A flume is a human-made channel for water, in the form of an open declined gravity chute whose walls are raised above the surrounding terrain, in contrast to a trench or ditch.[1][2] Flumes are not to be confused with aqueducts, which are built to transport water; flumes use flowing water to transport materials.[citation needed] Flumes route water from a diversion dam or weir to a desired materiel collection location. Flumes are usually made up of wood, metal or concrete.
Many flumes took[when?] the form of wooden troughs elevated on trestles, often following the natural contours of the land. Originating as a part of a mill race, they were later used in the transportation of logs in the logging industry, known as a log flume. They were also extensively used in hydraulic mining and working placer deposits for gold, tin and other heavy minerals.
- ^ Koester, Frank (1909). Hydroelectric Developments and Engineering. New York: D. Van Nonstrand. pp. 40–45.
- ^ Guidelines for Identifying, Evaluating and Registering Historic Mining Sites. Washington, D.C.: National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. 1997.