Denver
Denver is the capital and largest city in the U.S. state of Colorado and a county named Denver County. For this reason, Denver is the county seat of Denver County. It is at the foot of the Rocky Mountains on the South Platte River, and was founded in 1858. A nickname for Denver is The Mile High City, because Denver is very high above sea level. It is at least 5,280 feet (or 1,609 meters) above sea level at a point in the city's state capitol building. The dome at the top of the capitol building is covered in gold.[14][15]
Denver | |
|---|---|
State capital and consolidated city-county | |
 Denver skyline | |
 Flag  Seal | |
| Nicknames: | |
.svg) Location of Denver in Colorado | |
 Location of Colorado in the United States | |
| Coordinates: 39°44′21″N 104°59′06″W / 39.7392°N 104.9850°W[5] | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Colorado |
| City and county | Denver[4] |
| Platted | November 17, 1858[6] |
| Incorporated | November 7, 1861[7] |
| Named for | James W. Denver |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Mike Johnston (D) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 154.7 sq mi (400.7 km2) |
| • Land | 153.1 sq mi (396.5 km2) |
| • Water | 1.7 sq mi (4.3 km2) |
| • Metro | 8,403 sq mi (21,764 km2) |
| Elevation | 5,276 ft (1,608 m) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 715,522 |
| • Rank | 19th in the United States 1st in Colorado |
| • Density | 4,674/sq mi (1,805/km2) |
| • Urban | 2,686,147 (US: 18th) |
| • Urban density | 4,167.5/sq mi (1,609.1/km2) |
| • Metro | 2,963,821 (US: 19th) |
| • CSA | 3,623,560 (US: 17th) |
| Demonym | Denverite |
| Time zone | UTC−07:00 (MST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−06:00 (MDT) |
| Area codes | 303, 720, 983 |
| FIPS code | 08-20000 |
| GNIS feature ID | 201738[10] |
| Website | www |
Capital and most populous city of the State of Colorado | |
History
Denver was founded in November 1858 as Denver City during the Pikes Peak Gold Rush as a mining town in western Kansas Territory.[16] That summer, a group of gold prospectors from Lawrence, Kansas, started a settlement on the banks of the South Platte River. They called it Montana City. This was the first settlement in what was later to become the city of Denver. The settlement faded quickly. By the summer of 1859 it was abandoned in favor of Auraria (named after the gold mining town of Auraria, Georgia), and St. Charles City.
The Colorado Territory was created on February 28, 1861,[17] Arapahoe County was formed on November 1, 1861,[17] and Denver City was incorporated on November 7, 1861.[7] Denver City served as the Arapahoe County Seat from 1861 until consolidation in 1902.[18] In 1867, Denver City became the Territorial Capital. With its new-found importance, Denver City shortened its name to just Denver.[18] On August 1, 1876, Colorado was admitted to the Union.
Sports teams in Denver
Denver is the home of the Denver Broncos football team, the Denver Nuggets basketball team, the Colorado Rockies baseball team, the Colorado Avalanche hockey team, and the Colorado Rapids soccer team.
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References
 | Definitions from Wiktionary |
 | Media from Commons |
 | Source texts from Wikisource |
 | Travel guide from Wikivoyage |
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