154 



GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES. 



The great High Line canal is crossed by the railroad, a short dis- 

 tance below the dam and may be followed by the eye on the right 

 until it is hidden in a tunnel that carries it through a projecting 

 rocky point. It is carried as high as possible, and though it has 

 descent enough to enable the water to flow readily, it is soon above 

 the level of the railroad and can be identified only by the regularity 

 of its banlvs and the new rock dumps that mark the portals of its 

 tunnels. 



Half a mile below the High Line dam Plateau Creek enters the 

 river from the side opposite the railroad. This creek heads on the 

 mesa far to the east and flows in a narrow valley between Battlement 

 Mesa on the north and Grand Mesa on the south. The main auto- 

 mobile highway down the river is carried over the low plateau 

 east of the river, but at Plateau Creek it descends to the river and 

 for the remainder of the distance to the lower end of the canyon it 



crests will rest on the weir and force 

 the water into the canal headgates, 

 but at times of flood they will be rolled 

 up on the piers, allowing the high 

 water to pass over the dam in order to 

 avoid flooding the adjacent track of 

 the Denver & Rio Grande Western 

 Railroad. 



The first 6 miles of main canal par- 

 allels the railroad track, and in nar- 

 row parts of the canyon in this stretch 

 three tunnels have been built to avoid 

 interference with the railroad. These 

 tunnels are, respectively, 3,723, 1,655, 

 and 7,292 feet in length and are lined 

 throughout with concrete. The first 

 two tunnels are 14 by 16 feet in cross 

 section, and the third is 11 feet by 11 

 feet 6 inches. 



The main canal has a capacity of 

 1.425 cubic feet per second for the first 

 5 miles. About half this water will 

 be used for developing power and will 

 be returned to the river through the 

 proposed power plant at the upper 

 portal of tunnel No. 3. This plant, 

 which has not yet been constructed, 

 will develop about 2,000 electrical 

 horsepower, which will be used in oper- 

 ating pumps to supply water to the 

 lands that lie above the main canal. 



The last 60 miles of the main canal 

 consists of open ditcli, involving about 



2,600,000 cubic yards of excavation, 

 and numerous flumes, siphons, and cul- 

 verts, made to cross natural drainage 

 courses. 



Laterals will be constructed to de- 

 liver water to each farm on the proj- 

 ect, and drainage works will be built 

 as needed to remove surplus water and 

 prevent the rise of the ground-water 

 level. 



Water for seasoning the works was 

 turned into the main canal in June, 

 1915. 



The soils under the project are of 

 three general types — reddish sand, 

 sandy loam, and adobe. The red soil is 

 deep and well drained and is specially 

 adapted to fruit culture, though prac- 

 tically all crops do well in it ; the 

 sandy loam is an alluvial soil and is 

 adapted to growing certain varieties of 

 fruit as well as alfalfa, cereals, pota- 

 toes, sugar beets, and vegetables; the 

 adobe soil is adapted to growing al- 

 falfa, cereals, sugar beets, and vege- 

 tables. 



The cost of the works is advanced by 

 the Government under the terms of the 

 Reclamation Act, which provides that 

 the actual cost shall be repaid by the 

 landowners in 20 years without in- 

 terest, and that they shall pay the cost 

 of operation and maintenance. 



