FLOOD06258

• Designation Number: 25
• County: Mesa
• Community: Grand Junction
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Title: Floodplain Information Report - Colorado and Gunnison River, Grand Junction, Colorado
• Date: 3/1/1973
• Designation Date: 10/1/1973
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Floodplain Report/Masterplan

PAST FLOODS

SUMMARY OF HISTORICAL FLOODS

Grand Junction and the Grand Val ley have a long history of late
spring floods and high water on the Colorado and Gunnison Rivers. The
earl lest flood for which data are available is the June-July flood of
1884. Other floods on the Colorado River occurred In 1917, 1920, 1921,
1935, 1952, and 1957. Floods on the Gunnison River occurred In 1920,
1921, and 1957. The 1884 flood on the Colorado River was the most
severe on record.

FLOOD RECORDS

Information on past floods in the study area Is not detal led

because any flooding that has occurred was on farmland and was seldom

reported. Flood information In this report Is based mainly on Infor-

mation avai lable In U.S. Geological Survey water supply papers. Some

accounts were also obtained from the Grand Junction Dai Iy Sentinel and

from interviews with officials of the U.S. Bureau ot Land Management,

the U.S. Soil Conservation Service, the city of Grand Junction, and

Mesa County.

FLOOD DESCRIPTIONS

Definitive information on the extent of flooding and the amounts

of flood damage incurred during past floods are not available for the

study area. Newspaper accounts indicate that bottom lands uti I ized

for field crops and orchards have been periodically inundated. Also

low lying areas along the river in Grand Junction have been flooded.

Some wooded areas have been flooded, stream banks have been eroded, and

base~ents of homes have fil led with floodwater.

9