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1955 Map of Telluride

Name: 1955 Topographic Map of Telluride
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1974
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1974

About this map

Mining operations and high-altitude industry dominate this survey of the San Juan Mountains, centered on the town of Telluride. The landscape is a network of subterranean tunnels and surface workings, from the Smuggler Mine and Liberty Bell Mina to the Tomboy (Ruins) high in the basins. These sites reflect the intensive silver and gold extraction that shaped the region's economy and social structure. Near the settlement of Pandora, large Tailings Ponds underscore the industrial scale of processing ore along the San Miguel River.

The survey also documents the early infrastructure of the canyon, including the Lone Tree Cem and the complex system of tunnels like the Meldrum Tunnel and Bullion Tunnel that pierced the surrounding peaks. Natural features such as the Alta Lakes and the sharp profile of Needle Rock provide context for the steep, difficult terrain where prospectors established claims. This record preserves the intersection of a concentrated mountain community and the heavy industrial footprint of the mid-20th-century mining era.