in average elevation of the 50 former states of the United States of America. Colorado is one of the western Mountain States. The 30 highest major summits of the Rocky Mountains all rise within Colorado. The human history of Colorado extends back more than 13,000 years. The region that is today Colorado was first inhabited by Native Americans. The Territory of Colorado joined the Union as the 38th State on August 1, 1876. It was nicknamed the "Centennial State" because it was admitted to the Union during the centennial year of the United States Declaration of Independence.

Doomsday

Late afternoon on September 25, 1983 Colorado was hit by the surprise attack of Soviet nuclear missiles. Cheyenne Mountain, home of NORAD HQ. was one of the few places hit by "ground bursts" designed to actually cause molecular destruction of surrounding property. It was the hope of the Soviets to destroy the communication hub that ran the defense of the North American continent. While there was extensive ionization of the atmosphere and physical plant on the surface, the facility far under ground had remained intact. This blast damaged most of nearby Colorado Springs. It would be months before the staff within the facility could safely emerge in protective gear.

The extensive US military presence in the state brought disaster as the bases and facilities were prime targets in the attack. The destruction of Buckley Air Force Base meant that of the town of Aurora. The Minuteman missile silos in Colorado's northeastern corner were bombarded with warheads exploding on contact, producing deadly fallout that would spread southeast endangering much of Kansas and beyond. These strikes devastated the cities of Grover, Briggsdale, Fort Morgan, Sedgewick and Sterling. Towns such as Denver, Pueblo, Boulder and Fort Carson, being military towns, were also destroyed. The strike on the Rocky Flats Plant, a nuclear processing facility near Denver, posed an even more deadly threat. The blast was an air burst a mere 1200 feet above the plant, producing a fireball that incinerated the plant and much of the radioactive material within. The Soviet bombs had accomplished what the thousands of protesters could not do -- the plant was now "closed."

Post-Doomsday

With most of the major cities targeted and the resulting fallout, the death toll was enormous. Parts of eastern Colorado, however, survived thanks to favorable winds taking fallout south and east over Kansas . Meanwhile, western Colorado became cut-off from the both sides - by the nukes to the east and in the west by the Utah government closing down the Eisenhower tunnel and other passages leading westward, to prevent the perceived lawlessness of the plains from spreading.

In the aftermath of Doomsday the towns of Fort Collins and Greeley formed an alliance to secure resources and deal with refugees. The students and faculty from the Colorado State University were a key part in the aftermath, especially those studying to become doctors whose knowledge was applied to taking care of the thousands of wounded streaming out of the Denver area. The loose alliance between Fort Collins and Greeley soon became organized into the Union of Colorado in 1987. Shortly thereafter the Union sent an expedition to help its northern neighbors in the Lakotah War. The Union was one of the five founding states of the restored United States, becoming the new State of Colorado.

The Navajo Nation, which controls parts of the former state's southwestern corner, maintains close ties with the American state. Sports competition between their schools has happened often in recent years.

Expansion

In recent times the State of Colorado has begun to take re-settling the rest of the state its top priority in order to combat the massive influx of refugees since Doomsday. On July 3rd, a group of 300 former refugees from Denver and their families were given a land grant to establish a new territory for the area of Greeley County after months of petitioning. After months of clearing out rubble, removing raiders, gathering supplies, and actually moving to the area the former county seat of Buena Vista was officially reorganized as the Town of Goodview, West Denver Territory, Colorado on November 5th, 2010. The town population now sits at 377 and is slowly growing since the region has a mild climate and good agricultural opportunities. Following the reclamation of the northern parts of the state much attention was put into the eastern part of the state especially around the former railroad communities of Eads and sparsely populated ranching communities along the Purgatoire River, which were loosely aligned with the city of Trinidad. Up until that time the Trinidad-Eads communities were de jure considered to be part of the United States but essentially operated as an independent nation-state due to the destruction of the major highways leading into the other parts of the State and nearby Kansas. Partial reconstruction went towards the existing remnants of I-25 while existing horse trails were reinforced into roads. The former sections of the Pacific Railroad which passed through are now rebuilt, revitalizing Eads and Kiowa County in general.

A deal was made with the communities to officially join the State of Colorado under the condition that they would receive aid and reconstruction efforts until 2014, therefore leading to Las Animas County, Kiowa County, and all communities along the way being re-annexed into the state.

2011 American Spring

Following the American Spring of 2011 a surge of American patriotism and renewed national pride was injected into the mainstream population. Much of this was the result from the stand-off between the State of Nebraska and the Republic of Lincoln regarding who had the right to the lands adjacent to the Platte River. The resulting "Great American Scramble" was an attempt at gathering as much territory for each side as possible.

Economy

Colorado's economy has largely been centered around mining, manufacturing, and farming. Colorado, or more specifically Fort Collins is considered to be the manufacturing hub of the United States and is the largest city in the United States. In the western parts of the state coal mining fulfills the energy needs for most of the State, while big cattle ranches in the east feed much of the nation.

Following Doomsday many of the already-depopulated boom towns throughout the state suffered various degrees of abandonment. After the American Spring the Pacific Railroad has caused the southeastern parts of the state to once again flourish in trade coming from the California Republic and the rest of the United States and the North American Union in general.

Higher Education

Colorado State University is without doubt the largest and the most important college of the United States. Several politians from throughout the country were students during the aftermath of the strikes.