Digging the Old West: How Dams and Ditches Sculpted an American Landscape

An intricate network of waterworks stretches across the landscape, powering cities and irrigating oases. These systems, hidden in plain sight, provide water for agriculture, drinking, recreation, power generation, snow-making, and wildlife refuges. Dams and ditches are like a forgotten branch of our family. We know they are related to us. We can't live without them. Yet, we don't really know the story of how they got here. Like a family scrapbook or photo album, this book contains the roots of our hydrological heritage. Learn the the history of our ancestral water use, from ancient canals to skyscraper gardens. Focused on a small region of Colorado's Front Range, Digging the Old West describes the development of a semi-arid landscape into an irrigated metropolis. Like a family scrapbook, it is overflowing with photos and doodles, charts and maps, and stories of triumph and disaster.