Spraying water under pressure on soil, a practice known as sluicing, is perhaps best known for its use in the mining industry. It was a simple technique employed by miners during both the California and Yukon gold rush days to separate ore from the soil containing it. Gold miners were not alone however. Northwest civil engineers, if I can call them that, in the early 1900's took the practice to a whole new level. Why not use sluicing to literally level all those "troublesome" hills that we have here? It would be a whole lot simpler to just level it all. Sure would be much easier building roads. And that's what they did in Seattle.
Photo courtesy Washington State Historical Society, 2016.11.84, Asahel Curtis photographer, circa 1908
Steam powered donkey engines provided the power and down those hills came, today known as the Denny regrade area among others. There were a few problems, however. Not everyone was happy, including a number of property owners who liked their view. The heck with them. While these practices were being disputed in the courts, contractors went ahead anyway. Island properties anyone?
Photo courtesy Washington State Historical Society, 1943.42.18733, Asahel Curtis photographer, circa 1910
I guess that property rights only went so far at the time. With all of this soil pouring into Puget Sound, the damage to fisheries has not recovered to this day.
To my knowledge, mining remains the only industry that continues to employ sluicing as a practice, sometimes with devastating consequences as containment dams wash out. Following is what sluicing looked like during gold rush days.
Photo courtesy Washington State Historical Society, 1943.42.28183, Asahel Curtis photographer, circa 1913
Photo taken at Ester Creek near Fairbanks.
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