San Juan Mountains

The San Juan Mountains are a rugged mountain range in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Colorado. 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 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 near Silverton, which operated until late in the 20th century and the Idarado Mine on Red Mountain Pass that closed down in the 1970s. Another hold-out was the ill-fated Summitville mine 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 cyanide-laced tailing pond began leaking heavily. Summitville is in the Summitville caldera, one of many extinct volcanoes making up the San Juan volcanic field. One, the 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.

There is some tourism in the region, with the narrow gauge railway between Durango and Silverton being an attraction in the summer. Jeeping 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. The San Juans are extremely steep; only Telluride has made the transition to 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 in Silverton. It is a highly rated extreme ski area and is currently available by reservation only.

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.

<center><gallery caption ="Dust Accelerates Snowmelt in the San Juan Mountains" perrow="4"> Image:Dust Reduces Snow Cover in the San Juans - 2005.jpg|2005 (Less dust) Image:Dust Reduces Snow Cover in the San Juans - 2006.jpg|2006 (More dust) Image:Dust Accelerates Snow Melt in San Juan Mountains - May 31, 2008.jpg|2008 (Less dust) Image:Dust Accelerates Snow Melt in San Juan Mountains - May 18, 2009.jpg|2009 (More dust) </gallery></center>

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.

History of the area

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.<Ref>Roughneck—The Life aand Times of Big Bill Haywood, Peter Carlson, 1983, page 65.</Ref> The new association consolidated the power of thirty-six mining properties in San Miguel, Ouray, and San Juan counties.<Ref>The Corpse On Boomerang Road, Telluride's War On Labor 1899-1908, MaryJoy Martin, 2004, page 201.</Ref> The SJDMA refused to consider any reduction in hours or increase in wages, helping to provoke a bitter strike.

Translation of "San Juan Mountains"

Bulgarian: Сан Хуан (планински масив), German: San-Juan-Gebirge, Italian: Montagne San Juan, Polish: Góry San Juan.