Palmer Divide | |
---|---|
Location | Central Colorado |
Dimensions | |
• Length | 80 miles |
Elevation | 2,000 m (6,000 ft) |
Highest elevation | 7,887 feet (2,404 m) (Bald Mountain) |
Named after Colorado Springs founder William Jackson Palmer, the Palmer Divide is a caprock escarpment-style ridge in central Colorado that separates the Arkansas River basin from the South Platte basin. It extends from the Front Range of the Rockies in central Colorado eastward approximately 80 miles toward the town of Limon. The western end of the Palmer Divide is popularly considered to be at Palmer Lake, located south of Denver and north of Colorado Springs. However, the divide between the two river basins actually extends west and then north to a junction with the Continental Divide at McNamee Peak.[ citation needed ]
For much of its length, it travels very roughly along the northern border of El Paso County. Thus, it forms a natural separator between the Denver and Colorado Springs metropolitan areas. The elevation along the divide varies between about 6,000 and 7,887 feet (1,829 and 2,404 m), with the high point being Bald Mountain in southern Douglas County. [1] This peak can be seen from I-25 just northeast of Monument Hill.
This uplifted area causes a slight increase in precipitation from the rest of eastern Colorado, resulting in the presence of the Black Forest, a peninsula of trees surrounded by dryer grassland plains.[ citation needed ]. The Palmer Divide is also implicated in enhanced landspout and tornado activity to the east of Denver in the Denver convergence vorticity zone (DCVZ).
This terrain feature is the cause of several small scale (microscale or mesoscale) weather patterns and it can make a great difference in the weather between Denver and Colorado Springs. Although the elevation technically qualifies it for the foothills category, it does not parallel a mountain chain as foothills generally do; instead, the Palmer Divide is perpendicular to the main chain of mountains. Due to the orientation of the Palmer Divide with respect to the eastern plains, the weather can be similar to that of the foothills during active weather with enhanced precipitation, especially during snowstorms.[ citation needed ] Cities and towns near the Palmer Divide include Parker, Castle Rock, Franktown, Elizabeth, Kiowa, Elbert, Sedalia, Larkspur, Palmer Lake, Monument, and unincorporated communities north of Colorado Springs, such as Gleneagle, Black Forest, and Woodmoor.
Colorado is a landlocked state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Colorado borders Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas to the east, Oklahoma to the southeast, New Mexico to the south, Utah to the west, and meets Arizona to the southwest at the Four Corners. Colorado is noted for its landscape of mountains, forests, high plains, mesas, canyons, plateaus, rivers, and desert lands. Colorado is one of the Mountain States and is often considered to be part of the southwestern United States. The high plains of Colorado may be considered a part of the midwestern United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains. Colorado is the eighth most extensive and 21st most populous U.S. state. The United States Census Bureau estimated the population of Colorado at 5,877,610 as of July 1, 2023, a 1.80% increase since the 2020 United States census.
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Monument is a home rule town situated at the base of the Rampart Range in El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Monument is one of the three communities that make up the Tri-Lakes area, along with Palmer Lake and Woodmoor. The town is part of the Colorado Springs metropolitan area, which had an estimated population of 700,000 in 2019. Monument is bordered by Pike National Forest on the west, Colorado Springs and the United States Air Force Academy to the south, Bald Mountain, True Mountain, and Spruce Mountain to the north, and Black Forest and rolling plains to the east. Monument was first settled as a stop along the Rio Grande Railroad in 1872, and the area was incorporated as a town called Henry's Station in 1879, but the name was later changed to Monument. The town population was 10,399 at the 2020 United States Census, an increase from the population of 5,530 in 2010 and 1,971 in 2000. On April 1, 2019, the town declared itself to be a Second Amendment sanctuary.
Palmer Lake is a Statutory Town in El Paso County, Colorado, United States. The population was 2,636 at the 2020 census. Palmer Lake was founded by General William Jackson Palmer in 1871 and was incorporated in 1889.
