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PAST FLOODS From the sketchy I nformation on Cottonwooc's p~st floods, a1d from" hydrological calculatIons, [tisexpectodthatCottonwoodwlll res- pond in the Same way. Sources of Data and Rocords No flow rn&asurlng gages exist along Cottonwood Creek,. therefore, no historical flood informatIon [5 evellable. Few re- ferences are made to Cottonwood Creek in newspaper articles of past floods, but the tew references maoo indicate Cottonwood Creek has experienced severe floods In the past. There Is a stream gage on Templeton Gap Floodway which is the basIn edJacent to Cottonwood Creek. The ~xlmum estImated discharge In Templeton Gap Is 9,700 cubiC feet per second Ccfsl on 29-30 Ju Iy, 1932, from ~ 8.68 square mile basin. The largest flood of record on Monument Creek in Cole- rado Springs was estimeted at 50,000 c.Ls. On 30 May, i935, from a draiMge arellof 239 square miles. Summary of HistorIcal Floods The earlIest mention 01 flooding along Cottonwood Creek'I<"smade in the Weekly Gazette of Sunday August I, 1885. This and other newpaper articles are interesting and informative with regard to damages and eyewitness accounts. They contain no Information that enable the estlmeting of peak discharges. Without a hIstory of the magnitude of floods, there Is no way to classify these floods Into a frequency curve for comparIson. Flood Season and Flood Characteristics The COttonWood Creek drainage basin is In the lone ot prevaIling westerlies. The source of rroolst air In the winter is from the Pacific Oceen. Winter precipitatIon Is mostly on the slopes of the COntinental Divide and the mountaIns to the west. Consequently, winter [s generally the driest season In areas Imrnedla- taly east 01 the Continental Divide. Precipitation is primllrlly in the form of snm/llt the hlgherele\latlons and does not produce run- off until spring. April thr<:>ugh Septermer Is the wet season for the Cotton. wood Creek drainage basin. PrecipItatIon Is caused by trontal actIon andalrmassthunderstorrnsthatfreqLJentlyoccursdurlngAprlll:lnd May. SOIIlOalrmassthu"derstonn5occurfro-nJunethroughAugust,t>ut thelroccurrancelsnotesfrequent. During Dctober and November therelsan Increaseln1rontal actlvity,butadecreaselnrrolsture trom theGIJlt of MexiCo, which serves asa principal sourceOfmois. turs during the flood season. The floods from Similar basins in the erea are charac- terized by high peak flows, moderate volumes and short duration. Flood Descriptions f'ollowlng are selected descrlp1"lonsof the July 25, 18~; flood es prlnte~ from the Weekly Gazette. Most of the newspaper artlcle described flooding along Shooks RunandMQnurnentCreekwhere m::>stofthedamageo<;curred,andonellfewas lost. However,the references were made to Cottonwood Creek are: "As for the COunty, no careful estimate has yet been made. Itlsknown,however,that bridges arll gone On the I);Jttonwood, Squirrel Creek, Cheyenne and SandCreek.." other eyewitness accounts descrlbe~ the awesoma fury of the flood: "Mr. H. T. Cook., who resides on his ranch fIve miles northeast of Templeton's Gap, says that, for an hour during the oven I ng of last Satur~ay, tnere was an Incessant fall of rain to tne extent tha1-a tub near thehouso fllledwltnwator in tho spaco of lInhour. This Indlcatosaralnfall ofabootslxteen Inches In depth over the wnole extent of that section during the tiroo specified." ....."Thefamilynowawaltedthenextbestcoursetopursue.lrn- mediately tne mighty torrent came tearing down the gulch wnlch runs through the ranch below their house, and IlOtwithstan~lng, tho house Is located flHeon feet above thegulch,thewatercOl'lpletely sur- rounded It for a long distance at a depth of several teet. The 3 4