Cañon City definition of Cañon City in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Cañon City (kăn`yən), city (1990 pop. 12,687), seat of Fremont co., S central Colo., at the mouth of the Grand Canyon of the Arkansas River (see Royal Gorge Royal Gorge, 10 mi (16 km) long, narrow canyon cut by the Arkansas River, S central Colo., often called the Grand Canyon of the Arkansas. The gorge was discovered in 1806 by an expedition led by U.S. explorer Zebulon Pike.
..... Click the link for more information. ); laid out 1859 on the site of a blockhouse built (1807) by Zebulon M. Pike Pike, Zebulon Montgomery, 1779–1813, American explorer, an army officer, b. Lamberton (now part of Trenton), N.J. He joined the army (c.1793) and was commissioned second lieutenant in 1799.
..... Click the link for more information. , inc. 1872. It is a health and tourist resort in a scenic area with mineral springs. Marble and limestone are quarried, and a variety of other minerals are found in the region. Tools and cement are manufactured. A state prison is located there.