Denver, a consolidated city and county, is situated in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains and east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The city is the capital of Colorado and the county is the second most populous county within the state after El Paso County. Denver has the nickname of Mile-High City as a result of its official elevation exactly one mile above sea level. Within the city and county, the elevation varies between 5100 ft. and 5700 ft.
Denver was founded during 1858 during the Pikes Peak Gold Rush as a mining town by a group of prospectors from western Kansas and the very first settlement was named Montana City. The site was on the banks of the South Platte River but the site disappeared quickly and by the summer time of 1859, it was deserted in favor of Auraria and St. Charles City. In 1901, the Colorado General Assembly made a decision to split Arapahoe County into three areas: a brand new consolidated City and County of Denver, a brand new Adams County, and the remainder of the Arapahoe County was renamed South Arapahoe County. Denver was selected to host the 1976 Winter Olympics to coincide with the centennial celebration of Colorado, however in 1972, Colorado voters struck down ballot initiatives that allocated public funds to pay for the hosting of the games which was subsequently transferred to Austria. The city maintains the dubious distinction of being the only city to decline the hosting of the Olympic Games.
Denver is located in the center of the Front Range Urban Corridor and lies between the Rocky Mountains to the west and the High Plains to the east. The landscape consists of plains within the heart of the city with hilly areas to the southeast, west and south. Based on the United States Census Bureau the city has the size of roughly one hundred fifty five square miles, of which 1.6 square miles, is water. The City and County of Denver is surrounded by only three other counties: Jefferson County to the west, Arapahoe County to the south and east, and Adams County to the north and east. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_estate
The City and County of Denver has recognized eighty official neighborhoods in the city which the city and the community groups utilized for the intention of planning and Administration. Such neighborhoods should not be mixed up with cities or suburbs that may be distinct entities in the metro area. The character of these neighborhoods differs significantly and can vary from high-rise skyscrapers to turn of the twentieth century homes to contemporary suburbs. Many of these contain parks and other open spaces.
