Big Ditch
by Loryn, victoria, and lena
Purpose of the Ditch
The ditch was made to have more water supply for the miners during the gold rush.
The Yreka Ditch company had made the ditch.
Construction
It cost about $500,000 to make.It had taken two years to constructin 1883 the ditch is 95 miles long.They started digging in 1853 and they put water in it on march 1, 1856
Post construction
They stopped using the ditch around 1884. They used the ditch for over 100 years.Chinese laborers maintained the ditch. In 1861-61 there was a flood that cost $16,000 in damage to the ditch. It is currently used for irrigation and for mountain and bike trails.
Interesting facts
Richard Silva wrote a book about the big ditch.