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<br />GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
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<br />WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 997 PI,ATE 2
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<br />A. nnlIl(a: W~T <W I'UIWI..O.
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<br />B. RAI[.ItoAD YAHDS IN l'll}o:UW.
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<br />DAMAGE TO DENVER & RIO GRANm~ RAILROAD CAUSE]) IlY FLOOD
<br />OF JUNE 1921.
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<br />MAJOR FLOODS-ARKANSAS RIVER
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<br />85
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<br />Reclamation made an investigation of the flood of 1944, and the
<br />following description is based on that agency's report.
<br />The heavicst rainfall occurred on the north side of t,he creek and
<br />extended abo)lt 4 miles above the mouth. A resident living near the
<br />mouth in NE% sec. 9, 'f. 18 S., R. 70 W., stated that the storm origi-
<br />nated in the northwest, and that the intense precipitation, accom-
<br />panied by some hai'!, lasted from 9;30 to 10:15 p. m. A light rain
<br />continued for some hours afterward. A wooden barrel in an orchard
<br />caught 6% inches of water during the storm. In the SE% sec. 8, T.
<br />18 S., R. 70 W., near the southern edge of the area of intense rainfall,
<br />4J2 inches was measured in a steel gasoline barrel. An incomplete
<br />record in the center of sec. 15, 'f. 18 S., R, 80 W., gave 2% inches for
<br />about 35 minutes during the height of the storm. Oil Creek above
<br />the mouth of Wilson Creek did not have a severe floed; this indicates
<br />that the area of intense rainfall did not cxtend far above Wilson Creek.
<br />;... sope-area measurement made near the mouth of Wilson Creek in
<br />SW% sec. 3, T. 18 S., R. 70 W., indicated a peak disebarge of 20,600
<br />second-feet, or 303 second-feet per squal'C mile for the entire drainage
<br />basin. '1'0 obtain some indication of the unit run-off from the lower
<br />part of the basin, a slope-area measurement was made in NE% sec. 31,
<br />'f. 17 S., R. 70 W., and this gave a peak disehllJ'ge of 16,800 second-feet.
<br />From these two measurements, it appellJ's that the peak discharge
<br />from the intervening area of 6.7 squllJ'e miles was at least 3,800
<br />second-feet or 567 second-feet per square mile.
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<br />FOUNTAIN CREEK
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<br />Fountain Creek rises near Woodland Park and drains the northeast
<br />slope of Pikes Peak. It emerges from the foothills near Colorado
<br />Springs, flows 52 miles across the plains, and empties into the Arkan-
<br />sas River at Pueblo. In the mountains the creek has a heavy fnll,
<br />but below Colorado Springs its fall decreases from 30 feet per mile to
<br />] 7 feet per mile near the mouth.
<br />Prior to Septemher ], 1938, no gaging station was mnintained on
<br />Fountain Creek. The Weather Bureau has a staff gage near the
<br />mouth, which is read during flood stages.
<br />The earliest record of a flood on Fountain Creek is that of June 10,
<br />1864. The Colorado Springs Gazette of June 27, 1874, ina series of
<br />articles on early-day happenings, refers to the flood of 1864:
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<br />There had been several thunder showers and the creeks were somewhat swollen,
<br />though not so much as to cause any apprehension. But about 4 o'clock * * '"
<br />a heavy cloud came up over Ch~yenne Mountain and the sky gathered darkncBS
<br />until nearly sundown, when rain and hail began to fall in tremendous torrents.
<br />* * * The ra.in came down, not in drops, but in floods, the hail consisted of
<br />huge lumps of ice, 80me of them over 3 inches in diameter; the whole surfa.ce of
<br />the country was flooded as t.hough it were a vast lake, and in some of the ra.vines
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