Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Roosevelt and Carlton drainage tunnels for Cripple Creek & Victor Mining District

The Roosevelt Drainage Tunnel (actually an adit) is 5 miles long and was began in 1907 to drain the mines in the area. Once the mines in the area got to certain depths, water in the mines became a problem. So about 6 miles down in the canyon that Cripple Creek and Four Mile Creek run in towards the Arkansas River, this drainage adit was started. The adit portal is at about 8,200 feet elevation and is very close to the confluence of Cripple Creek and Four Mile Creek. It was constructed through solid granite. The water drained the mining district and flowed into Four Mile Creek. The photo above shows it in operation. This is the adit portal as it looks today.