San Juan Mountains
Encyclopedia
The San Juan Mountains are a high and rugged mountain range
in the Rocky Mountains
in southwestern Colorado
. The area is highly mineral
ized (the Colorado Mineral Belt
) and figured in the gold
and silver
mining industry of early Colorado. Major towns, all old mining camps, include Creede
, Lake City
, Silverton
, Ouray
, and Telluride
. Large scale mining has ended in the region, although independent prospectors still work claims throughout the range. The last large scale mines were the Sunnyside Mine near Silverton, which operated until late in the 20th century and the Idarado Mine
on Red Mountain Pass
that closed down in the 1970s. Famous old San Juan mines include the Camp Bird
and Smuggler Union mines, both located between Telluride and Ouray.
The Summitville mine
was the scene of a major environmental disaster in the 1990s when the liner of a cyanide
-laced tailing pond began leaking heavily. Summitville is in the Summitville caldera
, one of many extinct volcano
es making up the San Juan volcanic field
. One, La Garita Caldera
, is 35 miles (56.3 km) in diameter. Large beds of lava
, some extending under the floor of the San Luis Valley
, are characteristic of the eastern slope of the San Juans.
Tourism
is now a major part of the regional economy, with the narrow gauge railway between Durango
and Silverton being an attraction in the summer. Jeep
ing is popular on the old trails which linked the historic mining camps, including the notorious Black Bear Road
. Visiting old ghost town
s is popular, as is wilderness trekking and mountain climbing. Many of the old mining camps are now popular sites of summer homes. The San Juans are extremely steep; only Telluride has made the transition to a major ski resort. Purgatory (now known as Durango Mountain Resort
) is a small ski area north of Durango near the Tamarron Resort. There is also skiing on Wolf Creek Pass
at the Wolf Creek ski area
. Recently Silverton Mountain ski area has begun operation near Silverton.
The Rio Grande
rises on the east side of the range. The other side of the San Juans, the western slope of the continental divide
, is drained by tributaries of the San Miguel
, Dolores
and Gunnison
rivers, which all flow into the Colorado River.
The San Juan
and Uncompahgre
National Forests cover a large portion of the San Juan Mountains.
(SJDMA) in 1903, as a direct result of a Western Federation of Miners
proposal to the Telluride Mining Association for the eight hour day
, which had been approved in a referendum by 72 percent of Colorado voters.Roughneck—The Life and Times of Big Bill Haywood, Peter Carlson, 1983, page 65. The new association consolidated the power of thirty-six mining properties in San Miguel
, Ouray
, and San Juan
counties.The Corpse On Boomerang Road, Telluride's War On Labor 1899-1908, MaryJoy Martin, 2004, page 201. The SJDMA refused to consider any reduction in hours or increase in wages, helping to provoke a bitter strike.
Mountain range
A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
in the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
in southwestern Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. The area is highly mineral
Mineral
A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...
ized (the Colorado Mineral Belt
Colorado Mineral Belt
The Colorado Mineral Belt is an area with abundant ore deposits. The area stretches north-east from the La Plata Mountains in Southwestern Colorado to the Front Range near Boulder, Colorado...
) and figured in the gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
and silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
mining industry of early Colorado. Major towns, all old mining camps, include Creede
Creede, Colorado
The historic town of Creede is a Statutory Town that is the county seat of, and the only incorporated municipality in, Mineral County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 377 at the U.S. Census 2000.-History:...
, Lake City
Lake City, Colorado
The Town of Lake City is a Statutory Town that is the county seat of, and the only incorporated municipality in, Hinsdale County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 375 at the U.S. Census 2000...
, Silverton
Silverton, Colorado
The town of Silverton is a Statutory Town that is the county seat of, and the only incorporated municipality in, San Juan County, Colorado, United States. Silverton is a former silver mining camp, most or all of which is now included in a federally designated National Historic Landmark District,...
, Ouray
Ouray, Colorado
The historic City of Ouray is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Ouray County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 813 at the U.S. Census 2000 and 1,000 as of the U.S. Census 2010...
