Loading map...

1891 Map of Leadville

Name: 1891 Topographic Map of Leadville
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1930
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1930

About this map

Leadville sits at the heart of this late 19th-century survey, surrounded by the intense mining activity of Carbonate Hill, Iron Hill, and Stray Horse Gulch. The map illustrates a high-altitude industrial landscape where the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad and Colorado Midland Railway compete for passage through the Sawatch and Mosquito ranges. Beyond the silver camps, the terrain is dominated by the highest peaks of the Rockies, including Mt Massive and Mt Elbert.

South of the city, the resort character of Interlaken on the shores of Twin Lakes provides a contrast to the industrial grit of the mining districts. Transportation breakthroughs are evident in the Hagerman Tunnel and the route over Tennessee Pass, which served as vital arteries for the region's mineral wealth. To the north, the high-altitude settlements of Kokomo and Robinson underscore how far the mining frontier extended into the alpine reaches of the Holy Cross National Forest.