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ups10pes and from summer thundershowers. pikes Peak produces a "rain shadow" which causes a semiarid zone to the east. Annual precipitation varies from a low of 8 inches to a high of 20 inches at the higher elevations. Average; annual precipitation in Colorado Springs is approximately 13.2 inch~s. Most of the flood-producing storms over the study area occur from May through August. The severest storms often occur in the transitional periods of late spring or early fall when polar air intrusions are most intensive. Isolated summer thunderstorms are frequently severe, but limited in areal extent. Available records do not indicate that snowmelt has contributed significantly to flood occurrences in the study area. Floods are characterized by high peak flows, moderate volumes, and short durations. Developments subject to flood damage consist of residential properties and commercial and light industrial establishments. Some bridges and culverts across t,he streams are constrictive to floodflows and contribute to flooding problems. Generally, the bridges across Fountain and Monument Creeks will pass at least the lOa-year flood, with the most constrictive bridges and culverts being on the smaller streams. Other obstructions to flood flows include landfills and isolated levees that have been constructed to protect commercial and residential properties from floOding. Large floods are relatively unaffected by these' levees. 2.3 Principal Flood Problems Historical accounts of flooding include references to several floods in the study area. Information! on past floOds, as available in newspaper files and other histori~al documents, is almost exclusively concerned with the larger aspects 'of flooding on Fountain or Monument Creeks. Major flooding probably. included simultaneous floOding on smaller streams as well. Reference to the smaller streams appears only rarely in early newspaper accQunts. Specific information of the intensity, duration, and magnitude of the storms and flood effects are generally lacking. On the basis of available peak dtscharge data alone, the floods of 1864, 1866, and 1935 would be classified as major in destructive capability. The May 1935 flood (s the flood of record for Fountain and Monument Creeks in Colorado 'Springs. The June 1965 flood on Fountain Creek was primarily caus$d by Jimmy Camp Creek, which at a point 4.5 miles above the Fountain Creek/Jimmy Camp Creek confluence had an estimated peak discharge of 124,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) . The following summaries of floods. were taken primarily from a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) publication (Reference 3) and from the COE files. I June 10. 1864. The Colorado Sorin2s Gazette of June 27, 1864, in a series of articles on early happenings refers to the flood of 1864 as follows: 8