The San Juan Mountains is a high and rugged mountain range in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico . The area is highly mineralized (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 , which closed in the 1970s. Famous old San Juan mines include the Camp Bird and Smuggler Union mines , both located between Telluride and Ouray.
20-533: The Sneffels Range , regionally conterminous with San Juans , is a young, prominent, and rugged range of mountains in southwestern Colorado of the San Juan Mountains . The Sneffels range form the southern border of Ouray County and run west to east. The Sneffels Range can be viewed from as far as the La Sal Mountains in eastern Utah and is very prominent from most vantage points of
40-575: A long-distance hiking trail follows the crest of the San Juan Mountains. The Weminuche Wilderness , Colorado's largest wilderness area, with an area of 499,771 acres (202,250 ha) is in the San Juans. The San Juan Mountains are also distinctive for their high altitude plateaus and peaks. As a result, facilities in the towns and cities of the region are among the highest in the nation. Telluride Airport , at an elevation of 9,070 feet,
60-679: A series of bitter and bloody strikes throughout Colorado's mining communities. Mining companies routinely hired agencies such as the Pinkerton National Detective Agency , the Baldwin–Felts Detective Agency , or the Thiel Detective Service Company to assign special agents to monitor, infiltrate, and sabotage unions, or union organizing drives. The MOAs sometimes issued work cards to miners who were required to renounce
80-522: Is a small ski area 26 miles north of Durango. 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 range is also a popular destination for endurance sports like trail running and mountain biking; Silverton is home to the Hardrock 100 Endurance Run one of the most difficult and technical ultra-marathons in
100-516: Is popular on the old trails which linked the historic mining camps, including the notorious Black Bear Road . Visiting old ghost towns is popular, as is wilderness trekking and mountain climbing . Many of the old mining camps are popular sites of summer homes . Though the San Juans are extremely steep and receive much snow, so far only Telluride has made the transition to a major ski resort . Purgatory Resort , once known as Durango Mountain Resort,
120-530: Is the combination of individual mining companies, or groups of mining companies, into an association, established for the purpose of promoting the collective interests of the group. Such associations are sometimes referred to as MOAs, however, in some cases they may be designated by the state, district, or locale, such as the Cripple Creek District Mine Owners' Association (CCDMOA). Mine Owners' Associations were often formed for
140-553: Is the highest in the United States with regularly scheduled commercial service. Human history at the eastern edge of the San Juan Mountains dates back thousands of years. Smithsonian archaeologists have identified paleo-Indian sites that are about 5,000 years old, located near Great Sand Dunes National Park and at the northern edge of the San Luis Valley, close to Poncha Pass. This suggests that early human presence in
160-532: The San Juan volcanic field . One, La Garita Caldera , is 35 miles (56 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 a major part of the regional economy, with the narrow gauge railway between Durango and Silverton being an attraction mostly in the summer and fall. Off-roading
180-596: The Uncompahgre Valley . The most prominent peak of the Sneffels Range is Mount Sneffels reaching 14,158 feet (4,315 m). San Juan Mountains 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 volcanoes making up
200-769: The San Juan District Mining Association (SJDMA) in approximately 1903, as a direct result of a WFM proposal to the Telluride Mining Association for the eight-hour day . The new association consolidated the power of thirty-six mining properties in San Miguel , Ouray , and San Juan counties. The SJDMA granted itself the power to prevent any of its members from coming to an agreement with the miners' union that would accept reduced hours or increased wages. This inflexible decision helped to create conditions that resulted in
220-661: The Smuggler-Union mine; and several other mine operators were instrumental in forming the Colorado Mine Operators' Association. The motivating reason was a WFM union organizing drive in Telluride, and similar efforts in other parts of Colorado. Twenty-seven members started the group, many of them from Idaho Springs, where the WFM was strong. Mining operators in the San Juan mountain area of Colorado formed
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#1732801242960240-834: The impetus for formation of the Western Federation of Miners (WFM) in 1893. The mining companies of Colorado similarly joined together during a labor struggle with the WFM in 1894 , and during the Colorado Labor Wars of 1903. However, the mining companies of the Cripple Creek District were not completely united, even during the 1903-04 strike. As in Coeur d'Alene, mining companies in the Cripple Creek District that made agreements with unions were shut down by military force. In
260-473: The late 1890s and 1900s, mine owners' associations were created in cities and states throughout the mining west. The Colorado Mining Association (CMA), had been established in 1876, and was incorporated in 1897, and still exists. In March 1902, Arthur L. Collins , of the Smuggler-Union mine in Telluride; Charles Chase; Arthur Winslow, general manager of the Liberty Bell; A.D. Snodgrass, chief clerk of
280-637: The mine operators. Organizations such as the Knights of Labor had little power in confronting owners. Miners demanding better working conditions or wage increases were often fired. When local unions sought such changes, they were easily driven out of the mining districts. During the 1896-97 strike of the Cloud City Miners' Union in Leadville, Colorado, mine owners formed a secret verbal agreement among themselves that none of them would recognize
300-472: The power of thirty-six mining properties in San Miguel , Ouray , and San Juan counties. The SJDMA refused to consider any reduction in hours or increase in wages, helping to provoke a bitter strike. Mine Owners%27 Association In the United States , a Mine Owners' Association ( MOA ), also sometimes referred to as a Mine Operators' Association or a Mine Owners' Protective Association ,
320-400: The purpose of fighting against union organizing drives, but smelter trusts and railroad syndicates were also a concern. These latter issues were complicated by the fact that some mine owners also controlled smelters and railroad lines. Prior to the formation of the Western Federation of Miners (WFM), local unions and protective associations formed by miners did not present much of a threat to
340-591: The region dates back to ancient times, long before the establishment of modern landmarks. Mining operators in the San Juan mountain area formed the San Juan District Mining Association (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 . The new association consolidated
360-499: The union as a condition of employment. State MOAs enabled blacklisting of union miners on a statewide basis. MOAs sometimes united to call upon state or federal authorities to send military force in the form of national guard or federal troops into strike areas. In 1995, mining companies in the United States joined together to form the National Mining Association (NMA). The trade organization works through
380-480: The union or negotiate with it, an arrangement later revealed in a report by the Colorado State Legislature. Mine owners went a step further and formed a Mine Owners' Association in response to union organizing in the mining district of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho during the 1880s. A violent confrontation between local miners' organizations and mining companies in Coeur d'Alene in 1892 served as
400-462: The world. The Rio Grande drains 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 Juan , 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. The Continental Divide Trail ,
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