, and Telluride
Telluride, Colorado
The town of Telluride is the county seat and most populous town of San Miguel County in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Colorado. The town is a former silver mining camp on the San Miguel River in the western San Juan Mountains...
. Large scale mining has ended in the region, although independent prospectors still work claims throughout the range. The last large scale mines were the Sunnyside Mine near Silverton, which operated until late in the 20th century and the Idarado Mine
Idarado Mine
The Idarado Mine was a gold mining operation in the San Juan Mountains of Ouray County, Colorado. The mine is within the Sneffels-Red Mountain-Telluride mining district. The remains of the operation are visible from the Million Dollar Highway, north of Red Mountain Pass, between Ouray and...
on Red Mountain Pass
Red Mountain Pass
Red Mountain Pass elevation is a mountain pass in the San Juan Mountains of western Coloradoin the United States.The pass straddles a divide that separates Ouray and San Juan counties. The pass is named for the nearby Red Mountain 1, 2 and, 3 on the northeast side of the pass...
that closed down in the 1970s. Famous old San Juan mines include the Camp Bird
Camp Bird Mine
The Camp Bird Mine is a famous and highly-productive old gold mine located between Ouray and Telluride, Colorado. The mine is within the Sneffels-Red Mountain-Telluride mining district in the San Juan Mountains....
and Smuggler Union mines, both located between Telluride and Ouray.
The Summitville mine
Summitville mine
The Summitville mine was a gold mining site in Rio Grande County, Colorado south of Del Norte. It is remembered for the environmental damage caused in the 1980s by the accidental leakage of mining by-products into local waterways and then the Alamosa River....
was the scene of a major environmental disaster in the 1990s when the liner of a cyanide
Cyanide
A cyanide is a chemical compound that contains the cyano group, -C≡N, which consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Cyanides most commonly refer to salts of the anion CN−. Most cyanides are highly toxic....
-laced tailing pond began leaking heavily. Summitville is in the Summitville caldera
Caldera
A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption, such as the one at Yellowstone National Park in the US. They are sometimes confused with volcanic craters...
, one of many extinct volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
es making up the San Juan volcanic field
San Juan volcanic field
The San Juan volcanic field, located in southwestern Colorado, contains two distinct phases of volcanism. The earlier volcanism is Oligocene in age, and consists of largely intermediate composition lavas and breccias. A few ash flow tuffs also constitute this phase of volcanism. Later volcanism is...
. One, La Garita Caldera
La Garita Caldera
La Garita Caldera is a large volcanic caldera located in the San Juan volcanic field in the San Juan Mountains near the town of Creede in southwestern Colorado, United States. It lies to the west of the town of La Garita, Colorado...
, is 35 miles (56.3 km) in diameter. Large beds of lava
Lava
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
, some extending under the floor of the San Luis Valley
San Luis Valley
The San Luis Valley is an extensive alpine valley in the U.S. states of Colorado and New Mexico covering approximately and sitting at an average elevation of above sea level. The valley sits atop the Rio Grande Rift and is drained to the south by the Rio Grande River, which rises in the San Juan...
, are characteristic of the eastern slope of the San Juans.
Tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
is now a major part of the regional economy, with the narrow gauge railway between Durango
Durango, Colorado
The City of Durango is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of La Plata County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau said that the city population was 16,887 in 2010 census.-History:...
and Silverton being an attraction in the summer. Jeep
Jeep
Jeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler . The first Willys Jeeps were produced in 1941 with the first civilian models in 1945, making it the oldest off-road vehicle and sport utility vehicle brand. It inspired a number of other light utility vehicles, such as the Land Rover which is the second...
ing is popular on the old trails which linked the historic mining camps, including the notorious Black Bear Road
Black Bear Road
Black Bear Road is a notorious jeep trail that starts from summit of Red Mountain Pass on U.S. Highway 550 to Telluride, Colorado. The Black Bear Road crests at Black Bear Pass, elevation . The road descends over a set of infamous switchbacks as it navigates the heights above Telluride. The road...
