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<br /> <br />PURGATOffiE (PICKET WffiE) RIVER, COLO. <br /> <br />OFFICE <br /> <br />WAR DEPARTMENT, <br />OF THE CHIEF. OF ENGINEERS, <br />Washinp,ton, Sez,tember 8, 1943. <br /> <br />Subject: Purgatoire River; Colo. <br />To: The Secretary of War. <br />1. I submit for transmission to 'Congress my report with .accom- <br />panying papers and illustrations, on preliminary examinl}tion and <br />, survey of Purgatoire (Picket Wire) River, Colo'j authorized by the ' <br />Flood Control Act approved June 22, 1936. Ine uded is a report on' <br />preliminary examination and survey of Longs Canyon, Colo., author- <br />Ized by the Flood Control Act approved June 28 1938. <br />, 2. Purgatoire (Picket Wire) River is formed :by the confluence of <br />North and Middle Forks in the Culebra Range of the Rocky Moune <br />tains in southeastern Colorado and flows 186 miles northeasterly to <br />'eriter "the Arkansas River 3 miles east of Las Animas, Colo. ' The <br />.stream courses 29' miles from :its source through the mountains to <br />Trinidad, thence 35 miles through an alluvial valley, thence 105 miles <br />through a rugged canyon section" thence 17 miles through a second <br />alluvial valley section to the mouth. 'The crescent-shaped drainage <br />hasin of3,390 square miles has a maximum width of 36 miles. The <br />average annual preeil?itation over the watershed is 17 inches. The <br />flood plain of the mam stem upstream from the ,head of the canyon <br />section contains about 5,000 acres of land of which 370 acres are in <br />the town of Trinidad, 1,050 aeres in cultivation, 1,130 acres in pas- <br />ture, and the remainder in river area and waste land. Numerous <br />" tributaries enter the river from the north and south. Longs Canyon , <br />drains an area of 110 square miles and enters Purgatoire River from' <br />the south at river mile 164. Trinidad in the headwaters section of <br />Purgatoire River with a population of 13,223, and Las Animas near <br />the mouth with a population of 3;232, are the largest towns.' The <br />watershed contains 26,900 inhahitants engaged principally in coal <br />,TI"l;i!ling, ,agrieulture"I}.ud manufacturing. The principal agricultural <br />products are sugar beets" tlime hay, corn, beans, and small grains, <br />produced by irrigation and dry farming. MailUfacturing consists <br />largely of the processing of clay products, foundries, stone, and broom <br />works, and the processing of meat and dairy produce. The wl1-terc <br />shed has adequate highway and railway transportation facilities. <br />3. Floods occur at irregular intervals in different sections of the <br />basin usually as a result of storms in the watershed, They eimse <br />damages to railroad property, residences, parks, business, and'indus- <br />trial estahlishments, streets, sewers, and public utilities, all in the <br />city of Trinidad, estimated to average $29,650 annually, and also <br />damage to crops, farm improvements, roads, bridges, and irrigation <br />structures in the rural areas upstream of the canyon 'section. ' The <br />maximum flood of record occurred at Trinidad in September 1904, <br /> <br />1 <br />