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<br />, > <br />..:~y <br /> <br />FLOODS <br /> <br />HISTORICAL FLOOD~ <br /> <br />I, <br />~, <br /><> <br /> <br />Stream capB,ci ties on the main stem of the Cache la Poudre range <br />from about 5,OOq cubic feet per second near Fort Collins to about 3,000 <br />cubic feet per second at Greeley. Streamflow records from the U. S. <br />1 <br />Geological SurvEIY gaging stations on the Cache la Poudre River above Fort <br />Collins and belqw Greeley, supplemented by data collected by the <br />Colorado State J!lngineer, indicate that 19 damaging floods of widely <br />varying severity have occurred since 1882. In addition, major <br />floods are kno~ to have occurred in 1844 and 1864; but estimates <br />of streamflow for these and other early floods are not available. <br />Peak discharges for historical floods since 1882 are shown in <br />table 1. <br /> <br />The flood qf May 1904 is the greatest flood recorded on the <br />Cache la Poudre., It was caused by heavy rainfall in the upper <br />basin during a :f1E!riod of rapid snowmelt. Rainfall of 2.66 inches <br />was recorded in the North Fork area. A peak discharge of 20,000 <br />cubic feet per s,econd (c. f. s.) was estimated at Livermore on the <br />North Fork, and a peak dis charge of 7,500 c. f. s. was estimated on <br />Boxelder Creek near its mouth. Fortunately, rainfall in the <br />, <br />lower basin was moderate, with only 0.21 inches recorded at Fort <br />Collins and onl:{ 0.09 inches recorded at Greeley, or this flood <br />might have been of even greater magnitude. <br /> <br />Local records extending back to 1904 were obtained by the Soil <br /> <br /> <br />Conservation Se:;vice during its studies of the Boxelder Creek <br /> <br />9 <br />