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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8 THE ARKANSAS RIVER FLOOD OF JUNE 3-5, 1921.

flood while trying to rench higher ground, cnrs were overturned and
several lives were lost (PI. II, B). The 2,000 cars in the ;ards
during the flood suffered enormous damage; many were floated away
and overturned or crushed by the impact or pressure of debris.
Some cars were floated grcat distances and were never recovered.'
The total property loss in the city was estimated ~t $10,000,000.

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PROGRESS OF FLOOD CREST THROUGH ARKANSAS
V ALLEY.

The streams that enter Arkansas Ri"l"er between Canon City and
4e mouth of Chico Creek, 16 miles below Pueblo, were the source
of the flood, and'in that section of the river the flood crest increased
rapidly as it proceeded downstream. Below the mouth of Chico
Creek the river received practically noildditional flood discharges.
The approximate time of the flood crest at several points, as ob-
tained from local observers, and the maximum discharge at points
where it was measured are given in the following table. As the
crest flattened out, it became less sharply defined, and the exact time
of its arrival at different points was more difficult to determine.

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ProfJre.... of flood cr6llt throllol. Arkanao~ Valley.

Distance .\pproxlmate tlm. oi creSt. Rate 01 Crest Duration
Point or observation. bet,,-ceo progress. flow. of crest
poInts.- o.ow.
-Ank, p"
Anlt,. It,m,. .'I"c.fl.
Canon City. ................... -.......~. R p. m. June 3................ ""Ojr,:n" 3,1.J0
Florence._ ..... ........ _. ....0. 8.30 p. m.lullo 3.............. 9,(1QI)
Pueblo.. .................. .... a.; 'Midnight. J11no 3.............. 10.0 l03,tXXt G mln..
utes.
~fanzanola._. ..... .... ......... ii2 !J.30 ft. m.ll1n!') .$.......4...... 5.5 .4........
Rocky Fordh................. 10 11.::UIl.m. Jllno "..4.......... 5.0 ..........
La Junta. ..................... 13 :l a. m. Juno ~................ 3.7 200,.0(1) 43 min.
uleo.
Fort Lyon..................... 28 lip. m. June 4............... 3.5 .......4..
Head of AmltrcanaJ........... 23 ...~) 11. m. Iune 5.......4...... 4.2 110,000 31 houn.
Lamllr......................... 7 ;.30 a. m. Iune 5 .............4. 2.1 ..........
Holly.......................... 30 8.30 p. m. June 8"'............ 2.3 120,000
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II ~reasured along' ri'\"er.

The table shows that the rate of progress of the flood crest de-
creased as it traveled down the river. Above Pueblo the decrease
was due chiefly to the decreased slope of the river, but this could not
have had much effect in the lower part of the valley, as the mean
slope decreases only from 8.3 feet to the mile between Pueblo and
La Junta to 7.5 feet to the mile between La Junta and the State line.
Belmv La .Junta the chief factor in retarding the progress of the

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'; /'. ' Data on raUrond losses taken Cram R.II....y Age. June 17, 1921.

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