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Rio Grande Southern
The Rio Grande Southern Railroad (reporting mark RGS, also referred to as "The Southern") was a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge railroad which ran in the southwestern region of the US state of Colorado, from the towns of Durango to Ridgway, routed via Lizard Head Pass. Built by Russian immigrant and Colorado toll road builder Otto Mears, the RGS operated from 1891 through 1951 and was built with the intent to transport immense amounts of silver mineral traffic that were being produced by the mining communities of Rico and Telluride. On both ends of the railroad, there were interchanges with The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad (reporting mark D&RG(W), later known as the Denver and Rio Grande Western), which would ship the traffic the RGS hauled elsewhere like the San Juan Smelter in Durango. For the first few years of its life, the RGS would have fallen under the definition of a "Bonanza Railroad" which meant it was an instant success, quickly generating more than enough m ...
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Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains. Colorado is the eighth most extensive and 21st most populous U.S. state. The 2020 United States census enumerated the population of Colorado at 5,773,714, an increase of 14.80% since the 2010 United States census. The region has been inhabited by Native Americans and their ancestors for at least 13,500 years and possibly much longer. The eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains was a major migration route for early peoples who spread throughout the Americas. "''Colorado''" is the Spanish adjective meaning "ruddy", the color of the Fountain Formation outcroppings found up and down the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The Territory of Colorado was organized on February 28, 1861, and on August 1, 1876, U.S. President Ulyss ...
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Salida, Colorado
The City of Salida ( ; spanish language, Spanish: , "exit") is the Colorado municipalities#Statutory city, Statutory city that is the county seat and the List of cities and towns in Colorado, most populous municipality of Chaffee County, Colorado, Chaffee County, Colorado, United States. The population was 5,666 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History A post office has been in operation at Salida since 1881. Salida, meaning "exit" in Spanish, was named on account of its location near where the Arkansas River flows out of the valley and into Bighorn Sheep Canyon, upstream from the Royal Gorge. File:CO Salida 1882.jpg, Map of Salida, 1882 File:Salida 1910.jpg, Panoramic View of Salida, 1910 File:Salida Depot 1910.jpg, Salida Depot, 1910 Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , and the Arkansas River, which runs through the town, is the major source of water for local agriculture. The Sawatch Range runs north and south ...
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San Miguel River (Colorado)
The San Miguel River is a tributary of the Dolores River, approximately long, in southwestern Colorado in the United States. It rises in the San Juan Mountains southeast of Telluride and flows northwest, along the southern slope of the Uncompahgre Plateau, past the towns of Placerville and Nucla and joins the Dolores in western Montrose County approximately 15 miles (24 km) east of the state line with Utah. Geography and protected areas The San Miguel is more or less free-flowing; however, diversion dams dot the river and alter flows. In some parts it is however one of the few remaining naturally functioning rivers of the West. The San Miguel varies in gradient, from extremely steep in its upper reaches (forming a shallow, rocky, unnavigable stream) to more mellow in the lower sections ( of drop, which offers the whitewater boater a variety of runs all within the class II+--III range). All told, the San Miguel drops over from an alpine ecosystem to the desert. The ave ...
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Rio Grande Southern Railway Company Locomotive No 9 In Regular Passenger Service With 2 Car Passenger Train Somewhere In The Colorado Rockies Ca
Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a town in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil Mexico * Río Bec, a Mayan archaeological site in Mexico * Río Bravo, Tamaulipas, a city in Mexico United States * Rio, a location in Deerpark, New York, US * Rio, Florida, a census-designated place in Martin County, US * Rio, Georgia, an unincorporated community in Spalding County, US * Rio, Illinois, a village in Knox County, US * Rio, Virginia, a community in Albemarle County, US * Rio, West Virginia, a village in Hampshire County, US * Rio, Wisconsin, a village in Columbia County, US * El Río, Las Piedras, Puerto Rico, a barrio * Río Arriba, Añasco, Puerto Rico, a barrio * Río Arriba, Arecibo, Puerto Rico, a barrio * Río Arriba, Fajardo, Puerto Rico, a barrio * Río Arriba, Vega Baja, P ...
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Rack Railway
A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with this rack rail. This allows the trains to operate on steep grades above 10%, which is the maximum for friction-based rail. Most rack railways are mountain railways, although a few are transit railways or tramways built to overcome a steep gradient in an urban environment. The first cog railway was the Middleton Railway between Middleton and Leeds in West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom, where the first commercially successful steam locomotive, ''Salamanca'', ran in 1812. This used a rack and pinion system designed and patented in 1811 by John Blenkinsop. The first mountain cog railway was the Mount Washington Cog Railway in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, which carried its first fare-paying passengers in 1868. The track was comple ...
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Uncompahgre Gorge
The Uncompahgre Gorge is a deep mountain canyon formed by the Uncompahgre River and Red Mountain Creek in the Uncompahgre National Forest. It is located just south of Ouray, in Ouray County, Colorado. At the north end of the Gorge the Uncompahgre River flows into a deep box canyon which is home to Ouray Ice Park. Access to the gorge is via U.S. Highway 550 along the Million Dollar Highway which is cut through the steep cliffs high above the river. Several waterfalls A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several w ... fall into the canyon, including Bear Creek Falls, right under a bridge on Highway 550 about 3 miles (5 km) south of Ouray. References External links * Canyons and gorges of Colorado Landforms of Ouray County, Colorado San Juan National Forest {{Co ...
