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GJ0193 22 this limits the potential total effect of evaporation On the river and in general maintains the velocity for the normal range of discharges between rather moderate velocity ranges. TRANSLATORY WAVES The phenomenon of translatory waves in the Arkansas River is apparent to the hydrographer and others who have observed reservoir releases traveling downstream. The translatory wave is also a phenomenon which has been reported upon by flood victims in the southwest where normally dry arroyos have flash floods and where the translatory wave is often described as a 'wall of water" carrying trees and general debris. The translatory wave phenomenon was studied in detail during the course of this study by the use of ping pong balls, fluorescein dye, and numerous temporary gaging stations set up to measure the river stage against time. It was clearly evident by both the aerial observers and those manning the staff gages that the wave front preceded the first water that was released from the reservoir. This rise was associated with some turbulence, with a rather rapid breaking up of the surface ice, turbid water, and debris. Near Granite the full hydrograph rise for the Twin LakeS release took no longer than approxi- mately five minutes, which was less than the time it took to open the gates. The sharp rise was notably uniform to about Salida. One of the characteristics noted On the Arkansas River work was that the ping pong balls and other floats, which represented the surface flow velocity, tended to stay with the wave front rather than to fall back with the dye, the dye being fully integrated throughout the full depth of the water, and much slower. ROUTING Stream flow routing is a technique used in hydrology to compute the effect 0' channel storage on the shape and movement of a flood wave. For natural water courses, empirical data based on the study of many flood hydrographs at various locations on the river are necessary, to prepare a workable flood routing procedure. Flood routing has been successfully used on large rivers in the midwest region of the United States where mean river velocities are low. We attempted to apply the Muskingum Method of flood routing to reservoir water released on the Arkansas River. The results of this attempt gave poor corre- lation between the different Tuns. Perhaps development of more sophisticated routing methods would prove more reliable and useful for the administration of the Arkansas River. It would take considerable time and effort to develop a mathematical routing procedure that would be accurate, and this procedure is not recommended for use in travel time, transit loss studies on the Arkansas. Its best use would be for flood forecasting.