Miocene Ditch

The Miocene Ditch is one of three historic ditches along the west side of the Nome River, on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska. It and the other two, the Seward and Pioneer ditches, were built to provide water to early placer mining operations near Nome. The Miocene is the oldest and longest of the three ditches, and the highest in elevation. From suitable places along the Nome-Taylor Road the ditches form distinct parallel lines crossing tundra promontories west of the river. The ditch begins on the Nome River near the confluence with Buffalo Creek. As recently as the mid-1990s, there was a substantial head gate visible at the upper end of the ditch (Smith 1997:cover photo). There is some difference of opinion regarding the precise length of the ditch. Purington puts the length of the ditch and its laterals at 54 miles (1905:124). Four years later, the length is stated to be 62 miles (Harrison 1909:553). On the north side of King Mountain, the ditch forks, carrying water to mines in both the Snake and Nome River drainages. The upper and lower sections of the ditch were built to be 8 feet wide at the bottom and 11 feet wide at the top, while the middle section was ten feet wide at the bottom and 14 feet at the top. It was designed to carry about 28,500 gallons per minute (Purington 1905:124). Construction on the ditch began in 1901, making it the first major water conduit on the Se

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