A log flume is a watertight flume constructed to transport lumber and logs down mountainous terrain using flowing water. Flumes replaced horse- or oxen-drawn carriages on dangerous mountain trails in the late 19th century. Logging operations preferred flumes whenever a reliable source of water was available. Flumes were cheaper to build and operate than logging railroads. They could span long distances across chasms with more lightweight trestles.
A sawmill with log flume, Cascade Range, USA
The log pond at Sugar Pine provided the water supply for the flume head.
Workers load bundles of lumber for the trip down the flume.
A "flume frog" joins multiple branches into one trunk as it leaves the sawmill's loading deck.
A flume is a human-made channel for water, in the form of an open declined gravity chute whose walls are raised above the surrounding terrain, in contrast to a trench or ditch. Flumes are not to be confused with aqueducts, which are built to transport water; flumes use flowing water to transport materials. Flumes route water from a diversion dam or weir to a desired materiel collection location. Flumes are usually made up of wood, metal or concrete.
Log flume in Sweden, August 2010
Bull Run Hydroelectric Project diversion flume, carrying water from one reservoir to another
Working irrigation flume under repair in the East Kootenay, British Columbia Canada. Built in 1912, it runs 8 km to provide water to a few dozen farms.
A bypass flume on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