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Red Mountain Pass (San Juan Mountains)
Red Mountain Pass elevation is a mountain pass in the San Juan Mountains of western Colorado in the United States. The pass straddles a divide that separates Ouray and San Juan counties. The pass is named for the nearby Red Mountain on the northeast side of the pass. The name is derived from the iron oxide laden rock that forms their slopes. The pass separates the Uncompahgre and Las Animas River watersheds, and also serves as a dividing point between the Uncompahgre and San Juan National Forests. The pass is traversed by the Million Dollar Highway, U.S. Highway 550 between Ouray and Silverton, which is part of the San Juan Skyway Scenic Byway. The pass is known for being treacherous in the wintertime due to the steep 8% grade and switchbacks on the north side facing Ouray, though the entire road is paved. Avalanches are frequent, and can block the highway for some time. The lower part of the pass towards Ouray is blasted into near-vertical cliffs of quartzite hundr ...
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Marshall Pass
Marshall Pass, elevation , is a mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of central-southern Colorado, US. It lies in northern Saguache County on the Continental Divide between the Sawatch Range to the north and the Cochetopa Hills to the south. The pass is part of a backcountry alternative to U.S. Highway 50 between Salida and Gunnison. Marshall Pass was discovered by and named for Lt. William L. Marshall, of the Wheeler Survey, in 1873. History When William Marshall first crossed the pass he realized that it would be a good route for a road, and shortly after this a company was organized to build a toll road. The Marshall Pass Toll Road was completed in 1880, with stagecoach service from Gunnison to the Arkansas River where it connected with the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. The new road at the pass summit was barely passable, and the grades on both sides of the pass were reported to be very steep. In 1881, the narrow gauge mainline of the Denver and Rio Grande ...
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Poncha Pass
Poncha Pass (9,010 ft/2,745 m) is a mountain pass in South-Central Colorado (USA). It lies between the San Luis Valley to the south and the valley of the Arkansas River to the north, and is one of the lowest mountain passes in the state. It is in the saddle between the Sangre de Cristo Range, lying to the southeast, and the Sawatch Range, lying to the west and northwest. The small town of Poncha Springs lies about 6 miles (9 km) north of the pass. The pass has a mild approach on the northern side and a moderate 5% approach from the south, though it remains open all year round and does not normally cause problems for vehicles in winter. Poncha Pass lies on the border between Chaffee County and Saguache County, and on the border between the San Isabel National Forest and the Rio Grande National Forest. Transport routes * U.S. Highway 285 presently runs over the pass, linking the cities of Alamosa to the south and Salida to the northeast. * Until 1951, a 3 ft (9 ...
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Gunnison, Colorado
Gunnison is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Gunnison County, Colorado. The city population was 6,560 at the 2020 United States Census. Gunnison was named in honor of John W. Gunnison, a United States Army officer who surveyed for a transcontinental railroad in 1853. History The City of Gunnison got its name from the first known European-American explorer of the area, John W. Gunnison. He was searching for a route for the transcontinental railroad in 1853 and only stayed for three days before traveling west to Utah. Gunnison saw its first population increase in the 1870s, due to the mining surge throughout the state. The railroad arrived soon after in 1880 to appreciative miners, ranchers, and farmers. In the early 1800s, the groups moving into the Gunnison area were mainly fur trappers and mountain men, trying to make a living for themselves in the rocky mountain terrain. But a drop in fur prices in the 1840s essentially ...
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San Juan Mountains
The San Juan Mountains is a high and rugged mountain range in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico. The area is highly mineralized (the Colorado Mineral Belt) and figured in the gold and silver mining industry of early Colorado. Major towns, all old mining camps, include Creede, Lake City, Silverton, Ouray, and Telluride. Large scale mining has ended in the region, although independent prospectors still work claims throughout the range. The last large scale mines were the Sunnyside Mine near Silverton, which operated until late in the 20th century and the Idarado Mine on Red Mountain Pass that closed down in the 1970s. Famous old San Juan mines include the Camp Bird and Smuggler Union mines, both located between Telluride and Ouray. The Summitville mine was the scene of a major environmental disaster in the 1990s when the liner of a cyanide-laced tailing pond began leaking heavily. Summitville is in the Summitville caldera, one of m ...
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Silverton Railroad
The Silverton Railroad, now defunct, was an American narrow gauge railroad constructed between Silverton, Colorado and mining districts near Red Mountain Pass, Colorado. The Silverton Railroad is remembered for the innovative solutions to difficult engineering problems presented by the steep, mountainous terrain which were devised by the railroad's chief locating engineer, Charles Wingate Gibbs – the Chattanooga Loop, the depot in a wye at Red Mountain, and a covered turntable on the main track at Corkscrew Gulch – and for the unusual and expensive annual passes presented by the owner, Otto Mears. *Chattanooga Loop – Gibbs achieved a 550-foot rise in the line over a quarter-mile straight-line distance by a detour from Mineral Creek up Mill Creek gulch, with in a 30-degree (194-foot radius) curve looping 200 degrees at the end, and returning to Mineral Creeek, all on a 5-percent grade. *Red Mountain Wye – extremely limited level space and hard rock at Red Mountain ...
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