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<br />4.2 ARKANSAS RIVER BASIN
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<br />4.2.1 ARKANSAS RIVER
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<br />Flood of 1864, The first flooct on the Arkansas River for which detailed information
<br />has been found occurred June 11, 1864, as a resutt of the general storm over eastern
<br />Colorado, The early settlers agree that this flood reached a point near Third and Santa
<br />Fe Avenues in Pueblo, and n, as seems probable, the street has been graded down since
<br />1864, the flood of that year may halfe been nearly as high as the flood of 1921, During
<br />the flood of 1921 all the streams in the valley were very high and overflowed their banks
<br />for great distances,
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<br />Flood of 1867, A flood in May 1807 caused the removal of Fort Lyon to a place
<br />17 miles farther west. The rainfall record at Fort Lyon was as follows: May 24-26, 1,80
<br />inChes; May 29,1,00 inch; May 30,1.15 inches; a total of 3,95 inches, as compared wnh
<br />a normal rainfall of 2 inches for the E!ntire month, This flood was probably caused chiefly
<br />by metting snow, as the Canon City Record of June 2, 1894, quotes historian B,F,
<br />Rockafellow, as saying that the melting of the snow at the time of the flood of 1867 caused
<br />"the streams (in the vicinity of Canon Cny) to become swollen into ruShing torrents," The
<br />Bent County Democrat, June 15, 1921, quotes John W, Powers, county clerk, as follows:
<br />
<br />'I have heard my mother tell of the great flood of 1867, which must have
<br />surpassed the one of this month, At the time to which she referred both the Arkansas and
<br />thE! Purgatoire were at flood stage slmuttaneously, wnh the resutt that the Arkansas River
<br />in the section where Lamar now stands was a solid body of water from the sand hills on
<br />thE! south side to the first upland on the north side of the river.
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<br />Flood of 1875. The next flood of record on the Arkansas River is that of
<br />September 16, 1875, which was caused primarily by high water in the Purgatoire River and
<br />therefore affected the Arkansas River chiefly below the Purgatoire, The Las Animas
<br />Leader, September 18, 1875, reponed:
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<br />"At Fort Lyon (4 miles below the mouth of the Purgatoire) the water was 4 feet
<br />higher than known before, The bottom land between the bridge and the post trader's (a
<br />distance of three-fourths of a mile) was a swift, raging flood,"
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<br />The upper river was also in flood as far north as Pueblo, but as the Pueblo press
<br />gave little space to it the flood at that point was evidently not serious,
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<br />.
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<br />Flood of 1884, Rain and runoff from melting of the heavy snow cover in June
<br />1884 caused a flood on the Arkansas River between the Grand Canyon, just above the
<br />Royal Gorge, and Pueblo, The Canon City Record, June 28, 1884, stated that the water
<br />was 2 feet deep on the railroad tracks in the Grand Canyon,
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<br />Flood of 1886, A flood of considerable magnnude on the lower Arkansas River,
<br />probably below the mouth of Purgatoire River occurred July 20-25, 1886, This flood did
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<br />Colorado Flood
<br />Hydrology Man.ual .
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<br />4.24
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