Keywords in the Image Database:   mines and (tailings or dumps or headframes or tunnels)

Mining was a significant force shaping the landscape of Colorado and of the West. Mining shaped the nature of settlement and transportation, creating towns, commerce, roads and railroads where there were none before. Agriculture, trade and business developed to support the miners. When the mines closed, many towns and rail lines closed with them. Abandoned mine operations, the remains of adits, headframes and shaft houses, are still visible in places. Many mines left rock dumps, pits and ponds behind; others reworked the landscape to such an extent that whole mountainsides were demolished, valleys filled, and streams diverted. 

Keywords in the Image Database:     leadville and colorado 

Leadville was established in 1878 on a former town site, made famous by the rich lead-silver discoveries during the Silver Boom of the 1870s. Miners such as Horace Tabor made their fortunes and the town's population grew immensely. Shafts and mine dumps dot the landscape around the town. The 1893 silver crash severely damaged Leadville's economy until it was revived by the opening of the nearby molybdenum workings (site of the Climax Mine) in 1918.

Keywords in the Image Database:     "colorado school of mines" 

The Colorado School of Mines got its start as an institution of higher learning founded by Bishop George Randall in Golden. The School of Mines became a state institution in 1876 when Colorado became a state; the first formal commencement was held in 1883. The School had a significant impact on the mining industry by providing its mining and metallurgical engineering students with a thorough education combined with extensive practical experience. Graduates worked all over the US and in many foreign countries. As the institution grew, it added programs in geophysics, petroleum engineering, geology, environmental engineering, materials science and other applied sciences. The School's "M" was constructed in 1908 as part of a student project, and lit with electric lights in 1932.

Keywords in the Image Database:     "experimental mine" and csm

The Edgar Mine was a producer of gold, silver, lead and copper in the 1870s. In 1921 the bankrupt Big Five Mining Company leased the mine to the nearby Colorado School of Mines for the instruction of their engineering students. The School has since then acquired adjacent workings to form the CSM Experimental Mine. Students gain hand-on experience in underground mine surveying, geological mapping, rock fragmentation and blasting practice, mine ventilation field studies, rock mechanics instrumentation practice, underground mine unit operations, and mine safety. Research programs are also done in the mine.

Keywords in the Image Database:     climax and colorado

Climax sits at 11,300 ft. in altitude. There was some gold mining activity in the area but in the early 1900s molybdenum was discovered. Economic mining was spurred by World War I and molybdenum was used in the manufacture of steel, radio tubes, chemical compounds, and airplane and automobile parts. The Climax Molybdenum Company, which employed thousands of mine workers, built housing, schools and medical facilities for its employees on site. 

Keywords in the Image Database:     burro and (race or races) 

The Annual Rocky Pack-Burro Championship Race was first run in 1949. The original race (22.9 miles) started in Leadville and went over Mosquito Pass (13,187 ft. summit) to end in Fairplay. Burros must carry a 33 lb. pack saddle loaded with mining equipment such as a pick, gold pan and shovel. Contestants do not ride their burros; they accompany the burro on foot, tethered together by a 15 ft. rope. Two pack-burro races are now held on Mosquito Pass: the World Championship Pack-Burro Race (29 miles) from Fairplay to the summit of Mosquito Pass and back, and the Leadville International Pack-Burro Race (21 miles) on the Leadville side of Mosquito Pass. 

Keywords in the Image Database:     railroad and mining

Railroads were essential to mining for the transportation of ore and processed minerals to market, and of raw materials, machinery, supplies and labor to the mines. A railroad line could make the difference between an economic mineral deposit and just another hole in the ground. Denver developed into a major transportation hub between the mines of the Front Range and the markets of the East. Establishing rail lines to link the small mining communities in the mountains was a difficult and expensive process. Steep terrain, narrow valleys and heavy snows, rock falls and flash floods made maintaining railways challenging.