according to Wikipedia..."The City and County of Denver is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located on the plains just east of the Rocky Mountains and forms the heart of the Denver-Aurora metropolitan area. The central downtown district is on the east side of the South Platte River, near its confluence with Cherry Creek, approximately fifteen miles from the foothills.

Denver is nicknamed "The Mile-High City" because its official elevation, measured on the fifteenth step of the state capitol building's west side, is one statute mile (5,280 feet or 1,609 meters) above sea level. The city's elevation, as surveyed at Denver International Airport, is 5,431 ft (1,655 m).

Denver has also been known historically as the Queen City of the Plains because of its important role in the agricultural industry of the plains regions along the foothills of the Front Range. Several US Navy ships have been named USS Denver in honor of the city."

Visit the City and County of Denver web site at:
http://www.denvergov.org/