PIKES PEAK

peak in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains in El Paso County, Colorado, U.S., 10 mi (16 km) west of Colorado Springs. It ranks 32nd in altitude (14,110 ft ) among Colorado peaks and is widely known because of its commanding location and easy accessibility. Located on the edge of the Great Plains, it is in the southeastern corner of Pike National Forest; to the southwest is the famous Cripple Creek gold district. Ascent to the summit (a fairly level area of about 60 ac ) may be easily accomplished by trail, cog railway (8.75 mi), or automobile toll road (18 mi). An average snowfall of about 9 1/2 ft on the northern slope and 14 ft on the southern assures skiing conditions. Colorado Springs draws its main water supply from Pikes Peak Watershed. The timberline is between 11,400 and 12,000 ft; above it rise nearly 2,500 ft of bare granite. The view from the summit is said to have inspired Katharine Lee Bates to write America the Beautiful in 1893. The peak was discovered in November 1806 by Lieut. Zebulon Pike, who abandoned his attempt to climb it because of snow and a lack of warm clothing. It was climbed by Edwin James, J. Verplank, and Z. Wilson of Maj. Stephen Harriman Long's expedition on July 1415, 1820; this was the first recorded ascent of a 14,000-ft peak in any area of what became the United States. Long named the mountain for James, but common usage had bestowed Pike's name upon it by 1859, when it became the focal point of a gold rush with the slogan Pikes Peak or bust.