. Visiting old ghost town
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
s is popular, as is wilderness trekking and mountain climbing. Many of the old mining camps are now popular sites of summer homes. The San Juans are extremely steep; only Telluride has made the transition to a major ski resort. Purgatory (now known as Durango Mountain Resort
Durango Mountain Resort
Durango Mountain Resort, also known by its former name Purgatory is a ski resort located in the San Juan Mountains of Southwest Colorado, north of the town of Durango. It was originally opened in 1965 and offers 85 trails, including 2 terrain parks, the Paradise Freestyle Arena and Pitchfork...
) is a small ski area north of Durango near the Tamarron Resort. There is also skiing on Wolf Creek Pass
Wolf Creek Pass
Wolf Creek Pass is a high mountain pass on the Continental Divide, in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. It is the route through which U.S. Highway 160 passes from the San Luis Valley into southwest Colorado on its way to New Mexico and Arizona. The pass is notable as inspiration of a C. W....
at the Wolf Creek ski area
Wolf Creek ski area
Wolf Creek Ski Area is a ski area in southwest Colorado, located on the Wolf Creek Pass between Pagosa Springs and South Fork. It is best known for receiving more average annual snowfall than any other resort in Colorado, at about 465 inches per year....
. Recently Silverton Mountain ski area has begun operation near Silverton.
The Rio Grande
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...
rises on the east side of the range. The other side of the San Juans, the western slope of the continental divide
Continental divide
A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not connected to the open sea...
, is drained by tributaries of the San Miguel
San Miguel River (Colorado)
The San Miguel River is a tributary of the Dolores River, approximately 90 mi long in southwestern Colorado in the United States...
, Dolores
Dolores River
The Dolores River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately 250 mi long, in the U.S. states of Colorado and Utah....
and Gunnison
Gunnison River
The Gunnison River is a tributary of the Colorado River, long, in the Southwest state of Colorado. It is the fifth largest tributary of the Colorado River, with a mean flow of 4320 ft³/s .-Description:...
rivers, which all flow into the Colorado River.
The San Juan
San Juan National Forest
The San Juan National Forest is a U.S. National Forest covering over 1,878,846 acres in Archuleta, Conjeos, Dolores, Hinsdale, La Plata, Mineral, Montezuma, Rio Grande, San Miguel and San Juan Counties in western Colorado. It borders the Uncompahgre National Forest to the north and the Rio Grande...
and Uncompahgre
Uncompahgre National Forest
Uncompahgre National Forest is a U.S. National Forest covering 955,229 acres in parts of Montrose, Mesa, San Miguel, Ouray, Gunnison, San Juan, and Delta Counties in western Colorado...
National Forests cover a large portion of the San Juan Mountains.
Prominent peaks
- Note: This is only a partial list of important peaks in the San Juans, listing peaks by prominence only. There are dozens more summits over 12,000 feet.
