The Hanging Flume was built in the 1880s to facilitate hydraulic mining of placer deposits along the Dolores River. Construction of the Hanging Flume took three years, beginning in 1887. Approximately 24 workers participated in the build, suspended from ropes onto the cliff face. The
actual wooden flume was 6 feet wide and 4 feet deep. When in use, it conveyed 80,000,000 gallons of water each day. The flume was only used for three years before being abandoned because most of the gold was unrecoverable. Investors only made $80,000 after investing over
$1,000,000 into the mine and associated engineering works.