1.
Denver
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Denver, officially the City and County of Denver, is the capital and most populous municipality of the U. S. state of Colorado. Denver is in the South Platte River Valley on the edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The Denver downtown district is immediately east of the confluence of Cherry Creek with the South Platte River, Denver is nicknamed the Mile-High City because its official elevation is exactly one mile above sea level, making it the highest major city in the United States. The 105th meridian west of Greenwich, the reference for the Mountain Time Zone. Denver is ranked as a Beta- world city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. With a 2015 estimated population of 682,545, Denver ranks as the 19th-most populous U. S. city, and with a 2. 8% increase in 2015, the city is also the fastest-growing major city in the United States. The 10-county Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area had an estimated 2015 population of 2,814,330 and ranked as the 19th most populous U. S. metropolitan statistical area. The 12-city Denver-Aurora, CO Combined Statistical Area had an estimated 2015 population of 3,418,876, which ranks as the 16th most populous U. S. metropolitan area. Denver is the most populous city of the 18-county Front Range Urban Corridor, Denver is the most populous city within a 500-mile radius and the second-most populous city in the Mountain West after Phoenix, Arizona. In 2016, Denver was named the best place to live in the USA by U. S. News & World Report and this was the first historical settlement in what was later to become the city of Denver. The site faded quickly, however, and by the summer of 1859 it was abandoned in favor of Auraria, Larimer named the townsite Denver City to curry favor with Kansas Territorial Governor James W. Denver. Larimer hoped the name would help make it the county seat of Arapaho County but, unbeknownst to him. The location was accessible to existing trails and was across the South Platte River from the site of seasonal encampments of the Cheyenne, the site of these first towns is now the site of Confluence Park near downtown Denver. Larimer, along with associates in the St. Charles City Land Company, sold parcels in the town to merchants and miners, Denver City was a frontier town, with an economy based on servicing local miners with gambling, saloons, livestock and goods trading. In the early years, land parcels were often traded for grubstakes or gambled away by miners in Auraria, in May 1859, Denver City residents donated 53 lots to the Leavenworth & Pikes Peak Express in order to secure the regions first overland wagon route. Offering daily service for passengers, mail, freight, and gold, in 1863, Western Union furthered Denvers dominance of the region by choosing the city for its regional terminus. The Colorado Territory was created on February 28,1861, Arapahoe County was formed on November 1,1861, Denver City served as the Arapahoe County Seat from 1861 until consolidation in 1902. In 1867, Denver City became the territorial capital, with its newfound importance, Denver City shortened its name to Denver
2.
Colorado
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Colorado is a state in the United States encompassing most of the Southern Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains. Colorado is part of the Western United States, the Southwestern United States, Colorado is the 8th most extensive and the 21st most populous of the 50 United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Colorado was 5,540,545 on July 1,2016, the state was named for the Colorado River, which Spanish travelers named the Río Colorado for the ruddy silt the river carried from the mountains. The Territory of Colorado was organized on February 28,1861, Colorado is nicknamed the Centennial State because it became a state in the same year as the centennial of the United States Declaration of Independence. Colorado is noted for its landscape of mountains, forests, high plains, mesas, canyons, plateaus, rivers. Denver is the capital and the most populous city of Colorado, residents of the state are properly known as Coloradans, although the term Coloradoan has been used archaically and lives on in the title of Fort Collins newspaper, the Coloradoan. Colorado, Wyoming and Utah are the states which have boundaries defined solely by lines of latitude and longitude. The summit of Mount Elbert at 14,440 feet elevation in Lake County is the highest point in Colorado, Colorado is the only U. S. state that lies entirely above 1,000 meters elevation. The point where the Arikaree River flows out of Yuma County, Colorado and this point, which holds the distinction of being the highest low elevation point of any state, is higher than the high elevation points of 18 states and the District of Columbia. A little less than one half of the area of Colorado is flat, East of the Rocky Mountains are the Colorado Eastern Plains of the High Plains, the section of the Great Plains within Nebraska at elevations ranging from roughly 3,350 to 7,500 feet. The Colorado plains were mostly prairies, but they have many patches of forests, buttes. Eastern Colorado is presently covered in farmland and rangeland, along with small farming villages. Precipitation is fair, averaging from 15 to 25 inches annually, corn, wheat, hay, soybeans, and oats are all typical crops, and most of the villages and towns in this region boast both a water tower and a grain elevator. Irrigation water is available from the South Platte, the Arkansas River, and a few other streams, however, heavy use of ground water from wells for irrigation has caused underground water reserves to decline. As well as agriculture, eastern Colorado hosts considerable livestock, such as cattle ranches. Roughly 70% of Colorados population resides along the edge of the Rocky Mountains in the Front Range Urban Corridor between Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Pueblo, Colorado. This region is protected from prevailing storms that blow in from the Pacific Ocean region by the high Rockies in the middle of Colorado. The Front Range includes Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, Loveland, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Greeley and other townships, on the other side of the Rockies, the significant population centers in Western Colorado are the cities of Grand Junction, Durango, and Montrose
3.
