Laserfiche WebLink
<br />" .. (1) awoIre at 5:50 a.m. <br />curl began to hear lIbat sounded <br />Hke thmder. 'lhen ca'IIe <br />(:rashiJg noises am we all <br />tooked out am sailr a 25-30 foot <br />uall oJ: tiBter scything throogh <br />1:he tJ:'I!eS. " . .. . <br /> <br />Park visitor fron <br />Chicago, Illinois <br />camped at ypsilon <br />Cref'..k campsite <br /> <br />2.0 BACKGROUND <br /> <br />2.1 Lawn Lake Dam Failure <br /> <br />Perhaps one of the few positi.ve aspects of the Lawn Lake dam <br />fail ure is that it occurred in broad daylight, The locat ion and <br />timing of the event have provided a unique opportunity to observe <br />and record flood phenomena and rE~covery efforts to a degree not <br />normally available during a flood disaster" <br /> <br />2.1.1 Setting <br /> <br />Lawn Lake is a relati'.7E!ly small re,servoir situated high <br />(elevation 10,987 feet above mean sea level) in Rocky Mountain <br />National Park, about 10 miles northwest of the Town of Estes Park <br />in Larimer County, Colorado" The lake was formed in a natural <br />depression along the course of t.he Roaring River carved out by <br />glacial action. Roaring River i:3 a steep mountain tributary of <br />Fall River, which in turn flOWE~ into the Big Thompson River <br />within the central business district of the Town of Estes Park. <br />This town is one of Colorado's important tourist attractions, <br />located near the upper entrance to the Big Thompson River <br />Canyon. In 1976, concentrated rainfall in the upper canyon area <br />resulted in a catastrophic ::lash flood and a disaster to canyon <br />residents living downstream of E'3tes Park" The setting for the <br />flood is shown in figure 2.1. <br /> <br />In 1902, the natural volume of the Lawn Lake was surveyed <br />and a pipe and control valVE, WerE! installed through the natural <br />moraine across the outlet. 'rhe capac i ty of the lake was surveyed <br />to be 611.98 acre-feet at that time. Bet~;een 1908 and 1910, the <br />capacity of the lake was increased by construction of an earthen <br />dam. <br /> <br />-7'- <br />