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<br />4.3 RIO GRANDE RIVER BASIN <br /> <br />4,3.1 RIO GRANDE RIVER <br /> <br />Flood of 1884, A flood of record occurred durinq June 1884 and was caused by thl) meltlnq of the <br />very heavy snow cover, augmented by heavy rain$, Although records of discharge are lacking, it is believed <br />that the flood of 1884 was one of the most severe on the Rio Grande, From the files of the Del Norte San Juan <br />Prospector ~ appears that the river started to rise at Del NOlte about May 15 and rose 3 feet in 3 days, Within <br />the next week it overflowed its banks and washed out the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad tracks In several <br />places, presumably near Creede, The San Juan Prospector, May 31, 1884, stated that two bridges over the <br />Rio Grande above South Fork had been destroyed by drift and that the river had overflowed its banks at Del <br />Norte and inundated a large section of land below the railroad tracks, From about May 24 to June 20 the river <br />was out of its banks at Del Norte and at the peak on Jun" 14 and 15 the statement was made that the Rio <br />Grande was higher than since 1872 (1869)? the entire bottom lands below town were from 1 inch to 2 feet <br />under water, but that the water did not reach the main part of town. <br /> <br />4.4 COLORADO RIVER BASIN <br /> <br />4.4.1 COLORADO RIVER <br /> <br />1984, <br /> <br />Floods have occurred on the Colorado River in: 1884, 1917, 1920, 1921, 1935, 1952, 1957, 1983, and <br /> <br />Flood of 1884, The first flood on the Colorado River of which definite knowledge is available occurred <br />during June and July 1884 and was caused by the melting of the very heavy snow cover, The Weather Bureau <br />located the high,water mark left by the peak stage of 1 B84 at fruita, and in 1917 the Geological Survey by <br />connecting this mark w~h the gage being maintained, found its elevation to be 18.5 feet, as based on the gage <br />datum, By running a line of levels across the area flooded in 1884 and extending the rating curve, the peak <br />discharge was determined to be 125,000 cfs, <br /> <br />Flood of 1921, The largest snowmelt flood runo'lf of record on the Colorado River occurrEld in June <br />1921. Heavy rain on June 14 and 15 augmented rwnoff to produce a peak flow of 81,100 cfs near Fruita, <br /> <br />Floods of 1983 and 1984, Peak flows on the Colorado River at the State Line were approximately <br />61,000 cfs and 70,000 cfs In 1983 anc11984, respectively, <br /> <br />Colorado Flood <br />Hydrology Manual <br /> <br />4.26 <br /> <br />D.RAFr <br />