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<br />in the Cache la Poudre River. This flood occurred on the last days of May and first days <br />of June 1864, and is said to have been the worst known by white men. The water <br />inundated the valley from bluff to bluff with a torrent that carried everything not firmly <br />attached to the soil with it." <br />"It carried out thE' toll bridge at Laporte at a time when the movement of emigration <br />westward stalled on the bluffs south of Laporte On the 9th of June, an extraordinary <br />rainstorm' set in on the watershed of the upper part of the river, melted the snow in the <br />higher altitudes and ,an enormous volume of water laden with driftwood, poured into the <br />already swollen channel, and the sullen roar of the rUShing stream as it burst out of the <br />canyon was heard for a long distance. On reaching the plains, the water spread out and <br />submerged the bottom lands from bluff to bluff to a depth of several feet. The storm <br />occurred in the afternoon and the raging torrent . , . swept down through the soldie~s <br />camp (at Laporte) in the night almost without warning ,.. the campgrounds were completely <br />submerged and only the roofs of the cabins. . . were visible, . Fortunately, no lives were <br />lost, but there were several narrow escapes by the settlers on the bottom lands." <br /> <br />Flood of May 1876. The Greelev Tribune of 24 May 1876 reported the local river <br />bottom all under wat'~r from record rains. <br /> <br />Flood of June 1884. The Boyd fann northwest of Greeley was said to be entirely under <br />water for the first time from a combination of snowmelt runoff and rainfall. <br /> <br />Flood of June 18Hl. A dam failure in the upper basin washed out the stream gage so <br />no accurate-discharge could be determined. The peak discharge was later estimated from <br />a high water mark to be 21,000 cubic feet per second. <br /> <br />Flood of 21 May 1904. Flooding in the study reach on 21 May 1904 resulted from <br />rains of "cloudburst intensity" in the foothills at about 7,000 feet elevation during a period <br />of rapid snowmelt on the headwaters of North Fork and Boxeider Creek. Rainfall of 2.66 <br />inches was recorded in the North Fork area. A peak discharge of 20,000 cubic feet per <br />second was estimatlld at Livermore on the North Fork, and a peak discharge of 7,500 <br />cubic feet per second was estimated on Boxelder Creek near its mouth. Fortunately, <br />rainfall in the lower basin was moderate with only 0.21 inches recorded at Fort Collins and <br />only 0.09 inches recorded at Greeley, or this flood might have been of even greater <br />magnitude. Damage was heavy at Fort Collins and Boxelder Creek, downstream from Fort <br />Collins, contributed high flows. The Greeley Tribune stated: "The Boxelder, a small <br />stream ordinarily on~1 a few feet wide, was tearing down through a fertile valley filled from <br />bluff to bluff with a sheet of water a mile wide, carrying buildings and bridges away <br />Below the mouth of Boxelder Creek floodwaters were reported to be 1.5 mile wide in <br />places. Every bridge between Fort Collins and Greeley was destroyed, The flood reached <br />Fort Collins late in the afternoon on 20 May and the crest arrived at Greeley about 8:30 <br />a.m, on 21 May. Water backed up behind a culvert at the Union Pacific Railroad track and <br />overflowed a large area in the city. Lowlands downstream of the railroad were also <br />flooded with houses submerged to the windowsills. Flooding continued until noon, then <br />receded rapidly. Total damages for the-basin were estimated at $183,650 including $1,000 <br />at Greeley and $33,O(}(} for crops and livestock. <br /> <br />Colorado Flood <br />Hydrology Manual <br /> <br />4,6 <br /> <br />a:w=r <br />