The San Juan Mountains is a chain of mountains located in the state of Colorado and a part of the Rocky Mountains. There are large forests of Aspen and Lodgepole Pine trees on the mountains. The White River National Forest partially covers the mountain range. The mountains are considered to be in Colorado's mining country. Prior to 1988, an United States Air Force trainer jet crashed into the mountains which caused an avalanche to bury the crash site. In 1988, Dirk Pitt's helicopter pilot relayed the information to him, while Pitt was trying to locate a crash site.