San Juan Mountains

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San Juan Mountains

The San Juan Mountains are a rugged mountain rangeMountain range Summary

A mountain range is a group of mountains bordered by lowlands or separated from other mountain ranges by passes or rivers....
in the Rocky MountainsRocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains, often called the Rockies, are a broad mountain range in western North America....
in southwestern ColoradoColorado

Colorado is a state in the western United States....
. The area is highly mineralFacts About Mineral

Minerals are natural compounds formed through geological processes....
ized (the Colorado Mineral BeltColorado Mineral Belt

The Colorado Mineral Belt is an area with abundant ore deposits....
) and figured in the goldGold

Gold is a highly sought-after precious metal that for many centuries has been used as money, a store of value and in jewelry...
and silverSilver

Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag ....
mining industry of early Colorado. Major towns, all old mining camps, include CreedeCreede, Colorado

Creede is a town in Mineral County, Colorado, United States....
, Lake CityLake City, Colorado

Lake City is a town in Hinsdale County, Colorado, United States....
, SilvertonSilverton, Colorado

Silverton is a town in San Juan County, Colorado....
, OurayOuray, Colorado

Ouray is a city in Ouray County, Colorado, USA....
, and TellurideTelluride, Colorado

Telluride is a town in San Miguel County in southwestern Colorado on the San Miguel River on the west side of the San Juan ...
. Large scale mining is now uneconomical in the region, although independent prospectors still work claims throughout the range. The last large scale holdouts were the Standard Metals operation on Red Mountain PassRed Mountain Pass

Red Mountain Pass is a mountain pass in the San Juan Mountains of western Colorado...
which operated until late in the 20th century and the ill-fated Summitville mineSummitville mine

The Summitville Mine was a gold mining site in Rio Grande County, Colorado 25 miles south of Del Norte....
on the eastern slope of the San Juans.

The Summitville mine was the scene of a major environmental disaster in the 1990s when the hastily installed liner of a cyanideCyanide

A cyanide is any chemical compound that contains the cyano group -C=N, with the carbon atom triple-bonded to the nitro...
-laced tailing pondTailing pond

Tailing ponds are areas of refused mining tailings that are covered with water to prevent dust from blowing away....
began leaking heavily. Summitville is in the Summitville calderaFacts About Caldera

A caldera is a volcanic feature formed by the collapse of a volcano into itself, making it a large, special form of volcanic...
, one of many extinct volcanoVolcano

A volcano is a geological landform on the surface of the Earth where magma from the planet's interior erupts to the surfac...
es making up the San Juan volcanic field. One, the La Garita CalderaLa Garita Caldera

La Garita Caldera is a large volcanic caldera located in the San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado....
, is in diameter. Large beds of lavaLava

Lava is molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption....
, some extending under the floor of the San Luis ValleySan Luis Valley

San Luis Valley is a large broad alpine valley in the Rio Grande Basin of south-central Colorado....
, are characteristic of the eastern slope of the San Juans.

There is some tourism in the region, with the narrow gauge railway between DurangoDurango, Colorado

Durango is a city in La Plata County, Colorado....
and Silverton being an attraction in the summer. JeepJeep

Jeep is an automobile marque of DaimlerChrysler....
ing is popular on the old trails which linked the historic mining camps, particularly thrilling is the Black Bear RoadBlack Bear Road

Black Bear Road is a notorious jeep trail that starts from 11,018 foot summit of Red Mountain Pass on U.S....
. Visiting old ghost townGhost town

A ghost town is a town that has been abandoned, usually because the economic activity that supported it has failed or becaus...
s is popular, as are wilderness trekking and mountain climbing. The San Juans are extremely steep; only Telluride has made the transition to ski resort. Purgatory (now known as Durango Mountain ResortDurango Mountain Resort

Durango Mountain Resort, also known as Purgatory, is a ski resort located in the San Juan Mountains of Southwest Colorado, 2...
) is a small ski area north of Durango near the Tamarron Resort. There is also skiing on Wolf Creek PassWolf Creek Pass

Wolf Creek Pass is a 10,800 foot mountain pass on the Continental Divide, in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado....
at the Wolf Creek ski areaWolf Creek ski area

Wolf Creek Ski Area is a ski resort in southwest Colorado, located on the Wolf Creek Pass between Pagosa Springs and South F...
. Recently Silverton Mountain ski area has begun operation in Silverton. It is a highly rated extreme ski area and is currently available by reservation only.

