Aspen, CO
| Aspen, Colorado | |
| Home Rule Municipality | |
 View south along Galena Street in downtown Aspen, 2010. The Aspen Mountain ski area is in the background.
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| Name origin: From trees around the city | |
| Country | United States |
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| State | Colorado |
| Region | Western Slope |
| County | Pitkin |
| River | Roaring Fork River |
| Elevation | 7,908 ft (2,410 m) |
| Highest point | At SW corner of city boundary |
| - elevation | 8,460 ft (2,579 m) |
| - coordinates | 39°10′54″N 106°50′26″W / 39.18167°N 106.84056°W |
| Lowest point | Roaring Fork at N corner of city |
| - elevation | 7,660 ft (2,335 m) |
| - coordinates | 39°12′38″N 106°50′22″W / 39.21056°N 106.83944°W |
| Area | 3.5 sq mi (9 km2) |
| Population | 6,658 (2010) |
| Density | 1,900/sq mi (734/km2) |
| Settled | 1879 |
| - Incorporation | 1881 |
| Government | Home Rule Municipality, council-manager |
| - location | Aspen City Hall |
| - elevation | 7,940 ft (2,420 m) |
| - coordinates | 39°11′22″N 106°49′5″W / 39.18944°N 106.81806°W |
| Mayor | Steve Skadron |
| City manager | Steve Barwick |
| Timezone | MST (UTC-7) |
| - summer (DST) | Mountain Daylight Time (UTC-6) |
| ZIP Code | 81611, 81612 (PO Boxes) |
| Area code | 970 |
| Exchanges | 920–925 |
| INCITS place code | 0803620 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0204686 |
  Location of Aspen in Colorado
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Location in the United States
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| Website: The City of Aspen & Pitkin County | |
Aspen is the Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. Its population was 6,658 at the 2010 United States Census. Aspen is situated in a remote area of the Rocky Mountains' Sawatch Range and Elk Mountains, along the Roaring Fork River at an elevation just below 8,000 feet (2,400 m) above sea level on the Western Slope, 11 miles (18 km) west of the Continental Divide.
Founded as a mining camp during the Colorado Silver Boom and later named "Aspen" because of the abundance of aspen trees in the area, the city boomed during the 1880s, its first decade of existence. That early era ended when the Panic of 1893 led to a collapse in the silver market, and the city began a half-century known as "the quiet years" during which its population steadily declined, reaching a nadir of less than a thousand by 1930. Aspen's fortunes reversed in the mid-20th century when neighboring Aspen Mountain was developed into a ski resort, and industrialist Walter Paepcke bought many properties in the city and redeveloped them. Today it is home to three renowned institutions, two of which Paepcke helped found, that have international importance: the Aspen Music Festival and School, the Aspen Institute, and the Aspen Center for Physics.
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