A flume with a specially shaped open-channel flow section that may be installed in a drainage lateral or ditch to measure the rate of flow of water. A calibrated device consisting of a broad and flat converging section, a narrow downward sloping throat, and a diverging upward sloping section developed to measure a wide range of flows in an open channel. A calibrated device, based on the principle of critical flow, used to measure the flow of water in open channels. See short-throated flume.