The Rio GrandeRio Grande

Known as the Rio Grande in the United States and as the Ro Bravo in Mexico, the river, 1,885 mi long, is the fourth ...
rises on the east side of the range. The other side of the San Juans, the western slope of the continental divideContinental Divide

The Continental Divide or Great Divide is a ridge of mountains in North America and Central America which separates th...
, is drained by tributaries of the San JuanSan Juan River (Utah)

The San Juan River is a tributary of the Colorado River, 400 mi long, in the western United States. ...
, DoloresDolores River

The Dolores River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately 250 mi long, in the U.S....
and GunnisonGunnison River

The Gunnison River is a tributary of the Colorado River, approximately 180 mi long, in the U.S....
rivers, which all flow into the Colorado River.

The San JuanFacts About San Juan National Forest

The San Juan National Forest is a U.S....
and UncompahgreUncompahgre National Forest

Uncompahgre National Forest is a U.S....
National Forests cover a large portion of the San Juan Mountains.

Prominent peaks

The 28 Peaks of the San Juan Mountains With At Least 500 Meters of Topographic Prominence
RankRanking Ranking is the process of positioning individuals, groups or businesses on an ordinal scale in relation to others....	Mountain PeakSummit (topography) A topographical summit is a point on a surface which is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it....	Elevation	ProminenceTopographic prominence In topography, prominence, also known as autonomous height, relative height or shoulder drop or prime f...	IsolationTopographic isolation The topographic isolation of a summit is the minimum horizontal distance to the nearest point of higher elevation....
1	Uncompahgre PeakUncompahgre Peak Uncompahgre Peak is the sixth highest mountain peak in the U.S....	4365.000 = 14,321 feet 4365 m	1303.630 = 4,277 feet 1304 m	00136.89 = 85.1 miles 136.9 km
2	Mount WilsonMount Wilson (Colorado) Mount Wilson is a fourteen thousand foot mountain peak in the U.S....	4344.080 = 14,252 feet 4344 m	1226.515 = 4,024 feet 1227 m	00053.21 = 33.1 miles 53.2 km
3	Mount SneffelsMount Sneffels Mount Sneffels is a fourteen thousand foot mountain peak in the U.S....	4315.400 = 14,158 feet 4315 m	0929.640 = 3,050 feet 930 m	00025.32 = 15.7 miles 25.3 km
4	Mount EolusMount Eolus Mount Eolus is a fourteener in the U.S....	4294.255 = 14,089 feet 4294 m	0665.378 = 2,183 feet 665 m	00040.48 = 25.2 miles 40.5 km
5	Handies PeakHandies Peak Summary Handies Peak is a fourteen thousand foot mountain peak in the U.S....	4284.800 = 14,058 feet 4285 m	0575.462 = 1,888 feet 575 m	00018.00 = 11.2 miles 18.0 km
6	San Luis PeakSan Luis Peak San Luis Peak is a fourteen thousand foot peak in the San Juan Mountains of the U.S....	4273.800 = 14,022 feet 4274 m	0948.842 = 3,113 feet 949 m	00043.41 = 27.0 miles 43.4 km
7	Vermilion Peak	4236.719 = 13,900 feet 4237 m	0641.604 = 2,105 feet 642 m	00014.60 = 9.1 miles 14.6 km
8	Rio Grande Pyramid	4214.400 = 13,827 feet 4214 m	0567.233 = 1,861 feet 567 m	00017.31 = 10.8 miles 17.3 km
9	Mount Oso	4172.659 = 13,690 feet 4173 m	0507.187 = 1,664 feet 507 m	00008.81 = 5.5 miles 8.8 km
10	Tower MountainTower Mountain Tower Mountain, , is a prominent peak in the Taconic Mountains of western Massachusetts....	4132.446 = 13,558 feet 4132 m	0503.530 = 1,652 feet 504 m	00008.62 = 5.4 miles 8.6 km
11	Sultan Mountain	4076.215 = 13,373 feet 4076 m	0569.366 = 1,868 feet 569 m	00007.39 = 4.6 miles 7.4 km
