The Ancient Puebloan people (formerly known as Anasazi), the first settlers in the areas, mysteriously vacated the Four Corners around 1300 AD, leaving ruins of their homes scattered throughout the area. The Ute and Navajo Indians were next, claiming all of western Colorado as their home by the 16th century. The Spanish explorers who discovered the Utes in their travels gave the River its Spanish name, Rio de las Animas Perdidas - River of Lost Souls - today called the Animas. Former territorial governor A.C. Hunt named the area Durango, after Durango, Mexico, a name that originated from the Basque word Urango, meaning "water town." Durango was founded by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, surveyed in 1880 by Rio Grande Southern surveyors. The narrow gauge steam railroad, historically connected the mining town of Silverton with the coal and smelting operations of Durango, is now the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, offering daily trips north to breathtaking views of remote wilderness otherwise inaccessible.