A view of a historic hanging flume constructed by the Montrose Placer Mining company in the 1880’s to help miners exploit placer gold deposits in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. The flume was more than 12 miles in length, and was connected to a ditch starting at a dam on the San Miguel River near Uravan, Colorado. While in operation the flume carried more than 80 million gallons of water a day.
Denver Post: 121-year-old western Colorado mining flume clings to its secrets
See more images from the Colorado River watershed.