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D4 FLOODS OF 1965 IN THE UNITED STATES Reservoir. Peak discharges several times greater than those with a frequen- cy Qf 50 years occurred at many sites. Along the Canadian River in New Mexico above Conchas Dam, peak discharges were greater than those that occilrred in the outstanding flood of 1904. F100d damage in the tristate area exceeded $60 million, and 16 lives were lost Many gaging stations were destroyed or damaged in Colorado and Nel\l Mexico. Floods during the same period in the South Platte River basin (M6.tthai, 1969) resulted in over $500 million in damage and the loss of eight lives. FLOODS AND FLOOD AREAS The floods of June 1965 in the Arkansas River basin occurred principally in five areas: north of Pueblo, Colo.; Purgatoire River and its tributaries below Alfalfa, Colo.; south of the Arkansas River from Las Animas, Colo., to lhe State line; the Arkansas River from Pueblo, Colo., to Great Bend, Kans.; and the Canadian River and its tributaries in New Mexico above Conchas Reservoir (pI. I). the floods began on June 14 in the Fountain Creek basin near Colorado Springs, Colo., from moderately intense rainfall. The next day outstanding flobds occurred in the Mora River basin in New Mexico from intense rain- fall. This was only the prelude of what was to come. Immense storm centers formed on the 16th and 17th in the upper Fountain Creek basin and in the southeast corner of Colorado and in northeastern New Mexico near Raton (pL 2). Rainfall was extremely intense, as much as 15,5 inches in 14 hours, an\! caused record-breaking floods in the areas listed above. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS the data in this report were collected as part of the cooperative programs between the U.S. Geological Survey and other Federal, State, county, and municipal agencies. They were collected and compiled under the supervision of J. W. Odell, E. J. Kennedy, and W. L. Heckler, district engineers for the Colorado, Kansas, and New Mexico districts, respectively. The field sur. veys and some computations were coordinated by H. F. Matthai, regional hydraulic specialist Office computations were directed by C. T. Jenkins and R. J. Snipes, Denver, Colo., and personnel in the States of Kansas and New Mexico. Experienced men from four other districts assisted in the field sur- veys. Owen J. Larimer provided valuable technical data concerning flood information for New Mexico. E. J. Tripp, C. T. Jenkins, and D. D. Gon- zalez materially assisted in the preparation of this report. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and the U.S. Weather Bureau furnished meteorological information, precipitation and flood. damage data, and the precipitation map. Their cooperation is gratefully acknowledged. Gratitude is also extended to the many farmers, ranchers, and other in. dividuals who provided valuable information on times of flood peaks and