Pikes Peak Tidbits

Pikes Peak - America's Mountain

image source
Pikes Peak and downtown Colorado Springs

• Pikes Peak is a mountain in Colorado's Front Range and also a part of the Rocky Mountains
• At an elevation of 14, 110ft. it is the eastern most 14,000ft. peak in the U.S.
• Pikes Peak ranks 31st out of the 54 mountains in the state of Colorado that are over 14,000 ft. in elevation

image source

• At sunrise the shadow cast by Pikes Peak can extend as far as 50 miles to the west
• Pikes Peak is composed of pink granite called Pikes Peak granite
• In the early Spring and early Autumn, some of the shadows cast by Pikes Peak resemble Abe Lincoln. Though some say it looks more like Uncle Sam. Best viewing times: mid-day in late February and late October

image source

• A trip to the summit of Pikes Peak inspired English professor, Katharine Lee Bates to write a poem - America the Beautiful, which was later put to music and became the song by the same name
• The first American credited with seeing Pikes Peak is Zebulon Pike

image source
Pikes Peak as seen from about 30 miles away to the East

• When gold was first discovered in Colorado (in an area of present day Denver) in 1858, eastern newspapers referred to the mining area as "Pikes Peak". This was because Pikes Peak was one of the first things travelers saw as they came across the eastern plains of Colorado. Thus, "Pikes Peak or Bust" became the slogan for the Colorado Gold Rush, even though gold wouldn't be discovered in the Pikes Peak area until 1890.
• Pikes Peak can be seen as far away as 80 miles to the east

image source
Old photo of Pikes Peak from the west near Cripple Creek

• Pikes Peak is a designated National Historic Landmark
• Pikes Peak is the most visited mountain in North America and the second most visited mountain in the world! Second only to Mt. Fuji in Japan.
• At the summit, the oxygen level is about 60% of that at sea level

image source

• The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, also known as The Race to the Clouds, is an annual automobile and motorcycle race to the summit of Pikes Peak. It is the second oldest automobile race in the U.S. The track measures approx. 12 1/2 miles over 156 turns & climbs over 4, 720 ft. The track used to be dirt but now the Pikes Peak highway is fully paved

image source
Pikes Peak as seen from the Garden of the Gods

• The Ute Indians, native to this area, called Pikes Peak, Tavakiev (Sun Mountain). Pikes Peak is a sacred place to the Utes (more on this next week), believing that their people emerged into this world from the slopes of this majestic mountain.

Don't forget to enter my September Give-Away!

Click Here to Enter!