US 550 Red Mountains (# 0292)

One of three red mountains named Red Mountain No 1, No 2, No 3, visible from US 550 between Ouray and Silverton near the Red Mountain Pass. When driving through I didn’t know how they were named, so I didn’t keep track.

As might be expected from the colors of the mountains, the area has a very rich mining history – though not for iron. Despite the surface appearance of the mountains, the mining was from tunnels that led to deep shafts of silver, lead, zinc, copper and gold.

Intensive mining in the area lasted only from 1882 to about 1893, though small operations existed into the 1970’s. The high altitude, steep mountains, heavy snows, frequent avalanches, and toxicity from mining made working in the area very risky with high levels of accidental death.

The source below provides good detail on the mining here:
ocs.fortlewis.edu/redmountainproject/miningHistory.asp