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Ophir, Colorado

28 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1897 and the latest in 1982. It stands in the Telluride census division. It lies in ZIP code area 81426. It stands on Waterfall Creek. The Survey maps it on the Ophir quadrangle. 197 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 9,695 feet above sea level.

Ophir within San Miguel County

On record in Ophir

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 2 records

Population over time

3 figures

Ophir grew from 113 to 197 between 2000 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
2000113
2010159+46 (+41%)
2020197+38 (+24%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

11 surveys from 28 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

25 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 25 fires within 5 miles of Ophir between 1993 and 2020, burning about 829 acres in total. 9 started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Natural9
Missing data/not specified/undetermined7
Recreation and ceremony6
Debris and open burning2
Smoking1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
5 September 1993Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreGrand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forestsnot named
4 August 2017Naturalunder an acreTelluride Fire Protection DistrictUNKNOWN
30 August 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Miguel CountyHIDDEN LAKE
24 August 2007Naturalunder an acreGrand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National ForestsPROSPECT BASIN
24 August 2007Naturalunder an acreGrand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National ForestsLIFT 6
23 August 2017Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreTelluride Fire Protection DistrictUNKNOWN
2 August 2000Naturalunder an acreGrand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National ForestsHOPE
14 August 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreGrand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National ForestsSWAMP CANYON

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in San Miguel County

Mines and quarries near this place

10 of 175 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 175 workings within 5 miles of Ophir: 86 past producers, 62 unknowns, 19 occurrences, 8 producers. 8 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Silver, Copper, Lead, Silver, Zinc, Lead, Silver, Zinc. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Alta MineGold, Lead, Copper, Silver, ZincPast Producer
Atlanta TunnelGold, Lead, Thorium, Zinc, CopperPast Producer
Black Hawk TunnelGold, Silver, CopperPast Producer
Black Jack Lode, RuthSilver, MolybdenumOccurrenceMolybdenite
Carbonero MineLead, Zinc, Copper, Gold, SilverProducerSphalerite
ColoradoGold, Silver, Zinc, LeadPast Producer
Crown Point Group MillGold, Copper, SilverUnknown
Double EagleGold, Thorium, Copper, Lead, ZincPast Producer
Emma,Oregon and GalenaLead, Zinc, Gold, SilverPast Producer
Gold Run DumpGold, Silver, Copper, LeadPast Producer

Every working recorded in San Miguel County

Storms near this place

4 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Ophir in 4 storm reports between 2000 and 2025: 2 flash flood, 2 debris flow. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
October 2025Debris FlowOphir-Heavy rain resulted in a rockslide on Highway 45 at mile marker 64.5, about 1 mile north of the Ophir turns between 0900 and 0930 MST. A boulder the size of a small sedan fell on Highway 145, blocking the road. Lanes were reopened by 1030 MST.
July 2013Debris FlowOphir-Heavy rainfall resulted in a debris flow which closed Highway 145 south of Telluride for several hours.
July 2011Flash FloodOphir-A flash flood deposited mud up to 6 feet deep covering a 100 foot section of TR Road 630, the main road to Ophir. The road was closed for about 8 hours as heavy equipment was used to remove the mud and other debris from the road.
July 2000Flash FloodOphir-no account filed

Every storm recorded in San Miguel County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Ophir Loop1.9 miles28
Alta (historical)2.3 miles29
Ames2.7 miles29
Mountain Village5.3 miles29
Telluride5.7 miles29
Liberty Bell5.7 miles29
Pandora5.8 miles29
Ilium6.1 miles27

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on OphirAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2086617The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 187505. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.