It extends from the Front Range of the Rockies in central Colorado eastward approximately 80 miles toward the town of Limon.
[citation needed] For much of its length, it travels very roughly along the northern border of El Paso County.
The elevation along the divide varies between about 6,000 and 7,887 feet (1,829 and 2,404 m), with the high point being Bald Mountain in southern Douglas County.
This uplifted area causes a slight increase in precipitation from the rest of eastern Colorado, resulting in the presence of the Black Forest, a peninsula of trees surrounded by dryer grassland plains.
[citation needed] Cities and towns near the Palmer Divide include Parker, Castle Rock, Franktown, Elizabeth, Kiowa, Elbert, Sedalia, Larkspur, Palmer Lake, Monument, and unincorporated communities north of Colorado Springs, such as Gleneagle, Black Forest, and Woodmoor.