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Flood of 23 Mav 1876. One of the earliest reports of flooding on Bear Creek concerns a stonn on 21 through 23 May 1876 which was reported by the Denver Tribune of 5 June of that year, infonns us that he has never seen such destruction in the region as resuRed from the late stonn. HB spent some days in the valleys of Soda and Bear Creeks and their tributaries and found new gullies worn to the depth of 20 feet in the action of the raging torrents." . Flood of 29 Mav - 1 June 1894. A widespread stonn on 29 May through I June 1894, in the viciMy of Morrison, produced a flood that caused the loss of bridges, railroad tracks, houses, and destroyed thll highway in the canyon. Flood of 24 Julv 1896" Intense rainfall on 24 July 1896 centered on Cub Creek, a tributary Of Bear Creek near Evergreen. The following account was taken from the Rocky Mountain News of 25 July 1896 and reprinted in the United States Geological Survey Water Supply Paper No. ~197 entitled "Floods in Colorado." "Without a moment's warning the largest flood that ever came down Bear Creek struck Morrison about 8 o'clock tonight (July 24), sweeping everything in its path ". aRhough the water came down through the town nearly 3 feet deep in the main street, the buildings in the business section all withstood it." Twenty-seven lives were lost in the flood (available records do not indicate where the deaths occurred) and severe damages were reported from Evergreen to the mouth of Bear Creek. NCI rainfall records of this flood are available. The peak flow on Bear Creek at the Morrison gaging station was 8,600 cfs which is the flood of record. The most recent hydrologic studies indicate that this flood would have a 1-in-40 chance of occurring in any year. It i:s not known to what extent Mount Vernon Creek contributed to the Morrison flooding. , Flood of 7-8 Julv 1933, "Five persons known dead ... property damage of unestimated degree and nearly all the highway between Mt. Morrison and ldledale ruined, is the toll up to date of one of the most devastating floods last Friday afternoon (July 7) ever to visit the Bear Creek watershed.... A cloudburst at about 1 o'clock in the neighbor of Idledale sent a wall of water down Saw Mill Gulch leading to Bear Creek, and another raging torrent down Vernon Cree:k ....The Vernon Creek waters reached a height of 15 feet ... in the narrow passage be"",een the business houses. ... The highway up beautiful Bear Creek Canyon between Mt. Morrison and Idledale is practically ruined." The above account was taken from the Jefferson County Republican and quoted in the United States Geological Survey Water Supply Paper Noc 997 entitled "Floods in Colorado." The peak discharge at Morrison was; 8,000 cfs on Bear Creek and 1,500 cfs on Mount Vernon Creek. Flood of 9 Auaust 1934. The flood of 9 August 1934 in the Bear Creek basin was caused by cloudburst-typll rainfall near Kittredge and at the head of Mount Vernon Creek. Six lives were lost and much property damage-resuRed. It was reported that Mount Vernon Creek ran higher than the previous year and much of the canyon roadway was destroyed. Damage to Morrison was reduced because the Bear Creek peak flow passed through the town before the Mount Vernon Creek high water arrived. ! ! Colorado Flood Hydrology Manual 4.6 fRIJFT