Boulder, Colorado
city in and county seat of Boulder County, Colorado, United States
Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat of, and the most populous municipality in, Boulder County, Colorado, United States. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 census, it is the 12th-most populous city in Colorado. Boulder is the primary city of the Boulder, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had 330,758 residents in 2020, and is part of the Front Range Urban Corridor.
Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, at an elevation of 5,430 feet (1,655 m) above sea level. The city is 25 miles (40 km) northwest of the Colorado state capital of Denver. Boulder is a college town, hosting the University of Colorado Boulder, the flagship and largest campus of the University of Colorado system, as well as numerous research institutes. Starting in 2027, Boulder will become the new home of the Sundance Film Festival.
History
Archaeological evidence shows that Boulder Valley has been continuously inhabited by Native American tribes for over 13,000 years, beginning in the late Pleistocene era. Throughout the Paleo-Indian, Archaic, and Late Prehistoric periods, indigenous peoples moved seasonally between the mountains and plains, taking shelter in winter along the Front Range trough where Boulder now lies. By the 1500s, the Ute people held primary occupation of Boulder Valley.
The public source identifies “Boulder, Colorado” as city in and county seat of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Boulder, Colorado and city.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Boulder, Colorado”, the useful work is to connect “city in and county seat of Boulder County, Colorado, United States” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q192517. VIAF identifies the subject as 151259174. The Library of Congress control number is n79091289. Authority coordinates are 40.019, -105.293. 5 of 7 selected statements include explicit references; 4 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020 and 2027.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Boulder, Colorado”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Boulder, Colorado primary sources, Boulder, Colorado archive and Boulder research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Boulder, Colorado”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Boulder, Colorado” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.