FLOOD00051

• County: Pueblo
• Title: The Arkansas River Flood of June 3-5, 1921
• Date: 2/5/1996
• Prepared For: Pueblo County
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Flood Documentation Report

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THE FLOOD AT PUEBLO;

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THE FLOOD BETWEEN CANON CITY AND PUEBLO.

From Canon Ci~y to Florence, a distanell of H miles oy river, the
valley is coIIlparatlvely n,arrow and was little damaged by the flood.
The maximum discharge increased from 3,740 second-feet at CanOl)
City to 9:000 second-feet at Florence.s The tributary streams in this
section-Oil, Chandler, Sixmile, Oak, and Coal creeks-lie partly
within the upper of the two areas of intense rainfall but did not have
as high unit discharges as the tributaries nearer Pueblo. (See table
of maximum discharge, pp. 21-22.)
Between Florence and the mouth of Beaver Creek, a distance of
10 miles, the'discharge must have ,increased considerably, as the
principal tributaries, Eip;htmile, Brush Hollow, and Hardscrabble
creeks, had their flood crests between 7.30 and 8.30 p. m. on' ,Tune :3,
about the time. the river was highest at Florence. At Portlancl, 5
miles below Florence, the highest water occurred at 11 p. m., when
the water was 4 feet (leep in the Dem'er &: Rio Grande Rll.ilroa(l
station.. The water started to fall here at 11.30 p. m. and in all hour
had fallen 3f feet.
From Beaver Creek to Turkey Creek, a distance' of 11, miles: the
maximum stag-e during- the evenin:r of ,Tune Jl could not have in-
creased very greatly, as the tributary streams, Rush and Red creeks
and Ritchie and Fred Rohr gulches, had their flood crests about 5
p. m., several hours before the passage of the main flood crest in the
river. In this stretch the greatest damage was caused not by the
flood of June 3 but by that of June 5 due to the failure of the
Schaeffer reservoir on Beaver Creek (1'.17). (See PI. V, B.)
Between Turkey Creek and Pueblo the discharge of the river in-
creased very rapidly, as this was the section which received the maxi-
mum run-off from the areas of intense rainfaH.

THE FLOOD AT PUEBLO.

GENlolRAL' FEATURES.

'Pueblo, ,the second cityin size in the State, is on Arkansas River
a. few miles east of the foothill region and just above the mouth of
Fountain Creek. The 1920 census gave its population as 42,908. It
is nn important railroad center, being on the lines or the Atchison,
Topeka &; Santa Fe, Denver & Rio Grande vVestern, Missouri
Pacific, and Coloraclo 8:; Southern railways. It is also an important
m:\llllfacturing center, the steel mills: smelters, r'ailroacl car shops,

. F:nl:lnc~rs of the Denycr '" RIo Grande Railroad Co. measured a cross section of the