Abandoned Record
About Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory
The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory is a high-altitude biological field station located near Crested Butte, in the abandoned mining town of Gothic, Colorado in the West Elk Mountains. The laboratory was founded in 1928.
This is a site record: what public sources say about Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, gathered in one place. We haven't written a full guide yet, so history, current access and photos are still to come. Treat the status as unknown until a guide confirms it.
Map
Where Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory is
Historic maps
10 historic USGS maps cover Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory
Topographic sheets from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain), oldest first. Older sheets often show the camp, mines and roads while the place was alive. The downloads are large map scans; USGS topoView shows them in the browser.
- 1888 Crested Butte sheet, 1:62,500 · GeoTIFF download
- 1889 Crested Butte sheet, 1:62,500 · GeoTIFF download
- 1893 Crested Butte sheet, 1:62,500 · GeoTIFF download
- 1956 Montrose sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1959 Montrose sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1960 Montrose sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1961 Gothic sheet, 1:24,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1968 Montrose sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1984 Gunnison sheet, 1:100,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 2001 Gothic sheet, 1:24,000 · GeoTIFF download
Directions
Getting there
Before you go
- Many ghost town sites are on private land, active mining claims or tribal land. Check land status and ask permission.
- Roads to old townsites are often unmaintained dirt. Map apps may route over closed or impassable tracks.
- Removing artifacts from public land is illegal under federal and most state laws.
Nearby
Other sites near Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory
Straight-line distance to other mapped sites in our Colorado index.
Sources
Sources
- Wikipedia, "Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory": coordinates and summary.
- Wikidata Q7355876.
- USGS 3D Elevation Program, elevation at the coordinates.
- USGS The National Map and Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain).