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<br />ARKANSAS RIVER BASIN, COLORADO, KANSAS, NEW MEXICO D27 <br /> <br />about 450,000 acre-feet, compared with 400,000 acre-feet (adjusted for <br />storage in John Martin Reservoir) in 1965. <br /> <br />CANADIAN RIVER BASIN, NEW MEXICO <br />Streamflow records have been collected in the Canadian River basin in <br />New Mexico since 1903. The longest continuous record collected in the 1965 <br />flood area is on the Mora River near Shoemaker, where records date back <br />to 1914. <br />The greatest floods known prior to 1965 at most sites in the Canadian <br />River basin occurred in September 1904. Other notable floods occurred in <br />1913 and in 1937 (Dalrymple and others, 1939). Extensive flooding oc- <br />curred on Cimarron Creek and the Mora River in 1913 and 1942, and <br />floods occurred on Ute Creek in 1941 (Vaudrey, 1960). <br />The 1965 peak discharges on the Canadian River from station near <br />Hebron to Conchas Reservoir exceeded all previously known peak <br />discharges. At the station near Hebron the Peak discharge of 62,400 cfs <br />on June 17, 1965, probably exceeded the 1942 peak, which was slightly <br />lower in stage. The 1965 peak discharge of 162,000 cfs on the Canadian <br />River near Taylor Springs was nearly twice that which occurred in 1904. <br />The same is true for the station near Roy (peak discharge, 172,000 cfs in <br />1965). The Canadian River near Sanchez peaked at 145,000 cfs in June <br />1965, Lifelong residents state that the 1904 flood was higher in stage, but <br />the channel was smaller, and therefore the peak discharge in 1904 was <br />probably less than that in 1965. <br />The peak discharge of 29,500 cfs on Cimarron Creek at Springer in 1965 <br />is believed to have been greater than that in 1904, Longtime residents state <br />that although the 1904 flood was about 2 feet higher than the 1965 flood, the <br />Santa Fe Railroad bridge opening was smaller and caused greater back- <br />water, The flood on Ponil Creek near Cimarron (peak discharge, 5,630 cfs <br />in 1965) was the greatest since 1915. The peak discharge on Chase Canyon <br />near Cimarron was 10,800 cfs in June 1965. Flooding in the valley down- <br />stream from Chase Canyon was the greatest in at least 80 years, according <br />to nearby residents. <br /> <br />FLOOD DAMAGE <br /> <br />Fourteen persons were drowned, and at least two other deaths were at- <br />tributed to the storms and activities related to the 1965 floods. Damage <br />amounted to more than $60 million in the tristate area - about $56 million <br />in Colorado and Kansas, and the remainder in New Mexico. <br />Estimates of flood damage by type and location compiled by the U.S. <br />Army Corps of Engineers (1966) are summarized in table 2. <br /> <br />Heavy rain and hail in the Fountain-Colorado Springs area on June 14 <br />caused considerable damage to urban areas and road bridges. Major <br />flooding affecting areas along the Arkansas River and its tributaries <br />h..tn'....n 1>l1""hln !:anrl Tnhn M~rt;n n~m ~~II...p.n hf':::IVV r1am~Hre on June <br />