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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- Ophir Loop near Telluride, Colo.
- Colored photographic print image of a mountain valley covered in snow and pine forests with snow capped peaks in the background. A railroad trestle spanning a ravine in foreground.
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- Ophir Loop, Ames, Colo.
- Lithograph photo print image of a town nestled in a mountain valley.Mountains in background; railroad trestles spanning ravines are visible in the foreground.
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- Ophir Loop, Ames, Colo. - 12 miles from Telluride on the R.G. Southern Ry. Town of Ophir in the Distance.
- View of a railroad trestle circling a wide area of trees with a mountain range in the background and a town in the distance. Forest covers the valley.
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- Ophir Loop, Ames, Colorado
- Lithographic photo print image of a railroad loop with two trestle bridges; mountain peaks in the background; a cliff on the left-hand side of image, town grid in background.
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- Ophir Loop, Colo.
- A view of a railroad track looping around with two trestle and bridges in summer. An X is marked as a reference point to the notes made on the other side of the card.
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- Ophir Loop, Colo. on the Rio Grande Southern R. R.
- A view of the famous Ophir Loop, Colorado, on the Rio Grande Southern Railroad in autumn. The yellow leaves of aspen show bright against the pine forest in the valley.
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- Ophir Loop, Colorado.
- Hand-colored photo print image of the Ophir Loop, CO Construction.
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- Ophir Loop, Ophir, Colo.
- A side view of the Ophir Loop. A tree-topped mesa lies in front of the railroad with wooden trestle bridges spanning deep ravines. The road higher up the slope forms a more visible light line hugging the mountainside. Thick pine and aspen forests cover the slopes on the right while rocks and meadows cover the drier slope on the left.
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- Ophir Loop, near Telluride, Colo.
- A large mountain looms over everything in this photograph. On its side, railroad tracks and bridges can be seen winding their way down the mountain.
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- Ophir Needles
- Ophir Needles from Telluride - Ophir Pass Jeep trip out of Ouray, Colorado.
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- Ophir Needles, Dolores-Telluride Highway, Montezuma National Forest (Colo.)
- Ophir Needles, Dolores-Telluride HiWay, Montezuma Nat'l Forest.
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- Ouray & Million Dollar Highway
- High vantage point photographic print of the town of Ouray and the Million Dollar Highway