RS-42 Geology and Mineral Resources of Lake County, Colorado

The purpose of this publication is to describe the geological setting and the various mineral deposits of Lake County. The report discusses known occurrences of precious and base metal deposits, molybdenum deposits, and industrial mineral and construction material occurrences. In addition, this report contains a single 1:50,000 scale geological map. The objective of this publication is to provide geological information to resource developers, government planners, and interested citizens. Includes GIS files of the map (re-compiled in 2022 to USGS GeMS Level 2 standard). 58 pages. 35 figures. 6 tables. 1 plate. Digital ZIP/PDF download. RS-42D

From the Introduction:

The section on Mineral Deposits includes descriptions of the mining districts of Lake County. Lake County boasts two of the most important mining districts in Colorado, the Leadville district and the Climax district. These two districts have played major roles in the history and economic development of the state. Other mining districts of lesser economic importance are also described, as well as areas of potential industrial mineral and construction material deposits.

There is no record of any oil and gas drilling in Lake County. There are no recorded geothermal sites in Lake County, nor any formations known to host coal deposits. No new field investigations of mining districts were made in the course of this study. The appendix of this report contains transcriptions of mineral and mine descriptions from the two important U.S. Geological Survey Professional Papers on the Leadville district. The CGS has chosen to preserve these descriptions as originally written.