The Sutro Tunnel is a drainage tunnel (adit) connected to the Comstock Lode in Northern Nevada. It begins at Virginia City, Nevada and empties approximately 6 miles southeast near the town of Dayton, Nevada. The tunnel was first envisioned by Adolph Sutro in 1860. He promoted the drainage tunnel in order to allow access to deeper mineral exploration in the Comstock. Mine flooding and inadequate pumps had inhibited some exploration activities up to that time. Arthur De Wint Foote worked on the tunnel in 1873, but was fired in 1874, having struck a flood of water in Shaft No. 2.