The Western San Juan Mountains: Their Geology, Ecology, and Human History

Preface

PREFACE Everything simple is wrong. Everything complex is useless. - Paul Valeri The preceding quotation summarizes the dilemma we faced in producing this text. If we wrote about the complex topics in simple terms, much of what we said would be incorrect. But if we wrote them as if communicating with experts, few readers would be able ro understand us. Thus, this book is aimed toward a mid-range group, the amateur naturalist and historian. The glossary at the end of the book defines many of the technical terms used. This book was assembled because there is no single reference that covers the western San Juan Mountains in the detail it deserves and that treats this region as a system. These ancient mountains control the weather and climate, which in turn determine the animal and plant communities present. All of these factors have guided human activities. The San Juan Skyway, one of fifty-four designated National Scenic Byways across the United States (as identified by the U.S. Forest Service in 1988), forms a loop through the heart of the western San Juans. In addition, this highway was designated by the State ofColorado Scenic Byway Commission as a State Scenic and Historic Byway. Most of the places and scenery discussed in the text can be seen from this byway or from tributary roads. This book has four parts. The first part (Chapters 1-9) concerns the physical environment and includes a description oflandform evolution, geologic history, economic geology, and weather. The second section (Chapters 10-13) describes the various ecosystems encountered, primarily with reference to vegetation zones because they remain relatively fixed and are easy to identifY. The third part (Chapters 14-18) focuses on the human history of the area, beginning with the earliest known inhabitants, followed by xi xii The Western San Juan Mountains the incursion of the Spanish and, later, miners searching for the "mother lode." The fourth section (Chapters 19-21) is a "points of interest" guide around the Skyway, the Alpine Loop, and the railroad between Durango and Silverton. This book should be treated as a first approximation ofour present knowledge of the western San Juan Mountains. Some of the ideas presented here are still being developed. We invite readers with additional information to help us develop an even better second approximation. All royalties from this book go to the Skyway Undergraduate Research Fund handled by the Fort Lewis College Foundation. The intent here is to expand our knowledge of this unique region by promoting research by students at the undergraduate level. Donations can be made to this fund by contacting the Fort Lewis College Foundation at Fort Lewis College, Durango, Colorado. ROB BLAIR, MANAGING EDITOR ...