Located in the southwest region of Colorado, lies the San Juan Mountains. Providing numerous economic opportunities, the deposits present today are representative of the regions violent geological history. While most of the San Juan’s rocks were formed during fierce volcanic eruptions beginning during the late Eocene/early Oligocene epochs, some rocks have been dated back to the Precambrian era of geological time. Additionally, as a jagged mountainous landscape, the San Juan’s offer a great deal of recreational outlets while also playing a key role in the regions water supply. Although minimal evidence remains, the history of the san Jaun’s dates back to the Archean eon. During this period of time, large amounts of felsic lava fused up to …show more content…
Prior to western invasion, the Ute Indians called the San Juan mountains home for hundreds of years. Their hunter gather lifestyle allowed them to live solely off what the landscape provided. However, during the eightieth century the Spanish became increasingly interested in the minerals the San Juan’s had to offer. In 1861 the Colorado gold rush began when the Baker party found gold deposited in a variety of streambeds. Soon many prospectors came to try their luck, but the ruggedness of the landscape and resistance from the Ute’s made success difficult. After continuous confrontations, the federal government signed the treaty of 1868 with the Ute Indians, creating the Ute Indian reservation which consisted “….of approximately the western one-third of Colorado (https://www.southernute-nsn.gov/history/chronology/ ).” Meanwhile, increasing amounts of silver and gold deposits became known from 1869 to 1871 and more and more miners began to travel to the mountains. Not surprisingly, tension remained high between the miners and the natives, and eventually the government ordered that the miners evacuate. However, the miners continued to trespass, and in 1873 the Ute Indians lost the battle when the federal government implemented the Brunot Agreement, which stated that the Utes must give up “….3.5 million acres in the …show more content…
Mineral extraction continued to soar, and in 1881 the Denver and Rio Grande Rail road was expanded to reach Silverton. Now equipped with a consistent route of transportation, the industry was more profitable than ever. Over the next two decades rail routes were extended to reach remote mills and extraction sites. In addition to the vast amounts of gold and silver, prospectors began to mine for coal to keep the trains mobile. Each day carts containing valuable gold and silver were transported further southwest to the town of Durango. Once in Durango copper, lead, and silver were recovered from the ores. “Although the mountains were rich in all kinds of metals, silver reigned the supreme in the San Juans ( https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/san-juan-mountains , author).” Unfortunately, in 1893, just as the mining operations had begun to reach their peak production, the government began to buy less and less silver. The decreasing demand for silver eventually forced most of the mining operations to close, bringing an end to the era of destructive lone prospectors. However, their legacy continues to live on in the regions