Front Range Urban Corridor
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The corridor derives its name from the Front Range, the mountain range that defines the west central boundary of the corridor. The Front Range Urban Corridor had an population of 4,757,713 on July 1,2015. The corridor comprises three primary subregions, the South Central Colorado Urban Area, the North Central Colorado Urban Area, the influence of the Corridor extends well beyond its defined boundaries. The Colorado Eastern Plains, Nebraska Panhandle and Albany County, Wyoming, among other areas, are culturally and economically tied to the Corridor, the definition included here is not used for the greater Front Range Megaregion, one of the 11 megaregions of the United States. The table below includes the information, The urban region. The Core Based Statistical Area as designated by the United States Office of Management, the CBSA population as of July 1,2015, as estimated by the United States Census Bureau. The county population as of July 1,2015, as estimated by the United States Census Bureau, the county population as of April 1,2010, as enumerated by the 2010 United States Census. The percent county population change from April 1,2010, to July 1,2015. In the State of Wyoming, the Front Range Urban Corridor includes the Town of Albin, the Town of Burns, the City of Cheyenne, the Town of Pine Bluffs, and unincorporated Laramie County. S. S
4.
Douglas County, Colorado
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Douglas County is the seventh-most populous of the 64 counties of the U. S. state of Colorado. As of the 2010 census, the population was 285,465, the county seat is Castle Rock. Douglas County is part of the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and it is located midway between Colorados two largest cities, Denver and Colorado Springs. Douglas County has the highest median income of any Colorado county or statistical equivalent. It is ranked nationally in that category, and has the highest of any county or equivalent not in the eastern US. Douglas County is lightly wooded, mostly with ponderosa pine, with broken terrain characterized by mesas, foothills, cherry Creek and Plum Creek rise in Douglas County and flow north toward Denver and into the South Platte River. Both were subject to flooding in the past, Plum Creek being partially responsible for the Denver flood of 1965. Most residents commute to workplaces elsewhere in the area outside of the county. Suburban development is displacing the ranching economy of the county, Douglas County was one of the original 17 counties created in the Colorado Territory by the Colorado Territorial Legislature on November 1,1861. The county was named in honor of U. S, senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois, who died five months before the county was created. The county seat was originally Franktown, but was moved to California Ranch in 1863, although the countys boundaries originally extended eastward to the Kansas state border, in 1874 most of the eastern portion of the county became part of Elbert County. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 844 square miles. Parts of the county lie within the Pike National Forest and were crossed by the historic South Platte Trail, if filled to capacity, surface size would be 1,140 acres, making this a fairly significant reservoir in Colorado and Douglas Countys largest body of water. As of the census of 2000, there were 175,766 people,60,924 households, the population density was 209 people per square mile. There were 63,333 housing units at a density of 75 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 92. 77% White,2. 51% Asian,0. 95% Black,0. 41% Native American,0. 06% Pacific Islander,1. 43% from other races, and 1. 88% from two or more races. 5. 06% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race,13. 3% of all households were made up of individuals and 1. 9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.88 and the family size was 3.19
5.
