The San Juan Ridge, north of Nevada City, was the location of a massive hydraulic mining operation during the gold rush. Huge quantities of earth were washed away leaving behind gaping holes in the landscape. Some of the most dramatic carvings in the countryside can be seen around the town of North Bloomfield within the Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park.

A number of engineering marvels were created to support teh hydraulic mining. The world's first long-distance telephone line passed through North Bloomfield as it made it's way from French Corral to Bowman Lake. This telephone line was put in place to support a massive series of ditches and flumes that brought water to the mines from the Sierra 300 miles away. In North Bloomfield, a drainage tunnel was built to drain the runoff from the mining operations to Humbug Creek. This tunnel was 7874 feet long and 200 feet below the surface and was punctuated by eight drainage pipes along the way.

The town of North Bloomfield itself is well-preserved and contains many period structures. This is one of the must-see places in Gold Country.

Malakoff Diggins, 1871
photograph by Carleton E. Watkins, 1871
(J. Paul Getty Museum collection)

The drainage tunnel.