DENVER HISTORY

Local boosters named the frontier mining camp on the South Platte River "Denver" after Kansas Territorial Governor James Denver in hopes of gaining political favor. Unfortunately, Denver had retired by the time they named the town. There were originally three separate towns, with three separate names, where Denver now stands. In 1859, the other names were dropped in return for a barrel of whiskey to be shared by all. Fittingly enough, the first permanent structure in Denver was a saloon.

DENVER'S LOCATION

Denver is near the mountains, not in them. The Mile High City is located on high rolling plains, 12 miles east of the "foothills," a series of gentle mountains that climb to 11,000 feet. Just beyond is the "Front Range of the Rocky Mountains," a series of formidable snowcapped peaks that rise to 14,000 feet. Denver might not be in the mountains, but the mountains still dominate the city. The picturesque mountain panorama from Denver is 140 miles long. There are 200 visible named peaks including 32 that soar to 13,000 feet and above.

AROUND COLORADO

The mountainous area of Colorado is six times the size of Switzerland, containing 9,600 miles (15,449 km) of fishing streams, 2,850 lakes, and more than 1,000 peaks two miles (3,218 km) high.

The road to the top of the 14,260-foot (4,346 km) peak of Mount Blue Sky  is the highest paved road in North America and is maintained and operated by Denver City Parks Department.

In 1893, while on top of nearby Pikes Peak, Katharine Lee Bates was inspired to write the words to "America the Beautiful."

Central City, located about 45 minutes west of Denver, is known as the "Richest Square Mile on Earth" due to the half billion dollars of gold that was mined there.

The Colorado Trail is a 500-mile-long hiking trail, stretching from Durango to Denver, and crosses eight mountain ranges, seven national forests, six wilderness areas, and five river systems.