Weld County, Colorado
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Weld County is one of the 64 counties of the U. S. state of Colorado. As of the 2010 census, the population was 252,825, Weld County comprises the Greeley, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Denver-Aurora, CO Combined Statistical Area. On May 30,1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act created the Nebraska Territory, present-day Weld County, Colorado, lay in the southwestern portion of the Nebraska Territory, bordering the Kansas Territory. In July 1858, gold was discovered along the South Platte River in Arapahoe County and this discovery precipitated the Pikes Peak Gold Rush. Many residents of the region felt disconnected from the remote territorial governments of Kansas and Nebraska. The following month, the Jefferson Territorial Legislature organized 12 counties for the new territory, St. Vrain County was named in honor of Ceran de Hault de Lassus de St. Vrain, the French trader who established the first trading post on the upper South Platte River. St. Vrain County encompassed much of what is today Weld County, the Jefferson Territory never received federal sanction, but on February 28,1861, U. S. President James Buchanan signed an act organizing the Territory of Colorado. On November 1,1861, the Colorado General Assembly organized 17 counties, including Weld County, Weld County was named for Lewis Ledyard Weld, a lawyer and territorial secretary. He died while serving in the Union Army during the Civil War, until February 9,1887, Weld Countys boundaries included the area now comprising Weld County, Washington County, Logan County, Morgan County, Yuma County, Phillips County, and Sedgwick County. Graham was tried and convicted of the crime, and executed in 1957, in northeastern Weld County, Minuteman III missile silo N-8, one of the many unmanned silos there, was the target of symbolic vandalism by Catholic peace activists in 2002. In 2013, conservative Weld County commissioners began a campaign to secede from the State of Colorado, the legality of this initiative has been questioned by local attorneys. On Nov 5th,2013,6 out of 11 Colorado counties voted no for secession, elbert, Lincoln, Logan, Moffat, Sedgwick, and Weld counties voted no, while Cheyenne, Kit Carson, Phillips, Washington, and Yuma counties voted yes. Weld County also holds the distinction of having the most confirmed tornado sightings in the U. S. from 1950-2011, with 252 confirmed reports. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 4,017 square miles. It is the third-largest county in Colorado by area, along the western border hilly areas betray the presence of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains further west. The county is served by two highways, I-25 runs through the southwestern corner and I-76 from the south central edge northeastward to the Morgan county border. Other major roads include US85 and US34, which intersect near Greeley, and State Highway 14, pawnee National Grassland Fort Vasquez State History Museum St. The population density was 45 people per square mile, there were 66,194 housing units at an average density of 17 per square mile
6.
Rocky Mountains
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The Rocky Mountains, commonly known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than 3,000 miles from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the Southwestern United States. Within the North American Cordillera, the Rockies are somewhat distinct from the Pacific Coast Ranges, the Rocky Mountains were initially formed from 80 million to 55 million years ago during the Laramide orogeny, in which a number of plates began to slide underneath the North American plate. The angle of subduction was shallow, resulting in a belt of mountains running down western North America. Since then, further tectonic activity and erosion by glaciers have sculpted the Rockies into dramatic peaks, at the end of the last ice age, humans started to inhabit the mountain range. The first mention of their present name by a European was in the journal of Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre in 1752, the Rocky Mountains are commonly defined as stretching from the Liard River in British Columbia south to the Rio Grande in New Mexico. The United States definition of the Rockies includes the Cabinet and Salish Mountains of Idaho and their counterparts north of the Kootenai River, the Columbia Mountains, are considered a separate system in Canada, lying to the west of the huge Rocky Mountain Trench. This runs the length of British Columbia from its beginnings in the middle Flathead River valley in western Montana to the bank of the Liard River. The Rockies vary in width from 70 to 300 miles, also west of the Rocky Mountain Trench, farther north and facing the Muskwa Range across the trench, are the Stikine Ranges and Omineca Mountains of the Interior Mountains system of British Columbia. A small area east of Prince George, British Columbia on the side of the Trench. In Canada geographers define three main groups of ranges, the Continental Ranges, Hart Ranges and Muskwa Ranges, the Muskwa and Hart Ranges together comprise what is known as the Northern Rockies. The western edge of the Rockies includes ranges such as the Wasatch near Salt Lake City, the Great Basin and Columbia River Plateau separate these sub-ranges from distinct ranges further to the west, most prominent among which are the Sierra Nevada, Cascade Range and Coast Mountains. The Rocky Mountain System within the United States is a United States physiographic region, the Rocky Mountains are notable for containing the highest peaks in central North America. The ranges highest peak is Mount Elbert located in Colorado at 14,440 feet above sea level, Mount Robson in British Columbia, at 12,972 feet, is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. The Continental Divide of the Americas is located in the Rocky Mountains, triple Divide Peak in Glacier National Park is so named because water that falls on the mountain reaches not only the Atlantic and Pacific, but Hudson Bay as well. Farther north in Alberta, the Athabasca and other rivers feed the basin of the Mackenzie River, see Rivers of the Rocky Mountains for a list of rivers. Human population is not very dense in the Rocky Mountains, with an average of four people per square kilometer, however, the human population grew rapidly in the Rocky Mountain states between 1950 and 1990. The 40-year statewide increases in range from 35% in Montana to about 150% in Utah
7.
