The San Juan Mountains is a high and rugged mountain range in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico. The area is highly mineralized 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 has ended in the region, although independent prospectors still work claims throughout the range. The last large-scale mines were the Sunnyside Mine near Silverton, which operated until late in the 20th century, and the Idarado Mine on Red Mountain Pass, which closed in the 1970s. Famous old San Juan mines include the Camp Bird and Smuggler Union mines, both located between Telluride and Ouray.
Mineral County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 865, making it the third-least populous county in Colorado, behind San Juan County and Hinsdale County. The county seat and only incorporated municipality in the county is Creede. The county was named for the many valuable minerals found in the mountains and streams of the area.
The Powderhorn Wilderness is a 62,050-acre (251.1 km2) wilderness area in Hinsdale and Gunnison counties, Colorado, United States, located 5 miles (8.0 km) northeast of Lake City.
La Garita Caldera is a large caldera and extinct supervolcano in the San Juan volcanic field in the San Juan Mountains around the town of Creede in southwestern Colorado, United States. It is west of La Garita, Colorado. The eruption that created the La Garita Caldera is among the largest known volcanic eruptions in Earth's history, as well as being one of the most powerful known supervolcanic events.
San Luis Peak is a high summit in the San Juan Mountains, a range in the Rocky Mountains of North America. The prominent 14,022-foot (4273.8 m) fourteener is located in the Gunnison National Forest portion of the La Garita Wilderness in Saguache County approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of Creede. It is situated rather far to the east of the other fourteeners in the San Juans, and has more of a wilderness setting than many of the others.
Rio Grande National Forest is a 1.86 million-acre (7,530 km2) U.S. National Forest located in southwestern Colorado. The forest encompasses the San Luis Valley, which is the world's largest agricultural alpine valley, as well as one of the world's largest high deserts located around mountains. The Rio Grande rises in the forest, and the Continental Divide runs along most of its western border. The forest lies in parts of nine counties. In descending order of land area within the forest they are Saguache, Mineral, Conejos, Rio Grande, Hinsdale, San Juan, Alamosa, Archuleta, and Custer counties. Forest headquarters are currently located in Monte Vista, Colorado, but plan to move to Del Norte. There are local ranger district offices in Del Norte, La Jara, and Saguache.
The Wheeler Geologic Area is a highly eroded outcropping of layers of volcanic ash, located in the San Juan Mountains in southern Colorado, United States. It is about 10 miles east north-east of Creede. The ash is the result of eruptions from the La Garita Caldera approximately 25 million years ago.
Stewart Peak, elevation 13,983 ft (4,262 m), is a summit in Colorado. The peak is the second highest thirteener in the state. It is located in the La Garita Mountains, sub-range of the San Juan Mountains, in Saguache County, within the La Garita Wilderness. Stewart Peak is the 55th highest peak in Colorado by most standard definitions, just missing the list of Colorado fourteeners. At one time, the peak's elevation was measured to be over 14,000 ft and it was believed to be a fourteener, but more recent and accurate surveys have dropped it below that threshold.
The Cochetopa Hills are a ridge of uplands on the Continental Divide in Saguache County, southern Colorado, United States.
Conejos Peak is a high and prominent mountain summit in the southern San Juan Mountains of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The 13,179-foot (4,017 m) thirteener is located in the South San Juan Wilderness of Rio Grande National Forest, 19.6 miles (31.6 km) north-northwest of Cumbres Pass in Conejos County, Colorado, United States. The summit of Conejos Peak is the highest point in Conejos County.
Rio Grande Pyramid, elevation 13,827 feet, is a summit in the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado. The peak is in the Weminuche Wilderness of the San Juan National Forest northeast of Durango.
The La Garita Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area located in the La Garita Mountains of southern Colorado. The 129,626-acre (524.58 km2) wilderness established in 1964 in Gunnison and Rio Grande National Forests includes segments of the Colorado Trail and the Continental Divide Trail. At 14,014 feet (4,271 m), San Luis Peak is the highest point in the wilderness area.
The Mogollon-Datil volcanic field is a large silicic volcanic field in western New Mexico. It is a part of an extensive Eocene to Oligocene volcanic event which includes the San Juan volcanic field in southwestern Colorado, the Trans-Pecos volcanic field in west Texas and north central Mexico, the Boot Heel volcanic field in the bootheel of southwestern New Mexico and adjacent areas of Arizona and Mexico; and the vast volcanic field of the Sierra Madre Occidental of western Mexico. The Mogollon-Datil volcanic field was formed in "four discrete pulses representing synchronized activity of two separate cauldron complexes".
South River Peak, elevation 13,154 ft (4,009 m), is a summit in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado, United States. The mountain is in the Weminuche Wilderness of Rio Grande National Forest.
Cochetopa Creek is a stream in Saguache and Gunnison counties in Colorado, United States. It rises on San Luis Peak in the La Garita Mountains. It merges with Tomichi Creek near the town of Parlin, Colorado, along Highway 50.
Bill Williams Peak, elevation 13,389 feet (4,081 m), is an mountain located in Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The summit of the mountain is the high point of the Williams Mountains, a subrange of the Sawatch Range. The summit is located 12.2 miles (19.6 km) east of Aspen, Colorado, in the Hunter–Fryingpan Wilderness of White River National Forest. Bill Williams Peak is the 42nd highest major summit of Colorado and the 45th highest major summit of the Rocky Mountains of the United States and Canada.
Baldy Cinco, elevation 13,379 feet, is a mountain in Hinsdale and Mineral counties in southern Colorado. The mountain, a thirteener, is located on the Continental Divide in the San Juan Mountains. Different areas of the slopes of Baldy Cinco lie in the Rio Grande National Forest, the La Garita Wilderness, and the Gunnison National Forest. The mountain is located just north of Snow Mesa and east northeast of Spring Creek Pass.
