Front Range, an eastern range of the U.S. Rocky Mts., bordering the Great Plains, and extending c.300 mi/483 km S from SE Wyo. to the Arkansas R., S central Colo. It has several peaks, including Gray’s Peak and Pikes Peak, that are more than 14,000 ft/4,267 m high. Also included are several lesser ranges, especially Rampart Range, NW of Colorado Springs, Green Ridge, W of Ft. Collins, and Medicine Bow Mts., W of Laramie. The Colorado, Arkansas, South Platte, and North Platte rivers are the largest streams rising in the range. Except for the lower Arkansas, the regions that these rivers flow through are either arid or semiarid, receiving little retainable rainfall, making the snowcapped Front Range one of the most significant water sources in N. Amer. Most of Colorado’s pop. is located along the range’s E foothills. The Front Range was scouted by U.S. explorers Zebulon Pike, in 1806–1807, and Stephen Long, in 1819–1820. In 1858 gold was discovered at Cripple Creek, Colo., and goldseekers rushed into the S Front Range. Most of the range is in natl. forests; Rocky Mt. Natl. Park is located in the north.