Arvada, Colorado
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The City of Arvada /ɑːrˈvædə/ is a Home Rule Municipality located in Jefferson and Adams counties, a part of the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area of the U. S. State of Colorado. The United States Census Bureau estimated the city population at 111,707 residents as of July 1,2013, the Olde Town Arvada historic district is located 7 miles northwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. Ralston found about 1/4 ounce of gold, then worth about five dollars, Ralstons companions named the stream Ralstons Creek in his honor, but they all left the next morning, drawn by the lure of California gold. During the Pikes Peak Gold Rush in 1858, Ralston brought another group of back to the site of his first discovery. The placer gold in the area soon played out, but hard rock deposits of gold were found in the mountains to the west, some of the miners abandoned their search for gold and returned to farm the rich bottom land along Ralston Creek and Clear Creek. They found a market for their crops among other gold seekers. The Territory of Colorado was formed on February 28,1861, on December 1,1870, Benjamin F. Wadsworth and Louis A. Reno platted the Ralston Point townsite along the railroad. To avoid confusion with other communities along Ralston Creek, Ralston Point was soon renamed Arvada in honor of Hiram Arvada Haskin and her husband, Benjamin Wadsworth, became the first postmaster of Arvada. Colorado was granted statehood on August 1,1876, and the Town of Arvada was formally incorporated on August 14,1904, a vibrant agricultural community, Arvada claimed the title Celery Capital of the World. Arvada grew rapidly during the half of the 20th century as a suburb of nearby Denver. Arvada became a Statutory City on October 31,1951, by the end of the millennium, the population of Arvada exceeded 100,000. A memorial was held the following Wednesday, December 12, in which Youth With a Mission leaders forgave Murrays family for what happened, the city of Arvada is a Home Rule Municipality with a council-manager form of government. The Arvada City Council has seven members, a mayor and two councilmembers elected at large, and four elected from council districts. The City Council selects the city manager, the Arvada City Manager is Mark Deven. Periodically, the City of Arvada conducts a citizen survey wherein residents rate Arvada as a place to live, since 1997 about nine or ten residents have given the city a rating of Very Good or Good. Arvada is located at 39°49′12″N 105°6′40″W, according to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 32.8 square miles.84.6 km², of it is land and 0.2 square miles of it is water. The climate is described as Humid Continental by the Köppen Climate System, Arvada is the western terminus of Interstate 76, which begins at the intersection of Interstate 70 and State Highway 121. Other state highways in Arvada include SH72, SH93, major highways near Arvada include Interstate 25, Interstate 270, U. S. Highway 36 and U. S. Highway 287
8.
Castle Rock, Colorado
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Castle Rock is a home rule municipality that is the county seat of Douglas County, Colorado, United States. The most populous municipality of the county, the population was 48,231 at the 2010 United States Census. It is named for the prominent, castle tower-shaped butte near the center of town, located midway between Denver and Colorado Springs, Castle Rock is part of the Front Range Urban Corridor. The region in and around Castle Rock was originally home to the Arapaho and they occupied the land between the Arkansas and South Platte Rivers. White settlers were drawn to the area by rumors of gold, however, it was the discovery of rhyolite stone, not gold, that ultimately led to the settlement of Castle Rock. Castle Rock was founded in 1874 when the eastern Douglas County border was redrawn to its present location, Castle Rock was chosen as the county seat because of its central location. One of the first homesteaders in the area near todays Castle Rock was Jeremiah Gould and he owned about 160 acres to the south of The Rock. At that time, the settlement consisted of just a few buildings for prospectors, workers, in 1874, Jeremiah Gould donated 120 acres to the new town that was also now home to the Douglas County government. For the beginning the six streets named Elbert, Jerry, Wilcox, Perry, Castle, the Courthouse Square was defined and about 77 lots, each 50 by 112 feet, were auctioned off for a total profit of US$3,400. A new train depot brought the Denver and Rio Grande Railway to the area, during the late 1800s and early 1900s, Castle Rock had a very active Rhyolite quarrying industry. Many Swedish immigrants arrived in the area to work in the quarries, Castle Rock currently encompasses about 35 square miles, with a population of more than 42,000 in town and 70,000 in the surrounding area. Castle Rock is located at 39°22′20″N 104°51′22″W at an elevation of 6,224 feet, located in central Colorado at the junction of Interstate 25 and State Highway 86, Castle Rock is 28 mi south of downtown Denver and 37 mi north of Colorado Springs. The town lies a few miles east of the Rampart Range of the Rocky Mountains on the edge of the Great Plains. Castle Rock, the butte that is the namesake, sits just north of the town center. Other prominent landforms visible from Castle Rock include Dawson Butte, Devils Head, Mount Evans, East Plum Creek, a stream within the South Platte River watershed, flows generally north through Castle Rock. Hangmans Gulch, which runs northwest then west around the side of the town center. McMurdo Gulch and Mitchell Gulch run north then northeast through eastern Castle Rock, Castle Rock is within the Colorado Foothills Life Zone. The hillsides are covered with meadows of grass, small plants, scattered juniper trees
9.
