Scene on a day when heavy snow covers the main street of Telluride, Colorado. The town, the county seat and most populous town of San Miguel County, began as silver-mining camp on the San Miguel River. The first gold mining claim was made in the mountains above Telluride in 1875 and early settlement of what is now Telluride followed. The town itself was founded in 1878 as "Columbia", but due to confusion with a California town of the same name, was renamed Telluride in 1887, for the gold telluride minerals found in other parts of Colorado. The historic district shown here is well segregated from a thriving ski community of the same name. Photo by Carol Highsmith, 2016.