| Rank Ranking A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either 'ranked higher than', 'ranked lower than' or 'ranked equal to' the second.... |
Mountain Peak Summit (topography) In topography, a summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematically, a summit is a local maximum in elevation... |
Elevation | Prominence Topographic prominence In topography, prominence, also known as autonomous height, relative height, shoulder drop , or prime factor , categorizes the height of the mountain's or hill's summit by the elevation between it and the lowest contour line encircling it and no higher summit... |
Isolation Topographic isolation The topographic isolation of a summit is the minimum horizontal distance to the nearest point of higher elevation. Topographic isolation represents a radius of dominance in which the summit is the highest point. Topographic isolation can be calculated for small hills and islands as well as for... |
|---|---|
| 1 | Uncompahgre Peak Uncompahgre Peak Uncompahgre Peak is the sixth highest mountain peak in the U.S. state of Colorado and is the highest peak of the San Juan Mountains. It is located in the Uncompahgre Wilderness in the northern San Juans, in northern Hinsdale County approximately 7 miles west of the town of Lake City.Uncompahgre... |
| 2 | Mount Wilson Mount Wilson (Colorado) Mount Wilson is a fourteen thousand foot mountain peak in the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the Lizard Head Wilderness in Dolores County approximately 10 miles north of Rico and 10 miles southwest of Telluride. It is the highest peak in the San Miguel Mountains, a subrange of the San... |
| 3 | Mount Sneffels Mount Sneffels Mount Sneffels is a fourteen thousand foot mountain peak in the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the Mount Sneffels Wilderness of the northern San Juan Mountains, in Ouray County approximately 5 miles west of the town of Ouray. The summit of Mount Sneffels is the highest point in Ouray... |
| 4 | Mount Eolus Mount Eolus Mount Eolus is a fourteener in the U.S. state of Colorado, the highest of the Needle Mountains . It is located in the Weminuche Wilderness in La Plata County approximately south of Silverton.Mount Eolus is one of three fourteeners in the Needle Mountains; the others are Sunlight Peak and Windom... |
| 5 | Handies Peak Handies Peak Handies Peak is a fourteen thousand foot mountain peak in the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the San Juan Mountains in Hinsdale County approximately south west of Lake City.-See also:* List of Colorado fourteeners* Mountain peaks of Colorado... |
| 6 | San Luis Peak San Luis Peak San Luis Peak is a fourteen thousand foot peak in the San Juan Mountains of the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the La Garita Wilderness in Saguache County approximately north of Creede... |
| 7 | Vermilion Peak Vermilion Peak Vermilion Peak is a mountain in Colorado. It is one of 637 Colorado peaks above 13,000 feet . It is located in the San Juan Range, and is the 74th highest mountain in Colorado. It is named Vermilion Peak because of the red-orange color it takes on when the sun shines on it. It is 9.7 miles ESE of... |
| 8 | Rio Grande Pyramid Rio Grande Pyramid Rio Grande Pyramid, elevation , is a mountain in Hinsdale County, Colorado. The summit is located 10.8 miles ENE of Jagged Mountain, Colorado.... |
| 9 | Mount Oso |
| 10 | Tower Mountain |
| 11 | Sultan Mountain |
| 12 | Summit Peak Summit Peak Summit Peak, elevation , sits on the Continental Divide in southern Colorado. The mountain is the highest point in the South San Juan Wilderness.... |
| 13 | Dolores Peak |
| 14 | Lavender Peak |
| 15 | Bennett Peak |
| 16 | Conejos Peak Conejos Peak Conejos Peak is a mountain peak in the San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado.... |
| 17 | Twilight Peak Twilight Peak Twilight Peak is in the San Juan Mountains of western Colorado in the United States, south of Silverton. Twilight peak is in the West Needle Mountains, a sub-range of the San Juans. The standard approach is via a trail from Molas Pass to the north... |
| 18 | South River Peak |
| 19 | Peak 13,010 |
| 20 | Lone Cone |
| 21 | Graham Peak Graham Peak Graham Peak is a peak about 7 nautical miles east of Mount Riiser-Larsen in the northwest part of the Tula Mountains in Enderby Land. It was plotted from air photos taken from ANARE aircraft in 1956, and was named by the Antarctic Names Committee of Australia for N. Graham, a cook at Wilkes... |
| 22 | Elliott Mountain |
| 23 | Cornwall Mountain |
| 24 | Sawtooth Mountain |
| 25 | Chalk Benchmark |
| 26 | Little Cone |
| 27 | Cochetopa Dome |
| 28 | Horse Mountain |
History of the area
Mining operators in the San Juan mountain area formed the San Juan District Mining AssociationMine Owners' Association
In the United States a Mine Owners' Association, also sometimes referred to as a Mine Operators' Association or a Mine Owners' Protective Association, is the combination of individual mining companies, or groups of mining companies, into an association, established for the purpose of promoting the...
(SJDMA) in 1903, as a direct result of a Western Federation of Miners
Western Federation of Miners
The Western Federation of Miners was a radical labor union that gained a reputation for militancy in the mines of the western United States and British Columbia. Its efforts to organize both hard rock miners and smelter workers brought it into sharp conflicts – and often pitched battles...
proposal to the Telluride Mining Association for the eight hour day
Eight-hour day
The eight-hour day movement or 40-hour week movement, also known as the short-time movement, had its origins in the Industrial Revolution in Britain, where industrial production in large factories transformed working life and imposed long hours and poor working conditions. With working conditions...
