The City and County of Denver is the largest city and capital of the state of Colorado, United States of America. It is the largest city along the Front Range and forms the heart of the Denver-Aurora metropolitan area.

The city is located on the plains just east of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, which form a dramatic and awe inspiring skyline to the west. 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.

It is the county seat of, and coextensive with, Denver County — one of the few consolidated city-counties. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city was 554,636. Also as of the 2000 census [1], the population of the Denver-Aurora metropolitan area was 2,179,240, making it the 23rd-largest metropolitan area in the United States.

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 5,280 feet (1,609 m) above sea level. (The elevation is 5,431 ft [1,655 m], as surveyed at the Denver International Airport). Also, a row of seats in the upper deck of Coors Field, home of Major League Baseball’s Colorado Rockies (NL), is distinctively marked in purple (one of the team’s colors) to indicate that the row is one mile above sea level.

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.

In 2005, Denver became the first major city in the U.S. to make the private use of less than an ounce of marijuana legal for adults 21 and older. The city voted 53.49%-46.51% in favor of the marijuana legalization measure. It should be noted that this initiative does not usurp state law, which currently treats marijuana possession in much the same way as a speeding ticket, with fines of up to USD 100 and no jail time.