Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs, city (1990 pop. 281,140), seat of El Paso co., central Colo., on Monument and Fountain creeks, at the foot of Pikes Peak; inc. 1886. It is a year-round resort and a booming military, technological, and commercial city. Electronic, computer, mining, and aerospace manufactures are important economically.

The town of El Dorado (later Colorado City) was founded on Fountain Creek by gold miners in 1859. In 1871, Gen. William Palmer and the Denver and Rio Grande RR established the city of Fountain Colony nearby; the modern name was adopted because of the many mineral springs in the area. Colorado Springs absorbed Colorado City in 1917. The city grew enormously in the late 20th cent.

The seat of Colorado College, a Univ. of Colorado branch, and Nazarene Bible College, Colorado Springs is also the site of a U.S. Olympic training center and the headquarters of Pike National Forest. The United States Air Force Academy is just north; also nearby are U.S. Fort Carson, Peterson Air Force Base, and Cheyenne Mountain.

---

Colorado Springs

City (pop., 2000: 360,890), central Colorado, U.S. Standing on a mesa near the eastern base of Pikes Peak, it was founded in 1871 as Fountain Colony and later renamed for nearby mineral springs. Growth followed the Cripple Creek gold strikes in the 1890s. Military installations gave further impetus to development: it is home to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and the U.S. Space Command, headquartered at Peterson Air Force Base (established 1942); Fort Carson (1942); and the U.S. Air Force Academy (1958). The Garden of the Gods, a natural park with red sandstone monoliths, is one of many scenic attractions.

---

Colorado Springs

a city and resort in central Colorado. Pop.: 370 448 (2003 est.)