Laserfiche WebLink
<br />I <br />I <br />~ <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />r, <br />, <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />,.. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />5<<. t"d..< ,dt~~ <br /> <br />062-4D-91Wl IIR <br /> <br />CONFID,,/lT IAL - FOR COJJlll TT;:';: l4EllllERS ONLY _ NOT TO BE RElZASED <br /> <br />COlolPRElIEllSIVE FIooD CONTROL PLAN <br />FOR TIlE ARIWlSAS RIVER BASIN <br /> <br />By lIajor W. W. WAlWlAXER <br />u. S. Corps of Engineers <br /> <br />A Report PreBented at Ueetlng of <br />Southwest Y1ss1ssippl BasIn -A- and "Bn Committees <br />August 8 and 9, 1940 <br /> <br />A. Arkansas Hi ver Basin <br /> <br />1. The Arkansas River and its tributaries drain an area of 160,500 <br />square miles,. of which 159.000 are in the South'l'nHltern Division. The <br />river rises in the Rooky JJountalna in central Colorado and flows 1,450 <br />miles in a general southeasterly direction to the Mississippi. From its <br />80urce to Canon City, Coloe, the stream Is a ~lcal mountain torrent <br />descrsnd.lng from an elevation of 11,500 feet to 5.300 feet. In this area <br />agriculture 18 limited and there is praotically no damage from the maxi.. <br />mum flows whioh follow melting shows in the ::spring. <br /> <br />2. At Pueblo the valley widens into an immense agrioulture and <br />grating 1lr81l known IlS the Great Plains Valley. 3 miles wide. Between <br />Pueblo and Hutchinson. Kans.. the river has a length of U60 miles and <br />drains an area of 34,000 squllre miles. This portion of the valley con- <br />tains the principal bodies of irrigated lands. From the Colorado-Kansas <br />state line to Hutohinson. the stream 1s charllcterhed by low banks and a <br />broad.. saniy bed. At som.e time3 the stream bed is dry and at other times <br />cllrries rapidly rising and destruotive floods. The Arkansas River above <br />the general vioinity of Hutchinson may be oonsidered 8.S a minor tributary <br />to the lower river since flood flows from Colore.do deorease to minor <br />amounts before reaohing Hutchinson. Flows of 200,000 c.f.s. at mouth of <br />Purgatoire reduce to 7.500 at Hutchinson. <br /> <br />3. From Wichita. Kans.. to Little Rock. Ark.. about 600 clles. <br />muoh of tho drainage are is broken and hilly, and prairie land. In <br />lMstern Arlcs.naa.s the watershed is decidedly rugged. conshtiog of hills <br />which merge into the Boston and O~arlc Uounta.ins on the north and the <br />Petit Jean Mountains on the south. Below Little Rock 1s the broad allu- <br />vial valley which blends into that of the ~8si8Sippi River. <br /> <br />4. <br /> <br />The drainage areas of the principal tributaries are as follows: <br /> <br />24.i.3 <br />