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Mining Ditches
Mining ditches were dug by ditch companies to carry vast amounts of water needed for placer mining. Thousands of miles of ditches and flumes were built in the gold country; some brought immense profits to their owners. As mining declined in the 1860s, the same ditches were used for irrigating orchards, vineyards and pastures in the foothills. This ditch is seven miles long, and now carries irrigation water to local farmers. The hillside terraces you see here were used to grow fruit trees and grape vines. Some of them were dug by James Marshall. |