Colorado Springs

The City of Colorado Springs is the Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in the east central portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located 60 miles (97 km) south of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. At 6,035 feet (1,839 m) the city stands over one mile (1.6 km) above sea level, though some areas of the city are significantly higher and lower. Colorado Springs is situated near the base of one of the most famous American mountains, Pikes Peak, rising over 8,000 feet above the city on the eastern edge of the Southern Rocky Mountains. The United States Air Force Academy is located in Colorado Springs.

The city had an estimated population of 439,886 in 2013,ranking as the second most populous city in the state of Colorado, behind Denver, and the 41st most populous city in the United States. The Colorado Springs, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area had an estimated population of 678,319 in 2013.The city covers 194.7 square miles (504 km2), making it the most extensive municipality in Colorado. Colorado Springs was selected as the No. 1 Best Big City in “Best Places to Live” by Money magazine in 2006,and placed number one in Outside’s 2009 list of America’s Best Cities

HISTORY

Ute, Arapahoe and Cheyenne peoples were the first to use the area which would become Colorado Springs. Part of the territory included in the United States’ 1803 Louisiana Purchase, the current city area was designated part of the 1854 Kansas Territory. In 1859 after the first local settlement was established, it became part of the Jefferson Territory on October 24 and of El Paso County on November 28. Colorado City at the Front Range confluence of Fountain and Camp creeks was “formally organized on August 13, 1859″during the Pikes Peak Gold Rush. It served as the capital of the Colorado Territory from November 5, 1861, until August 14, 1862 when it was moved to the Denver City.

In 1871 the Colorado Springs Company laid out the towns of La Font (later called Manitou Springs) and Fountain Colony, upstream and downstream respectively, of Colorado City. Within a year, Fountain Colony would be renamed Colorado Springs, and was officially incorporated. The El Paso County seat shifted from Colorado City in 1873 to the Town of Colorado Springs. On December 1, 1880, Colorado Springs expanded northward with 2 annexations

The 2nd period of annexations was during 1889-90, and included Seavey’s Addition, West Colorado Springs, East End, and another North End addition. In 1891 the Broadmoor Land Company built the Broadmoor suburb, which included the Broadmoor Casino, and by December 12, 1895, the city had “four Mining Exchanges and 275 mining brokers.”By 1898, the city was designated into quadrants by the north-south Cascade Avenue and the east-west Washington/Pike’s Peak avenues

From 1899 to 1901 Tesla Experimental Station operated on Knob Hill,and aircraft flights to the Broadmoor’s neighboring fields began in 1919. The Alexander Airport north of the city opened in 1925 and in 1927, the Original Colorado Springs Municipal Airport land was purchased east of the city

In World War II the United States Army Air Forces leased land adjacent to the municipal airfield, naming it “Peterson Field” in December 1942. This was only one of several military presences in and around Colorado Springs during the war.

In November 1950, Ent Air Force Base, was selected as the Cold War headquarters for Air Defense Command (ADC). The former WWII Army Air Base, Peterson Field, which had been inactivated at the end of the war, was re-opened in 1951 as a USAF base. The 1950s through 1970s saw a continued expansion of the military presence in the area with the establishment of NORAD’s headquarters in the city, as well as the ADCOM Headquarters.

Between 1965 and 1968 the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Pikes Peak Community College and the Colorado Technical University were established in or near the city. In 1977, most of the former Ent AFB became a US Olympic Training Center.

On October 1, 1981, “the Broadmoor Addition”, Cheyenne Canon, Ivywild, Skyway, and Stratton Meadows were annexed after the Colorado Supreme Court “overturned a district court decision that voided the annexation”. Further annexations expanding the city include the “Nielson Addition” and “Vineyard Commerce Park Annexation” in September 2008.

GEOGRAPHY

Colorado Springs has a semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk), and its location just east of the Rocky Mountains affords it the rapid warming influence from chinook winds during winter but also subjects it to drastic day-to-day variability in weather conditions.The city has abundant sunshine year-round, averaging over 300 sunny days per year, and receives approximately 16.5 inches (419 mm) of annual precipitation. Due to unusually low precipitation for several years after flooding in 1999, Colorado Springs enacted lawn water restrictions in 2002. These were lifted in 2005.

