San Juan County Courthouse, Silverton, Colorado Postcard

Clouds roll in over the the San Juan County Courthouse in Silverton, Colorado. The courthouse was built in 1907. With a mean elevation of 11,240 feet (3426 metres), San Juan County is the highest county in the United States. It's also the county with the smallest population in Colorado. Silverton is a former silver mining camp, most or all of which is now included in a federally designated National Historic Landmark District, the Silverton Historic District. Silverton is linked to Durango by the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, a National Historic Landmark. Tourism provides the gold and silver in Silverton, not mining. Also supporting the population is maintenance of US 550 (which links Montrose with Durango via Silverton), mine pollution remediation, and retirees. In 2002 an extreme ski mountain, Silverton Mountain, opened near the town.