The City and County of Denver is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located on the plains just east of the Rocky Mountains and forms the heart of the Denver-Aurora metropolitan area. The central downtown district is on the east side of the South Platte River, near its confluence with Cherry Creek, approximately fifteen miles from the foothills.

Denver is the county seat of, and shares the same borders with, Denver County — one of the few consolidated city-counties. According to 2005 census estimates, the population of the city was 560,400, while that of the Denver-Aurora metropolitan area was about 2,830,000, making it the 23rd-largest metropolitan area in the United States.

Denver is nicknamed "The Mile-High City" because its official elevation, measured on the fifteenth step of the state capitol building's west side, is 5,280 feet (1,609 m) above sea level. The elevation, as surveyed at the Denver International Airport, is 5,431 ft (1,655 m). Also, a row of seats in the upper deck of Coors Field, home of Major League Baseball's Colorado Rockies (NL), is marked in purple (one of the team's colors) to indicate that the row is one mile above sea level.

Denver has also been known historically as the Queen City of the Plains because of its important role in the agricultural industry of the plains regions along the foothills of the Front Range. Several US Navy ships have been named USS Denver in honor of the city.

Denver hosts a great and rich history of culture, and continues to remain a true testament to "Colorful Colorado".

Geography & Climate

Denver is located at 39°43'35" North, 104°57'56" West (39.726287, -104.965486)GR1 in the Colorado Front Range region. It has the Rocky Mountains to the west and the great plains to the east.

Denver has a semi-arid climate characterized by dry winters, wetter springs, low-humidity summers, and pleasant falls. While Denver is located on the Great Plains, the weather of the city and surrounding area is heavily influenced by the proximity of the Rocky Mountains to the west. In the winter, the storms that dump huge amounts of snow in the mountains get blocked by the towering Front Range mountains. So, Denver tends to have dry winters that receive less snow than one may expect. In the late spring and early summer, the warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico influences the area and thunderstorms are prevalent, especially in the afternoon. Late summer thunderstorms are also common, fueled by tropical moisture from Mexico called the "monsoonal flow."

The cheeseburger was allegedly invented in Denver by Louis Ballast who operated the Humpty Dumpty Barrel drive-in.

History

Denver was founded in the Kansas Territory in 1858. On November 22 of that year, General William Larimer, a land speculator from eastern Kansas, placed cottonwood logs to stake a square-mile claim on the hill overlooking the confluence of the South Platte River and Cherry Creek, across the creek from the existing mining settlement of Auraria.

The site was accessible to existing trails and had previously been the site of seasonal encampments of the Cheyenne and Arapaho. Larimer, along with associates in the Denver City Land Company, sold parcels in the town to merchants and miners, with the intention of creating a major city that would cater to new emigrants. The name "Denver City" was chosen to honor Kansas territorial governor James W. Denver, in order to ensure that the city would become the county seat of then Arapaho County, Kansas. Ironically, when Larimer named it after Denver, he was unaware that James Denver had already resigned as governor.

In the first few years, while the town grew, land parcels were often traded freely for grubstakes and in the course of gambling by miners in Auraria. The city was incorporated on November 7, 1861, several months after the formation of the Colorado Territory. Denver was the county seat of Arapahoe County, Colorado until the creation of Denver County in 1902.

Denver was selected to host the 1976 Winter Olympics to coincide with Colorado's centennial anniversary, but Colorado voters struck down ballot initiatives allocating public funds to pay for the high costs of the games, so they were moved to Innsbruck, Austria. The movement against hosting the games was based largely on environmental issues and was led by then State Senator Richard Lamm. Lamm was subsequently elected as Colorado governor in 1974.

On April 20, 1999, the Columbine High School massacre occurred at Columbine High School.

The cheeseburger was allegedly invented in Denver by Louis Ballast who operated the Humpty Dumpty Barrel drive-in. He applied for a patent on his now famous invention in 1935.

Denver was an important place for the "beat generation." Beat icon Neal Cassady was raised on Larimer Street in Denver, and a portion of Jack Kerouac's beat masterpiece On the Road takes place in the city, and is based on the beat's actual experiences in Denver during a road trip. Beat poet Allen Ginsberg lived for a time in the Denver suburb of Lakewood, Colorado, and he helped found the Buddhist college, Naropa University or the "Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa" in nearby Boulder, Colorado.

Culture

Denver hosts a great and rich history of culture, and continues to remain a true testament to "Colorful Colorado". Landmarks and historical points of interest include:

The Brown Palace Hotel
A historic hotel that has hosted many celebrities, dignitaries, and other important people

Buckhorn Exchange
Denver's oldest restaurant, a historic old-west steakhouse

Civic Center
A neoclassical park, and the cultural, art and governmental center of Denver

Confluence Park
Where the city started at the confluence of the South Platte and Cherry Creek.

Denver Performing Arts Complex
The second largest performing arts center in the US after New York City's Lincoln Center.

Four Mile House
An important stop on the Cherokee Trail and the oldest standing residential building in the metropolitan area
Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art
A museum featuring works of Vance Kirkland and others.

The Denver Aquarium
Denver Art Museum
Denver Botanic Gardens
Denver Mint
Denver Museum of Nature & Science

Red Rocks
This Denver owned park and outdoor amphitheater 15 miles west of Denver near Morrison, CO is world famous for its awe-inspiring red rock formations and its amphitheater with near perfect acoustics that has featured famous concerts by U2, The Beatles, Neil Young and others.

Richthofen Castle
castle built by the uncle and godfather of the Red Baron

Six Flags Elitch Gardens
A rare downtown Amusement Park

Union Station
Magnificent three-story building and the hub of the new FasTracks commuter rail network.

Wells Fargo Center
One of the city's most identifiable buildings.