ROCKIES CITY

Denver is located on the plains just east of the foothills of the Rockies, which form a dramatic skyline to the west. The central downtown district is on the east side of the South Platte River, near its confluence with Cherry Creek, approximately ten miles from the foothills. Denver is the largest city and capital of the state of Colorado, United States of America. It is the largest city along the Front Range and forms the heart of the Denver Metropolitan Area. Denver is nicknamed the "Mile-High City", because its official elevation, measured on one of the steps on the state capitol, is 5,280 feet (1 mile) above sea level. Denver was founded in the Kansas Territory in 1858. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city was 554,636. 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. Professional sports Franchises based in Denver; Colorado Rockies, Major League Baseball, Denver Broncos, National Football League, Denver Nuggets, National Basketball Association, Colorado Avalanche, National Hockey League, Colorado Rapids, Major League Soccer, Colorado Crush, Arena Football League and Colorado Mammoth, National Lacrosse League. Denver has a semi-arid climate characterized by dry winters, wetter springs, low-humidity summers and pleasant falls. Coloradans often remark of the climate: "If you don't like the weather, wait a minute". Denver averages 15.4 inches of precipitation per year. 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, which is located southwest of Denver in an unincorporated area in suburban Jefferson County; the school has a Littleton address. 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. Denver has the following landmarks; Confluence Park, where the city started at the confluence of the South Platte and Cherry Creek, Brown Palace Hotel, which is the city's oldest hotel, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver Performing Arts Complex, D&F Tower, when it was built in 1910 the tallest building west of the Mississippi, Buckhorn Exchange, Denver's oldest restaurant, a historic old-west steakhouse, Molly Brown House, where Molly Brown lived in Denver, Wells Fargo Center, the "cash register" building which is also the 3rd tallest building in Denver and Denver Art Museum.