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30 FLOODS IN COLORADO MAJOR FLOODS-SOUTH PLAT'l'E RIVER 31 Daily discharge of South PlaUe River, in 6uond.JeetJ during flood oj June 1936 Station Drainage area (square miles) Period of record June 6, 1894, mentioned the destruetion caused in various parts of the State, and stated tha.t in the vicinity of Morrison the flood caused the loss of bridges, railroad tracks, and houses, and destroyed the highway in the canyon. During July 1896 rainfall was recorded at frequent intervals at practically every Weather Bureau station in Colorado, and although the amounts recorded for each storm were not great, the total for the month ranged from 1 inch to 5 inches. No outstanding floods oecurred except in the adjacent basins of Benr Creek and Clear Creek, and precipitation records are not available for these. The flood on Bear Creek was the severest recorded for that area, and caused the loss of several lives, and much property damage. Unlike the other floods on Bcar Crcek, which originated below Evergreen in the vicinity of Cold Spring Gulch, the flood of July 24, 1896, originated on Cub Creek, above Evergreen. A resident of Evergreen says that a 24-hour rain terminated in a cloudburst on Cub Creek that washed out a small mill dam on that stream. The Colorado Transcript, Augus~ 5, 1896, reported: Commencing at the origin of th~ flood which is at the head of Cub Creek, about 8 miles southwest of Evergreen, there is nothing but ruin and desolation in its wake. The Rocky Mountain News, July 25, 1896, stated: 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. * * * The terror was added to by a report that a flood that would wipe out the entire town was eoming down Mount Vernon Guleh * . '" but, a.lthough the water ca.me down through the town nearly 3 feet deep in the main street, the buildings in the business Beetion all withstood it. The peak flow at the Morrison gaging station above the mouth of Mount V crnon Creek was computed by the slope-area method as 8,600 second-feet." According to the newspaper repor\l>, the area of heavy rainfal1 extended to the head of Cub Creek and probably was about 50 square mileS, which indicates a unit runoff of 172 second-feet pel' S'lUlIJ'O mile. A flood 011 Bear Creck, July 7, 1933, is reported in the Jefferson Count.y Republican as follows: Five per-mns known dead '" * '" property damage of t'mestimated degree and nearly all the highway between Mt. Morrison and Idledale ruined, is the toll lip t.o date of one of the moat devMtating floods last Friday afternoon [July 7J ever to vil,it the Bear Creek watershed. '" * * A cloudburst at about 1 o'clock itl the neighborhood of ldledale sent a wall of water down Saw Mill Gulch lending to Bear Creek, and another raging torrent down Vernon Creek '" * *. The Vernon Creek waters reached a height of 15 feet '" '" * in the narrow pas~lLge between the business houses. '" * '" The highway up beautiful Bear Denver. Kersoy, Sublette. JUlesburg, Da" 3,MO square 9,600 square 12,900 square 20,600 square miles mlloa miles miles May 3O._._oo...._d_........___....__.___.._.. "'" ~300 1,460 4,"" 1960 6,700 1,720 3,310 31_..____..._..-_____._._.___..__.__.__.__. 800 4,120 3.620 6,810 lun. 1___....___._..._.____00..____...._....___ 2._.__.___..___.._._______..00.._..__..._. 71' 2.300 2,080 124,000 3_ .______.....___.___._.____00.__..____._. 64, 1,300 .17 I~96O 4. _._______.. ...hh_____.____oo.._oo_____ 500 1,960 520 7,610 6___.....__.__._._._._.....___.__...._._._ 450 ll80 407 4,"", 6_ _..______._..._..._"..___.__.00._.__.... 425 960 33' 3,320 7. .."..n__._....oo_...._.._..______....._ 4!1 717 291 ~"'" 8_ _...__.__.._.__.0..___.._.__..._________ 300 800 263 1130 I Peak discharge, 31.aoo second-feet. BEAR CRElm Bear Creek, which drains the eastern slope of the Front Range, emerges from the foothills near Morrison and flows through a shallow valley for a distance of 10 miles to its junction with the South Platte River. Between ldledale and Morrison the fa1\ is 173 feet per mile, and acrOBB the plains it is 44 feet per mile, Gaging statt'on8 on Bear Creek . Idledale (StarbuCk)__________..___.__ Morrison______... _ 'HnU _U _n_____ Sheridan Junction at mouth of Bear Crtek. III October 1919 to September 19M. 165 April 1888 to Septelllber 1891; May IBM to Marcb 1902; October 1004 to date. 265 April to November 1914; February 1927 to date. From available references Bear Creck 'appears to be subject to more frequent cloudburst floods than any other ~ributa~ ~f the South Platte River. This may he partly due to ItS proxnmty to Denver and to the fact that many residents of Denver have summer homes in that area, thus focusing attention on this stream. The highway was formerly only a few feet higher than the cree~, and ?on- sidcrable lOBS of life occurred when travelers were trapped m vehIClcs on the highway during- floods. Of the 15 floods to which references have been found, the 5 larger ones are dCl!eribed in this report. The storm of May 21-23, 1876, which took thc form of sno,,:, ovcr the upper part of Bear Creek Basin, caused the flood reported In the Denver Tribune of June 5, 1876. * . . informs us that he has never seen such destruction in the region as re- sulted from the late stol"m. He spent some days in the valleys [or] Soda and Dear Creeks and their tributaries and found new gulehes worn to the depth of 20 feet in the action of the raging torrents. The widespread storm of May 29-June 1, 1894, resulted in one of the tom ~oMr,l"d floods caused by general rains. The Colorado TranscrIpt, '0 CQ]ormJo State Engineer, Report for the years 1895 and 1896, p. 45, 1897.