Val A Browning Library

Special Collections Photos



Diversion Dam-In Zion Canyon

Several irrigation ditches which served Oak Creek and Springdale had their heads inside the park. Temporary dams were constructed of logs and brush--and were frequently destroyed by floods.

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Flanigan Ditch Dam

One of five irrigation ditches which headed within what became Zion National Park. Dams were made of trees and brush and sometimes had to be replaced several times during one summer due to flash floods. Today one ditch, with a concrete dam, supplies Springdale and two campgrounds inside the park. The water is in pipes most of the way.
This has been determined to be the original dam for the Flanigan Ditch.