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Denver is located at 39°43'35" North, 104°57'56" West (39.726287, -104.965486)GR1 in the Colorado Front Range region. It has the Rocky Mountains to the west and the great plains to the east.

Satellite image of the Denver Metropolitan area

Satellite image of the Denver Metropolitan area According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 401.3 km² (154.9 mi²). 397.2 km² (153.4 mi²) of it is land and 4.1 km² (1.6 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 1.03% water.

Climate

Denver has a semi-arid climate characterized by dry winters, wetter springs, low-humidity summers, and pleasant falls. While Denver is located on the Mexico called the "monsoonal flow."
The climate, while considered mild compared to the mountains to the west and the plains further east, can often be very unpredictable. An often-repeated saying made famous by Denverites is "If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes." Measurable amounts of snow have fallen in Denver as late as Memorial Day and as early as Labor Day, although trace amounts have been recorded in June. September snowstorms of two feet or more have occurred.
Denver averages 15.4 inches (391 mm) of precipitation per year. The average annual snowfall is around 60 inches. Although Denver's Convention and Visitor Bureau claims Denver receives over 300 sunny days a year [6], the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says Denver receives about 250 days of sunshine a year [7]. January's average daily high is 43° F with a daily low of 15°F. July's average high is 88°F with a low of 59°F. [8]

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec Extreme Daily Maximum
°F
76
77
84
90
95
104
103
105
97
90
79
79 Average Daily Maximum
°F
43
47
53
60
70
82
88
86
77
66
51
44 Average Daily Minimum
°F
15
19
25
34
43
53
58
57
47
35
23
16 Extreme Daily Minimum
°F
-29
-25
-11
-2
19
30
42
40
17
-2
-18
-25 Data is for Denver International Airport

Neighborhoods

Denver's 79 neighborhoods offer a variety of living experiences

Denver's 79 neighborhoods offer a variety of living experiences Denver has 79 neighborhoods that the City and community groups use for planning and administration. Although the City's delineation of the neighborhood boundaries is somewhat arbitrary, the City's definitions of its neighborhoods roughly correspond to those used by residents.
Denver also has a number of neighborhoods not reflected in the City's administrative neighborhoods. Sometimes these neighborhoods reflect the way people in an area identify themselves; sometimes they reflect how others, such as real estate developers, have defined those areas.
Among the neighborhoods commonly spoken of are historic and trendy LoDo (short for "Lower Downtown"), part of the City's Union Station neighborhood; Capitol Hill, Washington Park; Uptown, part of the North Capitol Hill neighborhood; Curtis Park, part of the Five Points neighborhood; Alamo Placita, the northern part of the Speer neighborhood; and the Golden Triangle, roughly the Civic Center neighborhood.
See List of Neighborhoods in Denver

Economy

Denver's economy is based partially on its geographic position and its connection to some of the major transportation systems of the country. Denver's history is a reflection of the boom and bust cycles of the old west. Because Denver is the largest city within 600 miles, it has become a natural location for storage and distribution of goods and services to the St. Louis and the cities of the West Coast, another benefit for distribution. Over the years, the city has been home to some large corporations in the central United States, making Denver a key trade point for the country.

17th Street, dubbed the "Wall St. of the West," is home to many of Denver's banks, corporations, and financial agencies.

17th Street, dubbed the "Wall St. of the West," is home to many of Denver's banks, corporations, and financial agencies. Geography also allows Denver to have a considerable government presence with many federal agencies based or having offices in the Denver area. In fact, the Denver Metropolitan Area has more federal workers than any other metropolitan area except for the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. Along with the plethora of federal agencies come many companies based on US defense and space projects. Lockheed-Martin and Ball Aerospace are examples. Of course, being the capital of the state of Colorado also gives many state jobs to Denver.
Denver's position near the mineral-rich Patina Oil and Gas, and Western Gas Resources.
Denver's west-central geographic location in the Mountain Time Zone (UTC -7) also benefits the telecommunications industry by allowing communication with both North American coasts, South America, Europe, and Asia in the same business day. Denver's location on the 105th meridian at over 1 mile in elevation also enables it to be the largest city in the U.S. to offer a 'one-bounce' real-time satellite uplink to six continents in the same business day. Starz-Encore, and Comcast are just a few of the telecommunications companies with operations in the Denver area. These and other high-tech companies had a boom in Denver in the mid to late 1990s, but the technology bust in the new millennium caused Denver to lose many of those technology jobs. Recently the Denver area has started making a comeback, with the October 2005 unemployment at 4.7% the lowest since September of 2001 [11]. Denver government and industry leaders are attempting to diversify the Denver economy so that it is less susceptible to boom and bust cycles.
For a more comprehensive account of Denver companies see List of companies with Denver Area operations.

