Climax, CO |
| The Climax Mine Interpretive Site lies on top of Fremont Pass across Colorado Highway 91 from the Climax Mine. At the headwaters of three major river systems, the site offers spectacular views of the peaks of the Continental Divide, the river valleys below and the massive industrial complex. A major wayside on the Top of the Rockies Scenic and Historic Byway, visitors will enter the site through the bucket of a giant steamshovel to view interpretive panels mounted on massive boulders of ore (as well as mining artifacts) and learn about the minerals mined in the Leadville area through an all-weather interactive exhibit. |
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Climax Mine has played a significant, even dominant, role in the modern history of central Colorado, and its booms and busts have had a profound effect on the regional economy. Bartlett Mountain contains the largest body of molybdenum ore in the world, |
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and the mine has employed as many as three thousand people at one time. Its closure in the early 1980’s devastated the economy of the Upper Arkansas Valley (which includes the towns of Leadville and Buena Vista). |
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The story of Climax Mine includes the development of one of the first ski areas in Colorado, life in the company town of Climax, a top-secret World War II observatory, underground blasts rivaling nuclear explosions, the first television reception in the mountains of Colorado, and much more. Development of the wayside was a cooperative project between the Byway and Phelps-Dodge, Inc., the corporate parent of the Climax Molybdenum Company. Interpretive themes include water quality, railroad history and mining techniques in addition to an in-depth look at the story of the mine.
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