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<br />A. Drainage Basin Description
<br />Kio"'lI Creek originilt(~s 24.6 miles slightly west from south
<br />of the TOh'f'- of Kio\ul in the Black Porost. ELevation range from
<br />77GO feet o.t the ~outhern extremity to 6310 feet below Kio1'o'a in
<br />the -.tuJy area.
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<br />"A-"..,~{> the unsol verl TTI",q ,~,. i "S info L01;:>dr)' ~ I] i story is
<br />the d i saprea:r~;lce () f a st,w,la;d' gage Kat\sas Pac i fie (no',I' Union
<br />Pflcific) locomotive in the quicbanrls of K.i,o'.,a. Creek H*on the
<br />night 0 f /.1;'1 21, 1378. ,\ sudde" flood had dest royed ~he >'oode;l
<br />bridge that crossed th.. usually d,y channeL a t;hort t:r\e nefore
<br />_, fl 0 ight train 1\'a~ d(l", <"j,nJ o'"in~ to tht: br !dg" being th" low .
<br />!"Joint of <l ,,11.1': in the nl"dbed and (Co) the hIgh speed of the tr<llf1
<br />tOle engine and most of the cars ;:tlun~ed ~nto <: swi rl ing torrent of
<br />wat"r before the l.!:'lgineer realized r~e SI tuatlon. Ite englneer,
<br />firem<ln, and hrakeman ,>'ent clo..m "i,h the engine, which lias completely
<br />buded."
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<br />1 I. BACKCRUrJNIJ lCl!'OiOt.\l'lON
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<br />As sho\>"n on plate5 1 and 2 the Kio,,-a Creek b<l~in i~ qu.ite
<br />long ill rcl"tionship to "its nearly constant width of 4.7 miles.
<br />The upp8r one-third of the basin lies in El Pa~o County, where a
<br />dense cover of primarily Ponderosa Pine dominates the terrain.
<br />In the ~liddle third, the ridge top,; are .sinilarly covered and
<br />ahound in ~andstone outcrops. The valleys are generally wide and
<br />moderately sloping and are vegitated by native grasse::;. The lower
<br />third of the basin consist5 of rollinp. grasslands.
<br />Kiowa Creek has an ;lverage slope of approximately 110 feet
<br />per mile in its lower reaches. The valley width is nearly con-
<br />stant at about 1500 feet. The creek is perennial and the very
<br />:;mal1 norl~a1 flows seem dwarfed by the size of the main chilnnel,
<br />which h<<s oeen enlaq~ed ane strainghtt:ned by past major floods.
<br />The prcdol'linate vegitatiofl ,;ithin the channel arc a few scrub will-
<br />0\.; s and nlI\~ero"s la I' ge el ta t 1;ee,;.
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<br />"A few days later ***search I\'as begun for the missing
<br />engine. Long metallic rods \.ere driven in the sands. In some
<br />places pits h>"'n~ statted hut soon abandoned because of the ~eavy
<br />underflow, and the location of the **~locomotive appeared hopdess
<br />when it wa~ estimated the bedrock for~ation was probably 50 feet
<br />below the channel nf the Kio'''a. (It never ,"'as recovered.)"
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<br />B. P,lst Floods
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<br />computed.
<br />2. "lay 30-31, 1935 Flood
<br />The most severe storm on ~ecord for Kim\',. rre", k is that
<br />of o'1cmoria1 D<lY, 1935, \;hich callsed the. loss of :l lives, the de-
<br />stnlCtion of all bridy.es over the stream, and much daJllage due to
<br />the overflow. E"rliei' in the rr,onth there had been t\>'O periods of
<br />r.eneral Ll.infa1l, "by lL-22 and ",6-29,.durbg ,,'hi~h 2 inches or
<br />more 0 f ra.i" fe 11. As" resu1 t t ref/- SOl 1 ..i:t~ p:<rt 1" 11 r ~;"t.llr"t,,<l
<br />increasing tile run orf due to the 'Iemorial Day r;linfall. lIuring
<br />this ~t"rJ:l th"rC' \,-ert' t"o perio~~ or intellse rainfall <.:ausin~, t\\'o
<br />t\istillct floods, the second bei:lg ;rru<;:h the gr<>:'ter.
<br />lhe lJCnVC1' Po"t of "Ia \' 51, i ~:lS, q1.lOted an account of
<br />the second fl~od on K iOl.a r:r,,~l;,' as gi ',,,n b)' tho tl'1cphon~ opera tor
<br />at ~lbert:
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<br />The magnitude of the runoff from thi~ storm \,<\s never
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<br />The total areu drained "bo,>'" Kiowa l5 120 SqU:\TC miles.
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<br />KioHa Creek has endur"d r.lOn' than it~ share of mlljor entit~-
<br />t ['ophic fJ oods. the mo~t notable of ,,'hieh are discu ;;sed belo,"'.
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<br />The ','ater came. 1'o'ith a rOiir ~**\';i thin a fCh' I".inutcs the
<br />h'Ctterhad ri>>cn to S {e"t around the e_\;change (a quarter of a mill'
<br />froOl the creek). DC'hl\ in thE' 10'.l1ands it \\','1>> 15 f..et hiRh ***f10\\5e
<br />after hUlIse \,.,,~ ripped from its [0lwdation>> "nel $\oifrp l down the
<br />creek. Thirty-seven houses and Hore>> here destroyed"-morc than
<br />hnlf the to\,'n. (Later reports :'('duced thi~' number to 15.)
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<br />"~e~ 0" 'h~ n~,"A T"_,"~"~'_~ ~"~,._e ~\'C:;" ~!:c )':.~',...~, ""cck
<br />q~",L ..." L~~U~ jH~~~'-~"S ~"~.".~ ~ . ,'~V" ._.
<br />\\'ater~hed occur during the ~umrner months of ~.!ay through August.
<br />During this period, r.lasse~ of "'arm, moist air from the Gulf of
<br />~1cxico and cold, comparitively dry air fror.! the polar regions com-
<br />bine over the higher lllJ1<1 to Cil.llS.. :incr"a~cd Thunderstorm activity.
<br />The se\'erest ston\~ often generate in the transitional periods of
<br />late ~priJlI( anti early fall when pol"r flir intrusions arc nost inten-
<br />sive. Ir-oL:\terl S\1TI1T"er Thunder~torms are f.requ<:ntly seven:: but
<br />1 i\l\itc,l in the <1.1'<:'01 ~Qvcrcd. ;\\,,1ilablc records indicate that 5nO\;
<br />melt hilS >>ddonl contrllmtcd significantly to floo<i OCCllfences on
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<br />1. Nay 21, 1975 Flood
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<br />Articl{'s from tr.e llem-cr Po"t and the County Sl);l.t
<br />Tr i.bune of KiQh':'\ from early ,Il~n~, :Y35 tdl of the het'oic recov-
<br />er\' ",{{orb nf the 10['11 ,'iti7.en~, tlte Red Cross, ColoraJo \ational
<br />(;u;rd, th~ (cr camps and others.
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<br />The ea 1'1 ics t recordeJ flood wa~ that 0 r ~.l"i' f1, 1 S 7 8.
<br />The' follo,,'ing i~ quoted from the Colorado Magazine of Jllly, 19:>7.
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<br />Photo's of tb.' ["lood ~a:'age III K<v.,::< fn";; t,'c PCL'()I1~J
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