Born from gold, backed by the Rockies
Denver exists because someone found gold in Cherry Creek in 1858. The camp that sprang up to serve the rush was named, opportunistically, after a territorial governor its founders hoped to flatter — he had already resigned, and never lived there. The gold ran thin quickly, but the city stayed, sitting exactly one mile above sea level at the edge of the Great Plains with the Rockies rising to the west. It gets more than 300 days of sunshine a year, a trail system running from downtown into the foothills, and ski resorts within ninety minutes. The urban core has matured well past its scenery: the RiNo arts district, a nationally recognized food and cocktail scene, and a mint that has been striking coins since 1906.
