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<br />. <br /> <br />South Platte River and Arkansas River basins about 30 miles east of <br /> <br /> <br />Denver. The creek flows in a northerly direction and joins the South <br /> <br /> <br />Platte River just upstream from Weldona, Colorado. The basin is <br /> <br /> <br />bounded by Bijou Creek on the east and Boxelder Creek on the west. <br /> <br /> <br />Topography varies from steeply to gently rolling and channel slopes <br /> <br /> <br />range from about 40 feet per mile in the upstream portion of the <br /> <br /> <br />basin to about 20 feet per mile in the dowsntream portion of the <br /> <br /> <br />basin. Vegetation in the mid to upper reaches of the basin is <br /> <br /> <br />predominately pasture while much of the bottomland area in the down- <br /> <br /> <br />stream portion of the basin is under cultivation with a considerable <br /> <br /> <br />amount of pump irrigation development. In addition to topographic <br /> <br /> <br />differences, there are soil differences which are believed to have <br /> <br /> <br />significant effects on runoff. Soils in the upper portion of the <br /> <br /> <br />basin contain a considerable amount of clay while soils in the <br /> <br /> <br />downstream portion are sandy in character. The drainage area of <br /> <br /> <br />Kiowa Creek at Wiggins is 758 square miles. A map of the Kiowa <br /> <br /> <br />Creek basin is shown on plate 63. <br /> <br />Flood History. Floods in the Kiowa Creek basin are caused by <br /> <br /> <br />runoff from intense thunderstorm rainfall. Knowledge of historical <br /> <br /> <br />floods is limited to three major events. These events are discussed <br /> <br /> <br />below. <br /> <br />. Flood of 21 May 1878. No precipitation or discharge estimates <br /> <br /> <br />are available for this flood. However, data presented in the United <br /> <br /> <br />States Geological Survey Water Supply Paper No. 997, entitled <br /> <br />"Floods in Colorado" indicates that a substantial flood did occur. <br /> <br /> <br />The above publication reprinted the following article taken from <br /> <br /> <br />the Colorado Magazine of July 1937: <br /> <br /> <br />"Among the unsolved mysteries in Colorado's history is <br /> <br /> <br />the disappearance of a standard gage Kansas Pacific (now Union <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />47 <br />