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5 ~ - OCCURRENCE OF FLOODS . TOPOGRAPHIC ZONES Colorado may be roughly di dded from east to west into three zones: The east,ern three-sevenths of the State, which occupies the western edge of the high plains and has a rolling topography; the cpntral two-sevenths, made up of parallel ranges of the Rocky Moun- tains that attain their highest elevation in Colorado, and between which are high, relatively level areas known as mountain parks; and the western two-sevenths, made up in the northern part, of rolling hills, and in the central and southern parts, of the deeply eroded high plateaus that characterize much of the Colorado River Basin. This topography, because of its wide range, exerts a marked influence on the occurrence of'floods. e FOLLANSBEE, ROBERT, Survey Water-Sup pp.151-154. FOLLANSBEE, ROBERT, an:f SPIEGEL, J. B., Flood on Republican and Kansas Rivers, May and Jmre 1935: U. S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 795-B, pp. 51-52, 19m. COLORADO TImer Coiorado River and Its Utilization: U. S. Geological ply Paper 617, 394 pp. 1929. Contains a section on floods, IN FLOODS A -.; Published reports 6th Biennial Report [far the years 1891 and 1892]. 1893. Includes a brief report, by L. R. HopI;, of thc flood on Cache La Poudre River, June 9, 189i, due to the failure of1lI:reChambers Lake Dam (p. 19), and the figures of peak discharge during thatffuod (p. 22). 8th Biennial Report [for theyears 1895 and 1896]. 1897. Contains a description of the gaging station ,1m Bear Creek at Morrison, and an estimate of the dis- charge at that stationooring the flood of July 24, 1896 (p. 454). 15th Biennial Report[for:i!hl years 1909 and 1910]. 1911. Includes reports on the failure of the Midl\lc and Trout Lakes reservoir dams, in the early part of September 1909, due to a flood on Lake Fork of San Miguel River (pp. 113-116). 28th Biennial Report [for tile years 1935 and 1936]. 1939., Includes a paper by L. T. Burgess, entitled "Disastrous floods in 1933-1934-1935" (pp. 38-43), in which he dcscribes'hliefly floods on the following streams: Purgatoire River, Sept. 15, 1934; Horse'~ek, Aug. 28, 1935; Granada Creek, July 11-12, 1935; Monument Creek at 0I1orado Springs, May 30, 1935; Cherry Creek, Aug. 2-3, 1933; Arikaree RR1lr, May 30, 1935; South Fork of Republican River, l\1ay 30, 1935; Bijou Oaek, ~~Iay 30, 1935; and I\:io-wa Creek, rvlay 30,1935. :ftDt<rE ENGINEER OF COLORADO During the spring and summer storms the chief source of moisture is the Gulf of Mexico.1 The warm, moisture-laden air from the Gulf, being deflected upward by the Front Range, is cooled and precipitates its moisture not only on the Front Range but also on the adjacent plains area. Although the storms may continue westward, the remaining moisture is insufficient to produce heavy precipitation west of the Front Range, and does not cause floods on the streams in the mountain area. Very rarely, as in September 1909 and October 1911, late summer and early fall storms bring in moisture-laden air from the Pacific Ocean, which being deflected upward by the moun- tain mass bordering the high plateau in the western part of the State, causes heavy rainfall in the southwestern part of the State and lesser amounts farther east. n' , During the, winter the moisture comes chiefly from the Pacific' Ocean; it is deflected upward by the western mountain chains and is precipitated in the form of snow, usually heaviest on the western slopes of the highest ranges and decreasing eastward. , Along the INFLUENCE OF TOPOGRAPHY ON PRECIPITATION I the 12, Dam, Sept. 15, July on the Arkansas River in June 1921 This flood caused the loss of about 100 lives in Pueblo, and an estimated property loss of $19,000,. 000 in the Arkansas VaHey, of which the greater part was also sus- tained by Pueblo. This may not have been the greatest flood from the standpoint of volume, howe\"er, as some of the early floods appar- ently reached higher stages. Single floods inundating large areas and causing heavy loss of life are rare in Colorado, but many floods of considerable magnitude have occurred, some of which caused loss of life and great property damage. Many of the areas flooded are shown in figure 1. and Uand Engineer Aug. 28, 1935, Ninemile in Granada and Wolf Creeks, Office of the State Creek flood, flood at Unpublished replJlta. on file in the HINDERLIDER, M. C., Replllt. of the Horse failure of the Horse Cmek Dam, '1935. BURGESS, L. T., Report on Purgatoire River 1934. ' BURGESS, L. T. 1935. BURGESS, L. Denver. Report of Ioods Tech. Agr Dept ,s. moisture for precipitation in the United States: U. , 1 Holzman, Benjamin, Sources of B~. 589, p. 24, 1937. -1- '.. ~. ;( 1933, in the South Platte River at CITY OF DENVER 9-10, Sept. df lfuod, Report T. OOCURRENCE OJr FLOODS Colorado was settlm! in the late 1850's, but before that time trad- ers,liuntersl aJidemipnts on the long trek to the Far West recorded floods, the earliest bellg those on the Arkans,as and Repubiican Ri vel'S in 1826. The next, which, is believed, to have been, Widespread, occurred in .1844 on tlm~kansas Ri vel', 'and by inference on the South Platte River, also. Swere IloodsoccUrred on the Colorado River hi 1853 il,nd on th~ Purgatoire River andSfm Juan River about 1859. Since the settlemeIftof Colorado the most disastroUs flood occurred , , , ' Report of the Cherry Creek Flood Commission, ,May 1913, Denver.