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Pikes Peak (formerly Pike's Peak, see below) is a mountain in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, near Colorado Springs, Colorado. It is named for Zebulon Pike, an explorer who led an expedition to the southern Colorado area in 1806. It is one of the 53 peaks in Colorado (known as "fourteeners")
whose summits are taller than 14,000 feet. It is not the tallest, however; that distinction falls to Mount Elbert (14,440 feet (4401 m))
Much of the fame of Pikes Peak is due to its location near the eastern edge of the Rockies. Unlike most other similarly tall
mountains in Colorado, it serves as a visible landmark for many miles to the east, far into the Great Plains. Pike's Peak or Bust became the slogan of pioneers who travelled westward from other parts of the United
States. Driving south on Interstate 25 from the city of Fort Collins, it comes into view over a hundred and thirty miles away. It is also notable for its
imposing view both from the east
(167Kb image) and from the west
(179Kb image).
Katharine Lee Bates was moved to write the words to the
song "America the Beautiful" after having visited the top
of Pikes Peak.
Pikes Peak is home to an annual hillclimb race, made famous worldwide by a short film featuring Ari Vatanen driving his Peugeot up the steep, twisty slopes of the
summit road. Tourists may also take a cog railway, the Manitou and Pike's Peak Railway, up to the
top of the mountain.
Originally the peak was called "Pike's Peak", but in 1891, the newly-formed US Board on Geographic Names recommended against
the use of apostrophes in names, so officially the name of the peak does not include an apostrophe. In addition, in 1978 the Colorado state legislature passed a law mandating the use of "Pikes Peak" only. Even so,
the old name is still often seen.
Pikes Peak is made of a characteristic pink granite, called Pikes peak granite. The pink
color is due to a large amount of potassium feldspar. The
granite was formed by an igneous intrusion in the Pre-Cambrian age,
approximately 1.1 billion years ago, during the Granville orogeny.
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