"Immediately east of the town of Leadville, is the site of a vast abandoned silver mine. Pocked with all manner of twisted and decaying mining structures the disaster area takes on an immense and tragic beauty. Thousands of waste rocks and smelting piles litter the desolate landscape, standing in sharp relief to the area’s stunning skies. The California Gulch/Yak Tunnel mining area was originally staked as part of Colorado’s gold rush. The district's biggest claim to fame didn’t come until two decades later when, in 1879, speculators found repositories of silver large enough that it single-handedly spurred what became known as the Colorado Silver Boom. Though silver mining had petered-out by the end of the 1800s, the last mine in operation didn't close its doors until 1999, leaving the mining district officially forsaken." - Steven Perez from Bookmarklet