FLOOD05245

• County: Statewide
• Community: State of Colorado
• Stream Name: All
• Basin: Statewide
• Title: Floods of September, 1970 in Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico
• Date: 1/1/1978
• Prepared For: State of Colorado
• Prepared By: USGS
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Flood Documentation Report

SOUTHERN ARIZONA

II

12

FLOODS OF SEPT. 1970 IN ARIZ., UTAH, COLO., AND N. MEX.

1080

1070

TABLE 2.-Comparison of maximum 24-hour precipitation during September 3-6, 1970, with
the lOO-year 24-hour precipitation at selected sites

Maximum September 3-6
24-hourprecipitation

I
~A.."
oatice-V

Station

100-_
24-hour
precipitation
(in.)l

3S.

Day,

Amount
(in.)

ArlroM

Seba Dalkai School.....................
Sedana Ranger Station ................
Beaver Creek Watersheds:
No. 20 ...................................
No. 22....................................

No. 23 ...................................
No. 27 ...................................
No. 50........................,..........
Junipine ............................ ... ........
Tonto Creek Fish Hatchery.........

Payson Ranger Station ................
Bar T Bar Ranch .........................
Sycan;lOre Creek 7 ........................
Sunflower 3 NNW.......................
Three Bar Watersheds:

C...........................................
D ..........................................

Workman Creek 1 .......................
Upper Parker Creek ....................
Groom Creek ...............................
Crown King .................................

Diamond 2 Ranch .......................
Bartlett Dam ................................

Scottsdale ........... ............. ............
Maricopa County No. 36 .............
Sasabe . ......................... ............ ....

Base from U.S. Geologica' S'"""Y
Arizona, 1955, Colorado, 1956,
New Mexiro. 1968, and Utah, 1959.
Base Maps

5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
4

26.50~
35.50

46.78
46.29

46.58
46.56
46.37
35.28
35.63

36.20
35.30
s8.91
38.00

66.33
67.44

'11.40
-f7.8tf
34.25
34.50

s4.85
34.50
33.57
s5.26
34.36

-

3.0
4.6

~

6.5+
5.5+

6.0+
6.5+
6.0+
55
7.0

5.5
6.0
6.5
6.5

6.0
6.0

7.0
7.0
5.0
.6.5

4.8
4.8
4.0
4.1
5.0

37"

_y"TAH__
ARIZONA

2....w....
(25)

25)

COLORADO
. ------~_._-----
"tl'. NEW MEXICO
~
Fatm~gton

o
I,', "
o

50 MUS
, I
sO KilOMETERS

EXPLANATION

LINE OF EQUAL RAINFALL-Interval 1 inch (25 miUimetersl- Hact'tures
indicate area reeeiwd less rainfall than value shown

AREA IN WHICH THE AMOUNT OF RUNOFF INDICATES THAT MORE
RAIN FELL THAN SHOWN BY LINE OF eQUAL RAINFALL

FIGURE 5.-Rainfall, September 12-14, 1970, in Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico.

Ulah

Bluff ..........................;..................
Cedar Point .................................
Bug Point .........................,..........

overtopped and traffic was halted for several hours. As the flood moved
downstream. from Three Points, wide areas of desert and farmland were
inundated, and a thin layer of silt and sand was deposited over the inundated
areas.
The maximum discharge in the Los Robles Wash basin probably occurred
near the gaging station on Altar Wash, where the peak discharge was 22,000
ft31 s (623 m'l s). The peak discharge decreased to 13,700 ft3 Is (388 m'l s) at
the gaging station on Brawley Wash near Three Points and t06,140ft'/s (174
mJls) at Mile Wide Road (fig. 6, No. 80). The peak discharge near Three
Points was about equal to the peak discharge of the flood of September 1962.
In 1962, however, the peak discharge increased from 13,000 fPI s (368 m'l s)
near Three Points to 38,000 ft'ls (1,080 m'/s) at Mile Wide Road.
On September 6 the intense rain in the Santa Catalina Mountains
produced the highest peak discharge in 39 years of record at the gaging

5
5
5

'2.53
83..75
86.0

2.7
3.0
3.0

Colorado

Silverton ................... ...... ......... ....
Wolf Creek Pass IE .....................

5
6

93.50
103.89

4.0
5.0

I From the U.S. Weather Bureau (1967l!-, 1~67b. 196~).
2 From the U.S. Environmental Data Service (l97Ia).
l From the U.S. Environmental Data Service (1970.). _
4 From the Rocky Mountain'Forcst and Range Experiment Station of the U.S. Forest Service (written commun., 1970) at
Flagstaff.
J From the files of the U.S. Geological Survey. Phoenix. _
6 From the Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station of the U.S. Forest Service (written eommun..1971) at
Tempe.
7 From the U.S. Environmental Data Service (l97Ib).
I From the U.S. Environmental Data Service (1970b).
, From the U.S. Environmental Data Service (197Ie).
ID From the U.S. Environmental Data Service (I97Oc).