It seemed logical that the gold and silver veins that were yielding fortunes in Ouray on the east slope of the Uncompahgre Range also would show on the west side. The claims staked in 1875 on the mountainsides above the headwaters of the San Miguel proved the premise. Columbia, the supply camp at the bottom of the narrow gorge, soon changed its name to Telluride after tellurium, the non-metallic matrix in which the precious metals appeared. Learn More...