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.

Gold mining?

The Carlton Drainage Tunnel (also an adit), was also constructed to drain the same mining district as the mines went deeper than the Roosevelt Drainage Adit. The project was began in 1939 and also went through solid granite. The adit portal is at about 7,000 feet elevation, and the adit itself is over 6 miles long. It’s about 2.5 to 3 miles further down in the same canyon that the Roosevelt adit portal is in. It allowed the bigger mines in the area to go even deeper. It is still draining water from the area to this day, at the rate of about 1,600 gallons per minute. The flow goes right into Four Mile Creek and then flows into the Arkansas River at Cañon City. This is the adit portal as it looks today.

Yep. The Cripple Creek & Victor Mining District was a pretty fantastic gold camp in its heyday.

Fred, Velma and Daphne would go in and check it out


Shaggy and Scooby be at the snack bar

Cool bit 'o history.
Thanks for posting!

I've worked in places like that underground hardrock mining as a kid.

There were over 500 mines in the district back in the day. The Portland Mine alone in Victor had over 700 miners. The town of Goldfield, which is still there today, was built to house the employees of the Portland Mine. That mine was over 3,000 feet deep.