El Paso County and Colorado

About Colorado

First visited by Spanish explorers in the year 1500s, the territory was claimed Spain by Juan de Ulibarri in 1706. The U.S. obtained eastern Colorado as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the central portion in 1845 with the admission of Texas as a state, and the western part in 1848 as a result of the Mexican War.
Colorado has the highest mean elevation of any state with more than 1,000 Rocky Mountain peaks over 10,000 feet high and 54 towering above 14,000 feet. Pikes Peak, the most famous of these mountains, was discovered by U.S. Army lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike in 1806.
Once primarily a mining and agricultural state, Colorado’s economy is now driven by the service industries, including medical providers and other business and professional services. Colorado’s economy also has a strong manufacturing base. The primary manufacturers are food products, printing and publishing, machinery, and electrical instruments. The state is also a communications and transportation hub for the Rocky Mountain region.

El Paso County lies in east central Colorado and encompasses more than 2,158 square miles. While the western portion of the El Paso County is extremely mountainous, the eastern part is prairie land where dairy cows and beef cattle are the main source of rancher’s income. The altitude ranges from about 5,095 feet on the southern border at Black Squirrel Creek to 14,110 feet on the summit of Pikes Peak, near the western boundary. The county seat is located in Colorado Springs.
The natural physical beauty of the area, situated at the base of Pikes Peak and with an uninterrupted view of the Front Range, can be enjoyed by all. The magnificent scenery inspired Katharine Lee Bates to write the poem “America the Beautiful” after her visit here. The mild climate, on average, supplies 285 days of sunshine, 15 inches of rain, 35 inches of snow, and very low levels of humidity.