Crystal Lake, San Juan Mountains, Colorado

Located south of the town of Ouray, Colorado in the heart of the San Juan Mountains, snow-dusted Red Mountain reflects in the tranquil waters of Crystal Lake in this photograph. 13,000 foot mountains dominate the scene along both sides of this portion of the San Juan Skyway between the towns of Ouray and Silverton. Once the scene of extensive small-scale mining operations at the end of the 19th century, Red Mountain creek still runs red from acid runoff seeping from abandoned mine sites. Many of these old mines can be seen near the top of Red Mountain Pass several miles up-canyon from here. The bright red rock from which Red Mountain takes its name results from its volcanic origins as the San Juans began to rise about 60 million years ago at the beginning of the Laramide Orogeny. The heat associated with this volcanic activity concentrated various elements such as gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc into recoverable veins within the mountains.