County seat: Colorado Springs. County population: over 500,000. The eastern two-thirds of the county is treeless and browned from the relentless sun and lack of rain of Colorado. Further west, the suburban sprawl begins and the flat portion of the western third of the county is the city of Colorado Springs. The extreme western portion of the county is the Rampart Range, part of the Rocky Mountains. Most of the Rampart wall appears to be higher than 10,000 feet, especially Pikes Peak which is directly west of the "Springs" at 14,410 feet. The northern part of the county is atypically forested and named the Black Forest.