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The geography of the U.S. State of Colorado is diverse, encompassing both rugged mountainous terrain, vast plains, desert lands, desert canyons, and mesas. Colorado is a landlocked U.S. state. In 1861, the United States Congress defined the boundaries of the new Territory of Colorado exclusively by lines of latitude and longitude, stretching from 37°N to 41°N latitude, and from 102°02'48"W to 109°02'48"W longitude. Starting in 1868, official surveys demarcated the boundaries, deviating from the parallels and meridians in several places. Later surveys attempted to correct some of these mistakes but in 1925 the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that the earlier demarcation was the official boundary. The borders of Colorado are now officially defined by 697 boundary markers connected by straight boundary lines. Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah are the only states that have their borders defined solely by straight boundary lines with no natural features. The southwest corner of Colorado is the Four Corners Monument at 36°59'56"N, 109°2'43"W. This is the only place in the United States where four states meet: Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah.
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Castlewood Canyon State Park is a Colorado state park near Franktown, Colorado. The park retains a unique part of Colorado's history, the remains of Castlewood Canyon Dam. Visitors can still see the remnants and damage from that dam which burst in 1933. The event sent a 15-foot (5 m) wave of water all the way to downtown Denver resulting in a flood. Also contained within the park is the historic Cherry Creek Bridge.
Colorado Springs geography describes geographical topics regarding the city of Colorado Springs, Colorado in El Paso County, Colorado. With 194.87 sq mi (504.7 km2) of land, it is the state's largest-sized city. Denver is the most populated city.
Arizona is a landlocked state situated in the southwestern region of the United States of America. It has a vast and diverse geography famous for its deep canyons, high- and low-elevation deserts, numerous natural rock formations, and volcanic mountain ranges. Arizona shares land borders with Utah to the north, the Mexican state of Sonora to the south, New Mexico to the east, and Nevada to the northwest, as well as water borders with California and the Mexican state of Baja California to the southwest along the Colorado River. Arizona is also one of the Four Corners states and is diagonally adjacent to Colorado.
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Franktown Cave is located 25 miles (40 km) south of Denver, Colorado on the north edge of the Palmer Divide. It is the largest rock shelter documented on the Palmer Divide, which contains artifacts from many prehistoric cultures. Prehistoric hunter-gatherers occupied Franktown Cave intermittently for 8,000 years beginning about 6400 BC The site held remarkable lithic and ceramic artifacts, but it is better known for its perishable artifacts, including animal hides, wood, fiber and corn. Material goods were produced for their comfort, task-simplification and religious celebration. There is evidence of the site being a campsite or dwelling as recently as AD 1725.
The Magic Mountain site is an Archaic and Woodland village site in Jefferson County, Colorado dating from 4999 BC to 1000 AD. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
Tahama Spring is a mineral spring in Monument Valley Park in Colorado Springs. Named by the city's founder, General William Jackson Palmer, the spring honors Tamaha, who is mentioned by explorer Zebulon Montgomery Pike in two journal entries in 1805. When the local Parks Board commissioned a pavilion in 1926 to commemorate these early pioneers, the name “Tahama Spring” was selected and inscribed on decorative limestone-carved cartouches above each entrance.
Mount Emma is a 13,581-foot-elevation (4,139-meter) mountain summit located in San Miguel County of Colorado, United States. It is situated three miles north of the community of Telluride, on the south side of Yankee Boy Basin, in the Uncompahgre National Forest. It is part of the Sneffels Range which is a subset of the San Juan Mountains, which in turn is part of the Rocky Mountains. Mount Emma is situated west of the Continental Divide, two miles south of Mount Sneffels, and 0.8 mile south of Gilpin Peak, the nearest higher neighbor. Emma ranks as the 197th-highest peak in Colorado, and the 10th-highest in the Sneffels Range. Topographic relief is significant as the south aspect rises 4,830 feet above Telluride in approximately three miles. An ascent of Mt. Emma is a difficult climb with 2,180 feet of elevation gain covering three miles from Yankee Boy Basin, or 4,836 feet of elevation gain from Telluride. This mountain's name was officially adopted by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.