12	Summit Peak	4056.048 = 13,307 feet 4056 m	0841.248 = 2,760 feet 841 m	00064.23 = 39.9 miles 64.2 km
13	Dolores Peak	4052.592 = 13,296 feet 4053 m	0594.360 = 1,950 feet 594 m	00008.02 = 5.0 miles 8.0 km
14	Lavender PeakLavender Peak Lavender Peak is a peak in the La Plata Mountains, a small subrange of the San Juan Mountains, which in turn are a subrange ...	4037.198 = 13,245 feet 4037 m	0871.728 = 2,860 feet 872 m	00039.91 = 24.8 miles 39.9 km
15	Bennett Peak	4026.057 = 13,209 feet 4026 m	0531.266 = 1,743 feet 531 m	00027.52 = 17.1 miles 27.5 km
16	Conejos Peak	4017.000 = 13,179 feet 4017 m	0582.778 = 1,912 feet 583 m	00013.12 = 8.2 miles 13.1 km
17	Twilight PeakTwilight Peak Twilight Peak is a mountain in the San Juan Mountains of western Colorado in the United States, south of Silverton....	4012.096 = 13,163 feet 4012 m	0712.622 = 2,338 feet 713 m	00007.86 = 4.9 miles 7.9 km
18	South River Peak	4009.390 = 13,154 feet 4009 m	0746.150 = 2,448 feet 746 m	00035.34 = 22.0 miles 35.3 km
19	Peak 13,010	3967.262 = 13,016 feet 3967 m	0545.592 = 1,790 feet 546 m	00015.39 = 9.6 miles 15.4 km
20	Lone Cone	3846.100 = 12,618 feet 3846 m	0692.810 = 2,273 feet 693 m	00014.97 = 9.3 miles 15.0 km
21	Graham Peak	3821.100 = 12,536 feet 3821 m	0777.545 = 2,551 feet 778 m	00016.78 = 10.4 miles 16.8 km
22	Elliott Mountain	3762.941 = 12,346 feet 3763 m	0682.752 = 2,240 feet 683 m	00008.26 = 5.1 miles 8.3 km
23	Cornwall Mountain	3746.183 = 12,291 feet 3746 m	0531.571 = 1,744 feet 532 m	00008.37 = 5.2 miles 8.4 km
24	Sawtooth Mountain	3704.200 = 12,153 feet 3704 m	0587.350 = 1,927 feet 587 m	00028.28 = 17.6 miles 28.3 km
25	Chalk Benchmark	3669.300 = 12,038 feet 3669 m	0600.761 = 1,971 feet 601 m	00011.68 = 7.3 miles 11.7 km
26	Little Cone	3654.000 = 11,988 feet 3654 m	0561.137 = 1,841 feet 561 m	00009.70 = 6.0 miles 9.7 km
27	Cochetopa Dome	3394.838 = 11,138 feet 3395 m	0537.058 = 1,762 feet 537 m	00009.90 = 6.2 miles 9.9 km
28	Horse Mountain	3033.307 = 9,952 feet 3033 m	0575.158 = 1,887 feet 575 m	00022.46 = 14.0 miles 22.5 km

History of the area

Mining operators in the San Juan mountain area formed the San Juan District Mining AssociationMine Owners' Association

A Mine Owners' Association, also sometimes referred to as a Mine Operators' Association or a Mine Owners' Protective Associa...
(SJDMA) in 1903, as a direct result of a Western Federation of MinersWestern Federation of Miners

The Western Federation of Miners was a radical labor union that gained a reputation for militancy in the mine fields of the ...
proposal to the Telluride Mining Association for the eight hour dayEight-hour day

The Eight-hour day movement, also known as the Short-time movement, had its origins in the Industrial Revolution in Br...
, which had been approved in a referendum by 72 percent of Colorado votersColorado Labor Wars

Colorado's most significant battles between labor and capital occurred primarily between miners and mine operators....
. The new association consolidated the power of thirty-six mining properties in San MiguelSan Miguel County Summary

San Miguel County is the name of several counties in the United States:...
, OurayOuray County, Colorado

Ouray County is a county located in the U.S....
, and San JuanSan Juan County, Colorado

San Juan County is a county located in the U.S....
counties. The SJDMA refused to consider any reduction in hours or increase in wages, helping to provoke a bitter strike.

San Juan Mountains

Prominent peaks

History of the area

See also

Further reading

External links