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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- Ouray (Colo.), looking north
- View of Ouray in a valley and the main road running through the town. At left trees follow the river at the foot of the slope; strata of rock and pine.
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- Ouray (Colo.), looking north from New Silverton-Ouray Toll Road
- Image of Ouray, CO taken from the southern toll road above. The town fills the valley from the forested area by the river to the steep cliffs. In background there is a road that leads into town.
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- Ouray (Colo.), looking south
- A hand painted photo of Ouray, shows a river in the foreground. The yellow and red buildings of the town fill the center of the picture with forested hills beyond the outskirts of town. A snowy mountain is framed by two rocky slopes in the background.
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- Ouray (Colo.), looking south
- Aerial photo of downtown Ouray; mountains overlooking town are covered with snow. Writing on the front of the post card "Dear mamma: the mts. today look like these, Ella," Card addressed to W.S. Holaday, Ridgway, Colorado two postmarks and one cent stamp
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- Ouray (Colo.), looking south
- This is a litho-chrome print of a hand painted photo of Ouray, Colorado. The swimming pool and park feature prominently in the lower right with red and yellow buildings filling most of the foreground. A snow capped peak is framed by two rocky slopes in the background.
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- Ouray (Colo.), looking southeast
- Panoramic view facing southeast with mountain range and the town Ouray, Colorado, .
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- Ouray (Colo.), looking toward Mt. Abram
- Photographic print of Ouray, Colo. with roads, bridges, and buildings in foreground; Mt. Abram in background.
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- Ouray (Colo.), one and one-half mile high
- Aerial view above Ouray; a steep cliff hangs on the left side of photo the town is below in a valley.
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- Ouray (Colo.), the Gem City of the Rockies by the Million Dollar Highway
- View of Ouray from a distance in a valley.
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- Ouray (Colorado) Toll Road
- Ouray (Colorado) Toll Road.
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- Ouray -Silverton Highway, Colorado
- Ouray - Silverton Highway, Colorado.
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- Ouray After Cloud Burst
- Portland Creek Flood Scene, on August 22nd 1909, in Ouray, Colorado with a person holding a shovel with two more people in the distance, outside a building.