Transportation

Colfax Ave at Broadway, where the downtown and the normal city grid meet

Grid system

Most of Denver has a straightforward street grid oriented to the four cardinal directions. Blocks are usually identified in hundreds from the median streets, identified as "0", which are Broadway (the north-south median) and Ellsworth Avenue (the west-east median). Colfax Avenue, the major east-west artery through Denver, is 15 blocks (1500 North) of the median. Avenues north of Ellsworth are numbered (with the exception of Colfax Avenue and a few others), while avenues south of Ellsworth are named.
There is also an older downtown grid system that was designed to be parallel to the confluence of the South Platte River and Cherry Creek. Most of the streets downtown and in LoDo run northeast-southwest and northwest-southeast. This system also helps with snow removal; if the streets were in a normal N-S/E-W grid, only the N-S streets would get sun. With the grid pointed to the diagonal directions, the NW-SE streets get sun to melt snow in the morning and the NE-SW streets get it in the afternoon. The NW-SE streets are numbered, while the NE-SW streets are named. The named streets start at the intersection of Colfax Avenue and Broadway with the block-long Cheyenne Place. The numbered streets start underneath the Colfax and I-25 viaducts. There are 27 named and 44 numbered streets on this grid. There are also a few vestiges of the old grid system in the normal grid such as Park Avenue, Morrison Road, and Speer Boulevard.
Confusion may arise where the two grid systems meet. Fortunately, traffic in downtown Denver is calmer than in many other large cities, and the mountains to the west provide an easy navigational reference.

Highways

Denver is primarily served by the interstate highways I-25 and I-70. I-25 runs north-south from the New Mexico border through Denver to the Wyoming border. Likewise, I-70 runs east-west from Utah to Kansas. The intersection of the two interstates in Denver has been locally termed "the mousetrap." Additionally, I-76 begins from I-70 just west of the city in Arvada. It intersects I-25 north of the city and runs northeast to Nebraska where it ends at I-80.
A highway expansion and transit project, dubbed "T-REX", is currently under construction. The project includes the addition of extra freeway lanes and a light rail line in the I-25 corridor between downtown Denver and the Denver Technological Center. The massive project is slated to be finished in fall of 2006.

Mass Transportation

Denver RTD Light Rail car at 16th & Stout

Denver RTD Light Rail car at 16th & Stout Mass transportation throughout the Denver-Aurora metropolitan area is managed and coordinated by the Regional Transportation District (RTD). RTD currently operates more than 1,000 buses serving 10,000 bus stops in 38 municipal jurisdictions. Additionally, RTD operates two light rail lines (the C Line and the D Line) with a total of 15.8 miles of track and serving 24 stations. Current RTD local fare is $1.50. FasTracks, an expansion project approved by voters in 2004, will allow light rail to serve cities such as Lakewood, Golden, and Aurora. Commuter rail lines will serve Boulder, Longmont and the Denver International Airport, while light rail is already under construction to the southeast as far as Lone Tree in the I-25 corridor as part of a reconstruction of the highway. The new line will be completed in late 2006.

Trains

Winter Park Ski Resort. Denver's early years as a major train hub of the west are still very visible today. Trains stop in Denver at historic Union Station, where travelers can meet up with RTD's 16th Street Free MallRide or use light rail to tour the city.

Airports

Denver International Airport, the sixth busiest airport in the world, fifth in the U.S.
former Stapleton International Airport (replaced by Denver International Airport and closed in 1995)
former Lowry Air Force Base (flights stopped around 1965)

Education

Public Schools

Denver's public schools are operated by Denver Public Schools. See their Wikipedia page for more information.

Colleges and universities

Denver's many colleges and universities range in age and study programs. The city boasts Catholic and Jewish institutions, as well as a well respected health sciences school, and colleges set in downtown and around the suburbs.

University of Denver
Metropolitan State College of Denver
University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center (which shares a campus with the Metropolitan State College of Denver and the Community College of Denver)
Johnson & Wales University
Regis University
Community College of Denver
Art Institute Of Colorado
CollegeAmerica-Denver
Denver Automotive & Diesel College
Heritage College
National American University: Denver
Westwood College Of Technology (which also has a campus in south Denver)
Yeshiva Toras Chaim Talmudical Seminary

Famous Denverites

Federico Fabian Peña, Denver Mayor 1983-91, was an influential figure in Denver's history

Federico Fabian Peña, Denver Mayor 1983-91, was an influential figure in Denver's history See List of famous Denverites

External links

WikiTravel site for Denver
Official City and County of Denver site
Official Denver travel guide
Denver Internet Directory
Denver Public Library
Regional Transportation District Homepage
Denver Post
Rocky Mountain News
Westword - Alternative newspaper for Denver
Haunted Denver - Seasonal haunted house attractions in Denver
Denver Uncommon - Pictures of Denver neighborhoods
DenverInfill - Overview of Downtown Denver growth and development

Hotels in United States - Denver >>

Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denver (GFDL)

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