|
<br />~
<br />
<br />.
<br />
<br />flood was'the flattening' out of the crest due to'the natural storage
<br />afforded by the area inundated: ......-.- . .
<br />Above La Junta the effect of chll.nfielstorage in flattening tIle crest
<br />was obscured by. the flood flows from the tributary streams, which in'-
<br />creased the maximum. discharge greatly, Below La Junta the flow
<br />from tributaries was small and the storage effect more marked' as
<br />. ,
<br />shown by the decrellSo in maximum discharge froin 200,000 second:-
<br />feet at La Junta to 170,000 second-feet at the.Amity canal, at.a dis-
<br />tance 'of 51 miles, and to 120,000 second-feet at Hol).y, at an additional
<br />distance of 37 miles. ..: ,::' . .
<br />The flattening of the flood' crest was compensated by its grenter
<br />duration.. At Pueblo it lasted 6 minutesj'at La Junta, 45 minutes;
<br />and at. Amity canal, 3i hours." The duration of the crest at Holly is
<br />not known,. but it must have b~ll several hours. ',. " . ,
<br />
<br />TOPOGR.A}>:B:Y, OF, .AR~AN~i..S BASIN.,
<br />
<br />. The part of the Arkansas draii1ag~ basin lying in Colorado. is
<br />roughly rectangular ancfoccripiesthe sOutheastern quar1;er.o:t'the
<br />State. Its northwest corner reaches the heart of the Rocky }foun-
<br />tains nea.r Lea.dville, a. little west of the center of the State. .Arkan- ,
<br />sas River is formed by 'the junction of 'E8:St'Fork and ..Tenn:e$e~
<br />Fork, each of which 'rises in, the Continental DiVide.'at'an elevation
<br />of 11,000 feet or'more. From the junction of the two forks, 3 miles
<br />west of Leadville, the river'flows southeastward for 84 miles to a
<br />point near Cotopaxi, then tlirns lInd follows :m eilstedy course for
<br />245 miles to the State line. In the UPPCl' part of its course it flows
<br />through mountainous ('ountry in n nan'ow yalley formed by Pllrnllel
<br />mountain raugl's. Bctween Cotopaxi lInd Canon City it cuts through
<br />the front mnge of mountains, and a, few miles below Canon City it.
<br />enters the upper end of the open valley. This valley gradually
<br />widens until it merges into the' Great Plains a few miles west. or
<br />Pueblo. .' .- .,' '.', .c". ". . ' ',!' ._c__
<br />The drainage basin east or the mountains lies. in the weste~ p"ol:~
<br />. tion of the Great Plains, which e:.rlel1'd' from the root' of the Rockj
<br />Mountains 'to. the MissisSippi V alley~ These plains present. wide
<br />areas or smooth 'surface traverSed by the .broad, shallow valley of
<br />. Arkansas River and ,~.?~..2..r less deepli~u! ?y_ th~ ~~:~~~val~~.~_~!.F'~S
<br />of ll!te!'!tl streams. jSmooth surfaces and eastward-slopmgplams ':;.,.i!-'::~)':'.
<br />\. 'E;re the ch:~rncteristic features, esp~ciany of the uplands, but in parts;)it-<,~~"
<br />or the reglOn there are buttes, extended escarpments, and canyons of:,,';: '\',
<br />considerable depth." One or these buttes is Baculite Mesa, northeast:'::..'..;:::.
<br />of Pueblo, which rises 400 feet from the plain.
<br />
<br />......,......' - ~..-~,(..,...
<br />
<br />i~fl~
<br />
<br />. Darton,. N. g" Geology llnd uaderground. waters ot Arkanslls YaHey" Colo.: U. S.
<br />Geol. SUl'vey Prof. Po per 52, p, 8, 1906.
<br />
|