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<br />ARKANSAS RIVER BASIN. COLORADO, KANSAS. NEW MEXICO D25
<br />
<br />100,000 cfs (V.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1966, pI. 10), According to the
<br />V.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the peak discharge at Lamar without
<br />regulation by the reservoir would have been 208,000 cfs instead of the actual
<br />73,800 cfs. John Martin Reservoir was the only reservoir of significant size
<br />affecting the floodflows in Colorado and Kansas.
<br />In New Mexico, floodwaters were completely controlled by Conchas
<br />and Vte Reservoirs on the Canadian River, and no flooding occurred
<br />downstream.
<br />
<br />,
<br />
<br />COMPARISON WITH PREVIOVS FLOODS
<br />Detailed descriptions of the record floods of June 3-5,1921, in Colorado
<br />are published in the report by Follansbee and Jones (1922). A report
<br />published privately by the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club (Ridgway, 1956)
<br />contains a vivid description of the 1921 flood as it progressed through
<br />Pueblo. Other reports prepared for notable floods that occurred in the
<br />Arkansas River basin in Colorado and New Mexico are those by Murphy
<br />and others (1905), Freeman, Lamb, and Bolster (1910), Follansbee and
<br />Hodges (1925), Dalrymple and others (1939), Follansbee and Sawyer
<br />(1948), and Vaudrey (1960).
<br />At some sites the June 1965 floods exceeded the record floods of 1921 in
<br />Colorado and those of 1904 in New Mexico (table 1). Previously known
<br />maximum discharges at 31 active or discontinued gaging stations, three
<br />crest-stage stations, and 15 miscellaneous sites were exceeded in 1965.
<br />
<br />TABLE 1. _ Comparison of peak discharges for floods in 1904, 1921, and ]965
<br />
<br />Stream and location
<br />
<br />f
<br />i
<br />
<br />Arkansas River near Pueblo, Colo _______________
<br />Fountain Creek at Pueblo, Co[o ________________
<br />Chico Creek near Nortb Avondale, Colo ___________
<br />Arkansas River near Nepesta, Colo ______________
<br />Arkansas River at La Junta, Colo _______________
<br />Purgatoire River at Trinidad, Colo _______________
<br />Arkansas River at Lamar, Colo_________________
<br />Arkansas River at Great Bend. Kans _____________
<br />Vermejo River near Dawson, N. Mex _____________
<br />Cimarron Creek at Springer, N. Mex _____________
<br />Canadian River near Taylor Springs, N. Mex ________
<br />Mora River at La Cueva, N. Mex ___________~___
<br />Mora River near Qoldondrinas, N, Mex ~__________
<br />Mora River nearWalrous, 1\. Mex ______________
<br />Mora River near Shoemaker, N. Mex _______~~____
<br />Canadian River near Sanchez, N, Mex ____________
<br />
<br />'Stage IAftlowerthanin 1965; discharge not determined.
<br />'ProbablyexceededlO,OOOcfs.
<br />'Probably exceeded IO,OOOcfs, but probably less than in 1965.
<br />
<br />Contributing
<br />drainage Peak discharge (cfs)
<br />,~,
<br />(sqmi) 1904 1921 1965
<br />4,686 8,500 103,000 9,260
<br />926 34.000 41,000
<br />86' 28,600 52,200
<br />9,291 180,CYlO 43,100
<br />12,095 200,00(; 31.700
<br />195 45,400 130,000 15,700
<br />18,830 13,800
<br />28,354 (') 27,800
<br />J01 ,') 12,600
<br />1,032 (') 29,500
<br />2,850 91.100 162,000
<br />173 (') 989
<br />267 (') 2,240
<br />521 (') 6,080
<br />1,033 (') 11,000 14,800
<br />5,712 (') 145,000
<br />'May have exceeded 20,QOOcfs.
<br />'Probably exceeded 25,OOOcfs.
<br />'Probablyexceeded 30,OOOcfs.
<br />
<br />ARKANSAS RIVER BASIN, COLORADO AND KANSAS
<br />
<br />The earliest known flood in the Arkansas River valley in Colorado oc-
<br />curred in 1826, long before permanent settlement. Historical information
<br />indicates that many other notable floods occurred in the valley (Follansbee
<br />and Sawyer, 1948). The maximum flood since 1856 on the Arkansas River
<br />
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