"Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in the center portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located 65 miles (105 km) south of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. At 6,035 feet (1,839 m) the city stands over one mile (1.6 km) above sea level, though some areas of the city are significantly higher and lower. Colorado Springs is situated near the base of one of the most famous American mountains, Pikes Peak, in the eastern edge of the Southern Rocky Mountains. The city is often referred to as """"The Springs."""" With a population of 416,427 as of the 2010 Census, it is the second most populous city in the state of Colorado, behind Denver, and the 41st most populous city in the United States, while the Colorado Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area had an estimated population of 645,613 in 2010.The city covers 194.7 square miles (504 km2), making it Colorado's largest city in area. Colorado Springs was selected as the No. 1 Best Big City in """"Best Places to Live"""" by Money magazine in 2006,and placed number one in Outside's 2009 list of America's Best Cities. Colorado Springs Utilities a municipal utility, provides electricity, natural gas, water, and wastewater services to customers in the Pikes Peak region. The company offers electric services, including energy cooling, green power, and life support notification services. It also owns and maintains a network of pipes that delivers natural gas to commercial and residential customers, as well as provides line inspection, main extension, and meter testing services. The company also provides water services, including frozen service lines, southern delivery system, and water storage reservoir services, energy information services program that enables to investigate electric and gas use through an Internet-based system, development services, including contact development, land development review, construction drawing review, and building permit review services, and procurement and contract services. Colorado Springs Utilities was founded in 1924 and is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado."