The City of Colorado Springs is the second most populous city in the State of Colorado and the 49th most populous city in the United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of the city was 369,815 in 2005, a 2.47% increase since 2000. The city is the heart of the Colorado Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area and an important part of the Front Range Urban Corridor. The city is the county seat of El Paso County.
Colorado Springs is located just east of the geographic center of the state and 63 miles (101 kilometers) south of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. At an elevation of 6035 feet (1839 meters), Colorado Springs is well over one mile above sea level, though some areas of the city are significantly higher. The city is situated near the base of one of the most famous American mountains, Pikes Peak, at the eastern edge of the Southern Rocky Mountains.
Today, Colorado Springs has many features of a modern urban area, such as parks, bike trails, urban open-area spaces, business and commerce, theatres and other entertainment. It was first established as a posh resort community and the tourist industry has remained strong and offers many activities and attractions. In July 2006, Money magazine ranked Colorado Springs the best place to live in the big city category, which includes cities with 300,000 or more people.
Colorado Springs also is not exempt from the problems that typically plague cities that experience tremendous growth: overcrowded roads and highways, crime, sprawl, and government budget issues. Many of the problems are indirectly or directly caused by the city's difficulty in coping with the large population growth experienced in the last 20 years. In 2004, the voters of Colorado Springs and El Paso County established the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority and adopted a 1% sales tax dedicated to improving the region's transportation infrastructure. Together with state funding for COSMIX (2007 completion) and the I-25 interchange with Highway 16 (2008 completion), significant progress has been made since 2003 in addressing the transportation needs of the area.
A large number of religious organizations and churches make their headquarters here, particularly Evangelical Christians. Several high-tech businesses have resided in the city, including a number of computer chip manufacturers (e.g. Intel, and the legendary chip foundary INMOS). The Mountain West Conference has its administrative headquarters in Colorado Springs.
Colorado Springs is also home to a large number of military installations and important national defense agencies. It is also home to the United States Air Force Academy, one of only five military academies in the entire country.
Much of the Springs tourism comes from the area it was built around, most famously Pikes Peak. The city is host to numerous trails and parks due to its close proximity to the Rocky Mountains, making the city a popular destination for its scenery. With the mountains as close as they are the Springs has also gained notority for its rock formations and other geological features. There are many attractions in the area, including:
Cave of the Winds
According to the Colorado Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau, the area attracts some six million visitors yearly.
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