engineering

Gunnison Tunnel

Gunnison Tunnel is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Gunnison Tunnel rather than just read about it. In short: The Gunnison Tunnel is an irrigation tunnel constructed between 1905 and 1909 by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in Montrose County, Colorado.

Key takeaways

Gunnison Tunnel belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Gunnison Tunnel to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Gunnison Tunnel from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Gunnison Tunnel is an irrigation tunnel constructed between 1905 and 1909 by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in Montrose County, Colorado. The 5.8-mile-long (9.3 km) tunnel diverts water from the Gunnison River to the arid Uncompahgre Valley around Montrose, Colorado.

History

At the time of its completion, it was the longest irrigation tunnel in the world and quickly made the area around Montrose into profitable agricultural lands. In 1972, the tunnel was designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The idea for a tunnel is credited to Frank Lauzon, a miner and prospector. By the early 1890s he was farming in Montrose. Popular lore is that idea came to him in a dream that the waters of the Gunnison River should be brought to the valley. In the late 1890s, the campaign for the tunnel was led by Omer Madison Kem. National funding was approved in 1902. As construction was undertaken, two advances in technology made work safer and easier. Jackhammers fed by a compressor replaced hand-turned drill bits to set holes for blasting charges. Dynamite replaced black powder for blasting. By 1906 shifts of workers up to 30 at a time worked in the tunnel. The tunnel opened in 1909 to much fanfare with a dedication ceremony attended by President William Howard Taft. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The tunnel is 5.8 miles (9.3 km) long and is 11 by 12 feet (3.4 m × 3.7 m) in cross-section, with square corners at the bottom and an arched roof. It drops about 40 feet (12 m) over its length. At the deepest, it is about 2,200 feet (670 m) beneath the surface of Vernal Mesa. In 2009, some communities in the Uncompahgre Valley, celebrated the centennial anniversary of the Gunnison Tunnel opening.

See also List of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks List of tunnels documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Colorado

References

Further reading "Uncompahgre Project". U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Marsh, Barton W. (1905). The Uncompahgre Valley and The Gunnison Tunnel.

External links

American Society of Civil Engineers site - The Gunnison Tunnel article The Gunnison Tunnel at Structurae Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. CO-95, "Uncompahgre Project, Gunnison Tunnel, Gunnison River, Montrose, Montrose County, CO", 3 data pages

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Gunnison Tunnel

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Gunnison Tunnel claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Gunnison Tunnel before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Gunnison Tunnel ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Gunnison Tunnel

In research: Gunnison Tunnel appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Gunnison Tunnel in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Gunnison Tunnel is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Curecanti National Recreation Area, Gunnison River, Historic American Engineering Record in Colorado, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Gunnison Tunnel outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Gunnison Tunnel in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Gunnison Tunnel means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Gunnison Tunnel out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gunnison Tunnel in simple terms?

The Gunnison Tunnel is an irrigation tunnel constructed between 1905 and 1909 by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in Montrose County, Colorado.

Why does Gunnison Tunnel matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Gunnison Tunnel?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Gunnison Tunnel.