Pikes Peak

Pikes Peak rises to 14,115 feet (4,302 m) in the Front Range of the Colorado Rockies, towering over Colorado Springs and the plains to the east. Though not the highest of Colorado's many "fourteeners," it is among the most famous, standing alone and visible from far out on the Great Plains — a landmark that guided gold-seekers west under the rallying cry "Pikes Peak or Bust." The view from its summit in 1893 inspired Katharine Lee Bates to write "America the Beautiful."

The peak's great isolation and its position at the edge of the plains make it loom larger than its height alone would suggest. A cog railway and a paved highway both climb to the summit, making it one of the most visited mountaintops in the country, while the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb races cars up its switchbacks. Pink granite weathered from the mountain gives the famous Garden of the Gods rocks at its foot their color.

• Colorado
  The highest state, crown of the Rocky Mountains located in
• The Rocky Mountains
  The backbone of western North America part of