Denver is the most populous city in Colorado as well as being the capital. It is found at the meeting point of the South Platte River and Cherry Creek, almost 13 miles east of the foothills of the great Rocky Mountains. Denver is often referred to as the ‘mile-high’ city because its elevation is at 5,280 feet, exactly one mile above sea level.
Denver was founded in 1858 in western Kansas Territory during the Pikes Peak Gold Rush, as a mining town. This site, although the first in the area, faded and by 1859 the mining town was already abandoned and Aurora and St. Charles City became more prominent. The Colorado Territory was created on February 28, 1861, and by the end of that same year Denver City was incorporated.
The Democratic National Convention was hosted in Denver twice, in 1908 and 2008. Denver was chosen to be the site of the 1976 Winter Olympics, but in November of 1972 Coloradoans voted against hosting the Olympics due to the high cost of sponsorship, especially environmental concerns.