Englewood, Colorado
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The City of Englewood is a Home Rule Municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. As of 2010, the population was 30,255, Englewood is part of the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area. Englewood is located in the South Platte River Valley east of the Front Range, downtown is located immediately east of the confluence of Little Dry Creek and the South Platte River, between Santa Fe Drive and Broadway. Englewood is the fourth most populous city in Arapahoe County and, the history of Englewood begins when gold was discovered on what came to be called Little Dry Creek by William Green Russell, an early settler of the high plains, in 1858. Two years later, Thomas Skerritt, considered to be the founder of the city, established a home in the area, four years later the first road connecting Denver and Orchard Place was created by Skerritt himself using his own plough. In 1879 the first telephone arrived in the area,1883 was an important year, as it was the year that the Cherrelyn horsecar path was laid. The Cherrelyn trolley was and is an important city icon, being carried up Broadway by horse,1903 brought incorporation, but Skerritt was edged out by J. C. Jones as the first city mayor. Jones was a prominent landowner, having originally owned almost all of what is now north Englewood, the next two years brought the establishment of the first newspaper in the city, soon to be named the Herald. In 1905 Swedish National Sanitorium was founded, soon to become the massive present-day Swedish Medical Center,1906 brought the first pavement and street lights, and a year later the police and fire departments were established. In 1908 the famed Cherrelyn horse trolley stopped running,1948 was a start of a great period of change for the city. 2,500 acres on the Platte Canyon were purchased, and this ensured water independence from the powerful Denver Water, and in fact, Englewood provides water to most of the south metro area now due to its vast, early-established water rights. Soon after the city embarked on a building boom, most of the city was in fact built up by 1960. In 1965 City Park was sold to make way for Cinderella City, the developer provided the funds to create a vast city park network to replace the single City Park that the mall was built on. Thirty years later, the city demolished the mall in order to make way for a new, transit-oriented development that would also contain a new Civic Center, library. The RTD completed its southwest light rail corridor in 2000, in 2004 Englewood opened the Pirates Cove water park as part of a multimillion-dollar improvement package for the city parks system. In addition to Pirates Cove many improvements were made to the South Platte River trail system and to the Englewood Recreation Center, Englewood is a full-service city with its own, independent park, library, and public works systems. Englewood provides snowplow service to neighboring municipalities and water to a portion of the metro area. Englewood is located at 39°38′49″N 104°59′31″W, the city is 5,371 feet above sea level, higher than Denver
10.
Golden, Colorado
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Golden is the Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Golden lies along Clear Creek at the base of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, founded during the Pikes Peak Gold Rush on 16 June 1859, the mining camp was originally named Golden City in honor of Thomas L. Golden. Golden City served as the capital of the provisional Territory of Jefferson from 1860 to 1861, in 1867, the territorial capital was moved about 12 miles east to Denver City. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 18,867 in 2010, the Colorado School of Mines, offering programs in engineering and science, is located in Golden. It is the birthplace of the Jolly Rancher, a candy bought out by the Hershey Foods Corporation, Buffalo Bill Cody is buried nearby on Lookout Mountain. Golden City was established on 16 June 1859 along Clear Creek west of Denver, important businessmen and prospectors such as William A. H. Loveland and George West were among the first to settle in Golden. By the end of 1860, Golden City had been elected the seat of Jefferson County and was capital of the provisional Jefferson Territory. Golden City was temporarily removed from the status of capital as a result of an act passed on 5 November 1861 by the territorial government. Colorado City, a town to the south of Denver became the new temporary territorial capital. This status was revoked, however, as on 4 August 1862. It was the period between 1862 and the early 1870s that a fierce railroad competition developed between Denver, ten miles to the east, and Golden. By the mid-1860s, Golden held only a status as territorial capital rather than serve as the legitimate source of territorial power. Loveland founded the Colorado Central Railroad on 9 February 1865 to do just this, with Golden beginning talk of creating a railroad, prominent Denver residents raced to do the same. If we defeat those bonds, all hope of a railroad for the two years is gone… Gentlemen of Denver, what will you do. The fate of city is in your own hands. ”The residents of Denver voted for the bonds. By 1869, the race to Cheyenne was becoming less and less of a race. Golden, having then sidetracked into servicing various close-by mountain communities, continued to fall behind the set by the Denver railroad. However, The Colorado Central Railroad connected directly with Cheyenne seven years later, in 1877, but by that point, during the 1870s, it became home to three institutions of higher education, the Colorado University Schools, of which the Colorado School of Mines remains today
