Denver is a high altitude city, so much so that it earned itself the nickname “Mile-High City” for having an altitude 5,280 ft. above sea level! At that altitude oxygen is far less dense, and it’s for this reason many athletes will train and stay in the area. In fact, not too far away, in Colorado Spring there’s an Olympic Training Center.
On this day November 22nd, in 1858, Denver, Colorado is founded. The city was founded as a mining town, primarily for stone and ore, but this was during the gold rush period, so perhaps there were gold prospectors involved as well.
General William Larimer was the founder. Hoping to win favor with the Kansas Territorial Governor, Governor Denver, Larimer named the city after him. Little did he know that Governor Denver had already left office. Denver is the second largest city in Colorado. The city has roughly 600,000 thousand people, and its metropolitan area has over 2.5 million residents. Between the natural scenery, clean air (though slightly less oxygenated), and mountains, Denver is an American gem.