Abandoned Mines of Colorado Springs
and El Paso County:
Klondike Mine
Case History:
Friday, April 13, 1979, was a lucky day for a group of Colorado Highway Department workers
and passersby. Maintenance crews found a 500 foot deep airshaft to the abandoned Klondike
coal mine had been reopened by surface subsidence into the mine. A crater about 20 to 25
feet across opened like a funnel into the shaft just off the pavement on the northeast
corner of the Interstate-70 Woodmen Park Road interchange near Colorado Springs. The shaft
had previously been capped, but the slow deterioration of the surface plug finally caused
this reopening. Proper filling and capping of this shaft can prevent future incidents.
