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Leadville, Colorado

Fremont Pass, Colorado

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- Leadville -

Leadville is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Lake County, Colorado. The town's population was 2,633 at the 2020 U.S. Census. Situated at an elevation of 10,152 feet (3,094 meters), Leadville is the highest incorporated city in North America and the second highest incorporated municipality in the United States. A former silver mining town that lies near the headwaters of the Arkansas River in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, the Leadville Historic District contains many historic structures and sites from its mining era.

The town of Leadville, founded in 1877, is surrounded by some of Colorado's tallest peaks, and is flanked by Colorado's two highest fourteeners: Mount Elbert (14,440 feet / 4,401 meters) and Mount Massive (14,429 feet / 4,398 meters). The town is in the geographic center of Colorado, on U.S. Hwy. 24, part of the Top of the Rockies scenic and historic byway. Denver is 100 miles /161 kilometers east and Colorado Springs is 128 miles / 205 kilometers southeast.

Leadville has an alpine subarctic climate bordering on a cold semi-arid climate, with cold winters and mild summers. Average annual snowfall is 157 inches (400 centimeters). The most snowfall in one year was 362 inches (920 centimeters) in 1995. The most snowfall in one month was 77.6 inches (197.1 centimeters) in May of 1995. Average annual precipitation is 13.52 inches (34 cm). The coldest temperature ever recorded in Leadville is -38°F ( -39°C), which occurred on February 1, 1985, with the warmest day being 86°F (30°C), reached at least 3 times, with the first time on June 23, 1954.


Colorado Mountain College in Leadville, CO
 (from Colorado Mountain Collage)


- Fremont Pass -

Fremont Pass is north of Leadville and a 11,318-foot (3,450 meter) mountain pass in central Colorado. The pass crosses the continental divide at it’s summit, on the border between Lake County and Summit County.

Fremont Pass is known for its steep, scenic nature and serves as a vital connector between the I-70 corridor and Leadville. The road, Colorado State Highway 91, is a 24 mile paved road that is a section of the Top of the Rockies Scenic Byway. This area is also home to the Arkansas River Headwaters, just to its south. The pass provides a route between the upper valley of the Blue River, a tributary of the Colorado River The pass summit is the site of Climax Mine, a molybdenum mine. 

Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad built a narrow gauge railway over Fremont Pass in 1884. It was sold in foreclosure proceedings to the Denver, Leadville & Gunnison Railroad in 1889 and became later part of the Colorado and Southern Railway. Operating ended in 1937. The line south of Climax is retained, converted to 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge in 1943 and now operated by Leadville, Colorado and Southern Railroad. A second narrow gauge railway line was built by Denver and Rio Grande Railroad in 1881. Passenger service ceased in late 1909 and the last sporadic freight service in November 1910. The line was abandoned on December 1, 1923. 

 


Fremont Pass
 (Hwy 91s, Northeast of Leadville - CDot)


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- Fremont Pass Map -

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