DENVER & RIO GRANDE WESTERN ROUTE. 



177 



Creek and Uncompahgre River, but these were found to be entirely 

 inadequate for the irrigation of the entire valley. It was then de- 

 cided to tunnel through Vernal Mesa (the granite mesa on the right) 

 and bring the waters of Gunnison River to the region. The attempt 

 was made, but funds could not be obtained to complete the project. 

 The Reclamation Service then took up the problem 

 Cedar Creek. ^^^^ ^ tunnel was started a mile below Cedar Creek 



Elevation 6,. 52 feet. ^ continued to the river in the almost inaccessible 



Denver 341 miles. 



depths of Black Canj^on, a distance of 6 miles. 

 Work was begun in 1905, and the tunnel was formally opened by 

 President Taft in 1909. Views of the two portals and the interior 

 of the tunnel are shown in Plate LXXIV. By this tunnel sufficient 

 water to irrigate 150,000 acres was obtained.^* 



From the west end of Gunnison tunnel the water is carried to 

 Uncompahgre River by a canal 11 miles long. It is turned into the 



"The settlement of the Uncompah- 

 gre Valley, which has had many ups 

 and downs, began in 1882 and for a 

 while progressed rapidly. Optimistic 

 views on the sufficiency of the supply 

 of water from Uncompahgre River 

 prevailed, and by 1884 ditches for irri- 

 gating a large acreage had been. pro- 

 jected and partly constructed. It soon 

 proved that the water supply was in- 

 adequate, and 20,000 acres out of the 

 100,000 acres that had been patented 

 passed into the hands of loan com- 

 panies through foreclosure proceed- 

 ings. About 30,000 acres was culti- 

 vated, but the water supply was inade- 

 quate for even this small area. In a 

 search for an additional supply natu- 

 rally Gunnison River was considered, 

 but in order to obtain water from that 

 river a long and expensive tunnel was 

 necessary, yet this seemed to be the 

 only possible chance for relief. The 

 feasibility of the project was demon- 

 strated in 1895 by a survey financed 

 by local subscription. In 1901 the 

 State appropriated $25,000 and work 

 was begun on the great tunnel. A 

 year later, when the appropriation 

 had been exhausted, the State and citi- 

 zens requested that the Reclamation 

 Service complete the project. Upon 

 examination the Reclamation Service 

 found a better site for the tuimel, and 

 on June 7, 1904, the Secretary of the 



Interior ordered the construction to 

 begin. 



The Gunnison tunnel, as finally 

 built, is 30,645 feet long (about 5.8 

 miles) and has a uniform grade of 

 10.7 feet to the mile. The bottom is 

 flat and is 10 feet wide, the straight 

 sides are 10 feet high and batter out- 

 ward 6 inches, and the roof is arched 

 with a span of 11 feet and a rise of 

 2J feet. The flow of water that can 

 be delivered through the tunnel is 

 estimated at l,.3O0 second-feet. 



Excavation was begun on January 

 11, 1905, and was carried on at both 

 ends and from a shaft 1 mile from 

 the west portal. The tunnel complete, 

 with concrete lining, was finished and 

 water for irrigation was flowing 

 through it on July 6, 1910. 



It is interesting to note that this 

 tunnel passes through the fault shown 

 in figure 46 (p. 175), at the contact of 

 the shale which constitutes the coun- 

 try rock in the western part and the 

 granite in which the river canyon is 

 cut. It is described in the report of 

 the Reclamation Service as follows: 



" [The tunnel was driven] 2,000 

 feet througli a fault zone badly shat- 

 tered and tilted at widely divergent 

 angles in a very irregular manner. 

 High temperature, liot and cold water, 

 coal, marble, hard and soft sandstone. 

 limestone, and carbonic-acid gas in 