, which had been approved in a referendum by 72 percent of Colorado voters.Roughneck—The Life and Times of Big Bill Haywood, Peter Carlson, 1983, page 65. The new association consolidated the power of thirty-six mining properties in San Miguel
San Miguel County, Colorado
San Miguel County is one of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado of the United States. The county is named for the San Miguel River. The county population was 6,594 at U.S. Census 2000...
, Ouray
Ouray County, Colorado
Ouray County is one of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado in the United States. The county population was 3,742 at U.S. Census 2000. As of 2010, U.S. Census data place the population at 4,436. The county seat is the City of Ouray...
, and San Juan
San Juan County, Colorado
San Juan County is the least populous of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado in the United States. The county name is the Spanish language name for “Saint John”, the name Spanish explorers gave to a river and the mountain range in the area. The county population was 558 at U.S. Census 2000...
counties.The Corpse On Boomerang Road, Telluride's War On Labor 1899-1908, MaryJoy Martin, 2004, page 201. The SJDMA refused to consider any reduction in hours or increase in wages, helping to provoke a bitter strike.
See also
Subranges
- Sneffels RangeSneffels RangeThe Sneffels Range, regionally conterminous with San Juans, is the name of a young, prominent, rocky, range of mountains in southwestern Colorado of the San Juan Mountains. The Sneffels Range is often compared with the Grand Tetons because they both have a similar rugged appearance...
- Cimmaron RangeCimmaron RangeThe Cimmaron Range, locally Cimmarons, is a name given to a group of peaks in southwestern Colorado of the San Juan Mountains. The Cimmarons are within eastern Ouray County and are also oriented north-south.-Prominence:...
- Needle Mountains
- La Garita MountainsLa Garita MountainsDuring the Oligocene epoch, a series of caldera building eruptions of titanic proportions, some as large as VEI-8, devastated what is now Colorado and raised up the mountain chain, part of the San Juan Mountains. The La Garita supervolcano's mega-colossal eruption created 5000 km3 of tephra,...
- La Plata MountainsLa Plata MountainsThe La Plata Mountains are a small subrange of the San Juan Mountains in the southwestern part of Colorado, United States. They are located on the border between Montezuma and La Plata counties, about northwest of Durango. Their name is Spanish for silver.The peaks of the range are easily visible...
Other
- Geography of ColoradoGeography of ColoradoThe geography of the state of Colorado is diverse, encompassing both rugged mountainous terrain, vast plains, desert lands, desert canyons, and mesas. The state of Colorado is defined as the geospherical rectangle that stretches from 37°N to 41°N latitude and from 102°03'W to 109°03'W longitude . ...
- Mountain peaks of ColoradoMountain peaks of ColoradoThis article comprises three sortable tables of the major mountain peaks of the U.S. State of Colorado.Topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid, a precise mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface...
- Mountain peaks of the Rocky MountainsMountain peaks of the Rocky MountainsThis article comprises three sortable tables of major mountain peaks of the Rocky Mountains of North America.Topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid, a precise mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface...
- Mountain ranges of ColoradoMountain ranges of ColoradoThe following table lists the major mountain ranges of the U.S. State of Colorado.-Mountain Ranges:-See also:*4000 meter peaks of Colorado*Colorado mountain passes*Geography of Colorado*Lists of mountains*Mountain peaks of Colorado...
- Rocky MountainsRocky MountainsThe Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
Further reading
- Bove, D. et al. (2001). Geochronology and geology of Late Oligocene through Miocene volcanism and mineralization in the western San Juan Mountains, Colorado [U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1642]. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.
- Lippman, P.W. (2006). Geologic map of the central San Juan Caldera Cluster, southwestern Colorado [Geologic Investigations Series I-2799]. Reston, VA: U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.