You are here

Colorado » The South Platte » Douglas County » Highlands Ranch » Highline Canal

Highline Canal

-A A +A
1883. Begins south of Chatfield Reservoir at the Arequia rail siding of the DSP&P just above Kassler in the South Platte Canyon and runs through Douglas, Arapahoe, and Denver counties for 80 miles to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal in Adams County

Built by English capitalists, the Highline Canal was an engineering marvel using topography and natural flow to water the southeast quadrant of the metropolitan Denver area. Unlike canals in the eastern United States, this often dry western irrigation ditch was never used for transportation. Today the service road along the canal has been converted by the Denver Water Department to a meandering trail where hikers, bikers, roller bladers, and joggers enjoy the cottonwood-lined banks inhabited by racoons, foxes, rabbits, and waterfowl.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Thomas J. Noel
×

Data

What's Nearby

Chatfield Dam and State Park
Highlands Ranch Headquarters
Denver Mormon Temple
Roxborough State Park
Arapahoe Greenway

Citation

Thomas J. Noel, "Highline Canal", [Littleton, Colorado], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/CO-01-DA16.

If SAH Archipedia has been useful to you, please consider supporting it.

SAH Archipedia tells the story of the United States through its buildings, landscapes, and cities. This freely available resource empowers the public with authoritative knowledge that deepens their understanding and appreciation of the built environment. But the Society of Architectural Historians, which created SAH Archipedia with University of Virginia Press, needs your support to maintain the high-caliber research, writing, photography, cartography, editing, design, and programming that make SAH Archipedia a trusted online resource available to all who value the history of place, heritage tourism, and learning.

,