1904 Map of Telluride

About this map

The silver and gold mining economy of the San Miguel Mountains is captured in high detail at the turn of the century, centered on the bustling hub of Telluride and the nearby industrial site at Pandora. This survey illustrates a landscape defined by verticality and extraction, where gravity-fed systems like the Smuggler Union Mill and complex underground networks including the Bullion Tunnel and Sheridan Tunnel dominated the high basins. The Rio Grande Southern R.R. winds through the canyons, connecting remote outposts like Ophir and Sawpit to the main line at Vance Junction. High-altitude water management is evident at Trout Lake and Ice Lake, which provided the necessary power and processing resources for the dozens of operations like the Gold King Mill and Alta Mine perched along the steep ridges of Silver Mountain.