The name Leadville probably was chosen for the town because lead was the major mineral in both the placers and in the lode mines. By 1880, millions of dollars were being made and Leadville became one of the world's largest silver camps with a population of over 40,000. Leadville became Colorado's largest mining camp and the town was second only to Denver. Leadville became overcrowded, unable to support the hundreds of miners that were flooding into the area. There was no local food source and all supplies had to come by either pack mules or the stage coach. Exorbitant prices were being charged for a place to sleep. Leadville is a high mountain town and the winters are long and bitterly cold; many miners died of exposure and starvation. Crime was rampant and lawmen were unable to cope with it. Many small shanty towns grew up around Leadville, including Poverty Flats, Slabtown, Finntown, and Boughtown. The name "Boughtown" referred not only to the many pine trees that grew in the area, but to lodgings the miners built of four posts covered with pine boughs. In 1893, the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act caused a panic in Leadville and in all of Colorado's silver camps. The price of silver fell rapidly and eventually many of the silver mines closed. Mining companies came to rely increasingly on income from the lead and zinc. The Sherman Mine produced over of silver, mostly between 1968 and 1982, with a value of over $300 million at 2010 prices. Secondary ore minerals from the Sherman mine are popular with mineral collectors.The prominent ruins of the historic buildings and structures of the Hilltop Mine (above the more recent Sherman mine workings) are often visited and photographed by hikers and mountaineers. After 100 years as a major US mining district, the last active mine, the Black Cloud mine, owned by ASARCO, closed in 1999. While there is no longer any active mining in the Leadville District, over the course of history more than 2800 patented mine claims were filed and the area contains over 1600 prospects, 1300 shafts, and 155 adits. The value of the cumulative production of silver alone from the Leadville mines is estimated to be $512 million through 1967 (equivalent to about $ billion today). Geology Leadville lies near the center of the Colorado Mineral Belt (CMB), a strip that runs north and