Volume 5: Telluride/ Ouray/ Ophir
These mountain towns are gems in Southwest Colorado. Telluride and tiny Ophir are in San Miguel County, and Ouray, not far away if unimproved roads aren’t a barrier, is located in Ouray County. Telluride is the most populous (about two thousand residents) and best known of the three, home to a famous ski resort, many well-known music festivals, and exclusive luxury homes. Telluride’s colorful history as a hard-rock mining town where gold, silver, and tellurium were extracted beginning in 1878 changed dramatically in the 1970s when the Telluride Ski Resort opened. Telluride’s elevation is 8,750 feet above sea level, a bit higher than Ouray’s 7,792. (source) Fewer than 1,000 people call Ouray home, but each year many thousands of tourists visit the charming village, nicknamed the “Switzerland of America.” Like most mountain towns in the region, Ouray was founded on mining (gold, in this case), made accessible by the railroad, and popular with visitors. (source) Ophir, Colorado, is the highest in elevation of these three towns at 9,695 feet. Gold was discovered in 1875, and the town was founded in 1881, but the mines decreased until there was only one resident in 1970! Telluride’s popularity in recent has allowed a few hundred residents to call Ophir home. (source)
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- Mt. Abrams from Highway Tunnel
- Through a rocky tunnel the bare peak of Mt. Abrams appears over a pine covered slope. A red car is approaching.
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- Mt. Abrams from Silverton-Ouray Toll Road (Ouray, Colo.)
- View of Mt. Abrams from the Silverton-Ouray Toll Road. The unpaved toll road is located at the lower left side of the photograph. Snow capped Mt. Abrams located center-back of the photograph.
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- Mt. Abrams, Colorado
- Mt. Abram viewed from the north on the Million Dollar Highway between Ouray and Silverton, Colorado
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- Mt. Abrams, Ouray, Colo.
- Photographic print postcard of Ouray, Colorado at an elevated view.
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- Mt. Abrams, south view Ouray (Colo.)
- Aerial photo of Ouray and the snow capped mountain peak of Mt. Abrams. In the far distance behind the town a road leads out of the town.
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- Mt. Ajax (Telluride, Colo.)
- View of train tracks in the foreground; snow-capped mountain peaks are overhead.
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- Mt. Hayden and Fish Pond
- Mt. Hayden and the fish pond at Ouray, Colorado.
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- Mt. Hayden from Twin Peaks (Colo.)
- Mount Hayden from Twin Peaks.
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- Mt. Ouray (elev. 13,596 ft.) from Poncha Pass between Salida and San Luis Valley, Colo.
- Mt. Ouray (elevation 13,596 feet), viewed from Poncha Pass between Salida and San Luis Valley, Colorado.
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- Mt. Ouray and Marshall Pass, Denver and Rio Grande Railway (Colo.)
- Photo of steam engine traveling below a snow covered peak [writing on back] Addressed to Mrs. Ida Herr Pennsgrove New Jersey postmarked Louviers, Colorado. Apr. 1, 1922 one cent stamp
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- Mt. Sneffels (Altitude 14,143 Ft.)
- Mt. Sneffels (Altitude 14,143 ft.) from the Uncompahgre River as seen from Highway between Montrose and Ridgeway and Ouray Million Dollar Highway (U. S. 550), Colorado
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- Mt. Sneffels (Colo.)
- Mr. Sneffels, elevation 14,143 feet, and range from the Uncompahgre River Valley on Hwy. U.S. 550 (Million Dollar Highway) between Montrose and Ouray, in Southwestern Colorado.