The cheeseburger was allegedly invented in Denver by Louis Ballast who operated the Humpty Dumpty Barrel drive-in. He applied for a patent on his now famous invention in 1935. It has been speculated that he wasn’t the first person to add cheese to a hamburger, but nobody has an earlier patent, and no evidence to debunk his claim has emerged.[3]

Denver was an important place for the “beat generation.” Beat icon Neal Cassady was raised on Larimer Street in Denver, and a portion of Jack Kerouac’s beat masterpiece On the Road takes place in the city, and is based on the beat’s actual experiences in Denver during a road trip. Beat poet Allen Ginsberg lived for a time in the Denver suburb of Lakewood, Colorado, and he helped found the Buddhist college, Naropa University or the “Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa” in nearby Boulder, Colorado.

Geography and climate

Denver is located at 39°43′35″ North, 104°57′56″ West (39.726287, -104.965486)GR1 in the Colorado Front Range region. It has the Rocky Mountains to the west and the great plains to the east.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 401.3 km² (154.9 mi²). 397.2 km² (153.4 mi²) of it is land and 4.1 km² (1.6 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 1.03% water.

Climate

Denver has a semi-arid climate characterized by dry winters, wetter springs, low-humidity summers, and pleasant falls. While Denver is located on the Great Plains, the weather of the city and surrounding area is heavily influenced by the proximity of the Rocky Mountains to the west. In the winter, the storms that dump huge amounts of snow in the mountains get blocked by the towering Front Range mountains. So, Denver tends to have dry winters that receive less snow than one may expect. In the late spring and early summer, the warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico influences the area and thunderstorms are prevalent, especially in the afternoon. Late summer thunderstorms are also common, fueled by tropical moisture from Mexico called the “monsoonal flow.”

The climate, while considered mild compared to the mountains to the west and the plains further east, can often be very unpredictable. An often-repeated saying of Denverites is “If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes.” Measurable amounts of snow have fallen in Denver as late as Memorial Day and as early as Labor Day, although trace amounts have been recorded in June.

Denver averages 15.4 inches (391 mm) of precipitation per year. The average annual snowfall is around 60 inches. Although Denver’s Convention and Visitor Bureau claims Denver receives over 300 sunny days a year [4], the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says Denver receives about 250 days of sunshine a year [5]. January’s average daily high is 43° F with a daily low of 15°F. July’s average high is 88°F with a low of 59°F. [6]