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Did You Ever Wonder? ~ A column published Sundays in The Gazette in Colorado Springs, CO.

Give it a shot: What’s the highest spot in the city?

June 19th, 2009, 1:40 pm · 1 Comment · posted by Linda Navarro

What is the highest point in the city of Colorado Springs?
— Matthias Learned

ANSWER
Well, readers, what’s your guess? Many in our newsroom thought it was Pikes Peak or the city reservoirs on Pikes Peak, but these aren’t inside the city limits.
Next most favorite guesses: Blodgett Peak and the antenna farm on Cheyenne Mountain.
The winner: Look southwest to “The Horns,” the northern peak of Cheyenne Mountain standing 9,212 feet tall. Phil Friesen of the city’s Department of Information Technology pinpointed it for us.
It’s in the city up to where private land abuts Pike National Forest. Another section of the mountain, which had been homesteaded, is in Cheyenne Mountain State Park. The antennas aren’t in the city.
In 1925 Spencer Penrose built a zigzagging highway to the top of the northern peak, where he added a now-razed Southwestern lodge. The peak is called “The Horns” because its pointy rocks look like a dragon’s head.
For Blodgett Peak look toward Rockrimmon. The part of the peak in the city is 8216 feet, according to Parks and Recreation Department cartographers, although the summit is 9423.
Cedar Heights, above Garden of the Gods, soars to 7,670 feet where there are lots and homes. However, reported Jennifer Kudla of the Cedar Heights Sales Office, the development’s Solitude Park, running from the developed area to Pike National Forest, is higher. A helpful Cedar Heights resident used his GPS to measure Solitude Park, which rises to 8,200 feet.
Now, just for fun, what’s the lowest point in the city?
Friesen mapped that too and found it “about 10.9 miles east of ‘The Horns’ along Fontaine Boulevard, midway between Powers Boulevard and Marksheffel Road. The elevation here is 5,706 feet. That makes for a pretty impressive elevation difference of 3,506 feet within the City!”
Our thanks to everyone who helped us find the answers.

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 One Comment

  • Linda Baker says:

    I’ve wondered how CO cities’ elevations are determined?

    Obviously, it’s not the highest or lowest point, as Co Spgs stated elevation is 6035 ft above sea level.

    Is it an average of the lowest and highest? The center of the city? Or is it some other factor that determines the stated elevation?

    Thank you.
    Linda : )

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