| ASPEN, city, seat of Pitkin Co., central Colorado, on the Roaring Fork R., in the Rocky Mts.; inc. 1881. At an elevation of about 2410 m (about 7900 ft) it is a stylish resort, famous for skiing and cultural events. Founded in 1879 by prospectors and named for trees in the area, Aspen was a booming silver-mining center until the demonetization of silver in the early 1890s. The modern resort city was developed after World War II by Walter P. Paepcke (1896-1960), a Chicago industrialist, who also founded the Aspen Music Festival and the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies here. Pop. (1980) 3678; (1990) 5049. |
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ASPEN, common name for certain trees of the genus Populus, particularly the so-called quaking aspens, several species of which have the petioles, or leafstalks, so compressed that the leaves can move easily from side to side but not up or down. A breeze sets all leaves of one of these trees into motion. The most familiar species are P. tremuloides, the American aspen, found in North America; P. grandidentata, the large-toothed aspen, found in eastern Canada and the U.S.; and P. tremula, the European aspen, found in Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa. |