In the late 1870s, prospectors from Leadville began heading west, over the Continental Divide at Independence Pass into Ute country, in search of gold and silver deposits in the upper Roaring Fork Valley. At Independence, just below the pass, a small settlement grew around the gold mines. It was soon displaced in importance by the settlement established further down the Roaring Fork, at its confluence with Castle Creek. Originally called Ute City, it was soon renamed Aspen after the trees on the flood plain and surrounding mountain slopes, which turned a brilliant yellow in the autumn.