Grand Ditch, canal in Colorado, United States of America
Grand Ditch is a water canal in Grand and Larimer counties in Colorado, built to carry water over the Continental Divide. It runs at an elevation of around 10,000 feet (about 3,000 m) along the western side of the mountains and redirects snowmelt eastward to drier agricultural land.
Construction of the Grand Ditch began in the 1880s, when settlers on the eastern side of Colorado needed a steady water supply for farming. The channel was gradually extended over several decades until it reached its current length.
The Grand Ditch runs through Rocky Mountain National Park and often surprises hikers who come across a man-made water channel in the middle of high mountain terrain. Walking along its banks gives a clear sense of how water was once moved across the Continental Divide to reach farms on the eastern plains.
The canal is most accessible in summer and early fall, when snow has melted and the surrounding trails are open. The terrain along the ditch is rough, so sturdy footwear makes walking much easier and safer.
In 2003, a breach in the ditch's embankment sent a large mud slide through part of Rocky Mountain National Park, damaging a stretch of the Never Summer Wilderness. The incident sparked a legal dispute about who was responsible for the damage and the future of the canal itself.
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