Colorado Springs is also one of the most active lightning strike areas in the United States. This natural phenomenon led Nikola Tesla to select Colorado Springs as the preferred location to build his lab and study electricity

Seasonal climate

Winters range from mild to moderately cold, with December, the coldest month, averaging 30.8 °F (−0.7 °C); historically January has been the coldest month, but, in recent years, December has had both lower daily maxima and minima.Typically, there are 5.2 nights with sub-0 °F (−18 °C) lows and 23.6 days where the high does not rise above freezing, and extended sub-zero (°F) cold snaps are possible but infrequent. Snowfall is usually moderate and remains on the ground briefly because of direct sun, with the city receiving 38 inches (97 cm) per season, although the mountains to the west often receive in excess of triple that amount; March is the snowiest month in the region, both by total accumulation and number of days with measurable snowfall. In addition, 8 of the top 10 heaviest 24-hour snowfalls have occurred from March to May. Summers are warm, with July, the warmest month, averaging 70.9 °F (21.6 °C), and 18 days of 90 °F (32 °C)+ highs annually. Due to the high elevation and aridity, nights are usually relatively cool and rarely does the low remain above 70 °F (21 °C). Dry weather generally prevails, but brief afternoon thunderstorms are common, especially in July and August when the city receives the majority of its annual rainfall, due to the North American Monsoon

The first autumn freeze and the last freeze in the spring on average occur on October 2 and May 6, respectively; the average window for measurable snowfall (≥0.1 in or 0.25 cm) is October 21 thru April 25. Extreme temperatures range from 101 °F (38 °C) on June 26, 2012 down to −27 °F (−33 °C) on February 1, 1951 and December 9, 1919.

DEMOGRAPHICS

As of the 2010 census, the population of Colorado Springs was 416,427(41st most populous U.S. city),and the population of the Colorado Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area was 645,613 in 2010 (84th most populous MSA), and the population of the Front Range Urban Corridor in Colorado was an estimated 4,166,855.

As of the April 2010 census:78.8% White, 16.1% Hispanic or Latino (of any race), 6.3% Black or African American, 3.0% Asian, 1.0% Native American, 0.3% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 5.5% Some other race, 5.1% Two or more races. Mexican Americans made up 14.6% of the city’s population. The median age in the city was 35 years. Non-Hispanic Whites were 70.7% of the population,compared to 86.6% in 1970.

ECONOMY

Colorado Springs’ economy is driven primarily by the military, the high-tech industry, and tourism, in that order. The city is currently experiencing some growth mainly in the service sectors. The current unemployment rate, as of November 2013, in Colorado Springs is 7.3% compared to 6.5% for the State and 7.0% for the Nation

Defense industry

The defense industry plays a major role in the Colorado Springs economy, with some of the city’s largest employers coming from the sector.A large segment of this industry is dedicated to the development and operation of various projects for missile defense. With its close ties to defense, the aerospace industry has also influenced the Colorado Springs economy. Although some defense corporations have left or downsized city campuses, a slight growth trend is still recorded. Significant defense corporations in the city include Boeing, General Dynamics, Harris Corporation, SAIC, ITT, L-3 Communications, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman.The Space Foundation is based in Colorado Springs.

High-tech industry

A large percentage of Colorado Springs’ economy is still based on manufacturing high tech and complex electronic equipment. The high tech sector in the Colorado Springs area has decreased its overall presence from 2000 to 2006 (from around 21,000 down to around 8,000), with notable reductions in information technology and complex electronic equipment. Due to a slowing in tourism, the high tech sector still remains second to the military in terms of total revenue generated and employment.Current trends project the high tech employment ratio will continue to decrease in the near future

High tech corporations with connections to the city include:

Verizon Business, a telecommunications firm, had nearly 1300 employees in 2008.Hewlett-Packard has a large sales, support, and SAN storage engineering center for the computer industry.

Storage Networking Industry Association is the home of the SNIA Technology Center.Agilent, spun off from HP in 1999 as an independent, publicly traded company.Intel had 250 employees in 2009.The facility is now used for the centralized unemployment and social services complex

LSI Corporation designs semiconductors and software that accelerate storage and networking in datacenters and mobile networks. Atmel (formerly Honeywell), is a chip fabrication organization. Cypress Semiconductor Colorado Design Center is a chip fabrication research and development site.[citation needed] The Apple Inc. facility was sold to Sanmina-SCI in 1996.