Paradox, Colorado

Paradox, Colorado
Unincorporated community
Paradox wooden storefront in 2010
Paradox Show map of Colorado Paradox Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 38°22′06″N108°57′44″W / 38.36833°N 108.96222°W / 38.36833; -108.96222
Country	United States
State	Colorado
County	Montrose
Elevation [1]	5,299 ft (1,615 m)
Time zone	UTC-7 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP code [2]	81429
Area code	970
GNIS feature ID	185829 [1]

Paradox is an unincorporated community and a U.S. Post Office located in the Paradox Valley, Montrose County, Colorado, United States. The Paradox Post Office has the ZIP Code 81429. ^[2]

Name

The geologist, Albert Charles Peale named Paradox in 1875; he declared that the Dolores River had the “desire to perform strange and unexpected things” ^[3] due to the unusual course of the river. ^{[4] [5]} Rather than flowing parallel to the valley, the river runs horizontally across the valley, cutting through cliff walls at 90 degree angles. ^[5]

George R. Eichler wrote in the book, Colorado Place Names, that Paradox was nearly inaccessible to early settlers. To enter the valley, travellers had to disembark to unload their wagons. The wagons were then disassembled, and the pieces were then lowered to the valley on ropes. ^[4]

History

Road to Paradox Cemetery

The Paradox area had originally been home to the Ute people. ^[6] It was later settled by Euro-American ranchers in the 1870's. In 1882, a post office was established. ^[7] In 1897 mining began, first copper and later uranium. ^[8] Paradox is a yellowcake boomtown. ^[9] Uranium ore was first discovered at the Raja mine, and a sample was shipped to Marie Curie in France, ^[7] although other sources state that specimens were shipped to Freidel and Cumenge in France for analysis. ^[10]

In 2010 The New Yorker magazine featured an article, The Uranium Widows, on the spouses of deceased Paradox uranium workers who died from extended exposure to uranium during their employment in the local mines and mills. ^[9]

Geography

Paradox is located in Paradox Valley.

Population

In 1991, the population of Paradox was "around two hundred." ^[7]

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Paradox, Colorado
2. "ZIP Code Lookup". United States Postal Service. January 2, 2007. Archived from the original (JavaScript/HTML) on January 1, 2008. Retrieved January 2, 2007.
3. "Paradox, Colorado: A River Runs Through It". West End Development Corp. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
4. Gallant, Frank K. (May 17, 2012). A Place Called Peculiar: Stories About Unusual American Place-Names. Courier Dover Publications. p. 38. ISBN   9780486483603 . Retrieved April 19, 2013.
5. Dawson, John Frank. Place names in Colorado: why 700 communities were so named, 150 of Spanish or Indian origin. Denver, CO: The J. Frank Dawson Publishing Co. p. 40.
6. "Ute Indian Territory, 1868". Southern Ute Tribal History. Archived from the original on November 7, 2009. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
7. Smith, Robert T. (1991). You're from where?. Stillwater, MN: Voyageyr Press. ISBN   9780896581463 . Retrieved October 17, 2021.
8. "Paradox, Colorado". Colorado Ghost Towns. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
9. Hessler, Peter (September 13, 2010). "The Uranium Widows". The New Yorker. Vol. 86, no. 27. ProQuest   750411103 . Retrieved October 17, 2021.
10. Moore, Richard Bishop; Kithil, Karl Ludwig (1913). A Preliminary Report on Uranium, Radium, and Vanadium. Department of the Interior. Bureau of Mines. Retrieved October 17, 2021.