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<br />U f\'~ .r SI. ~ <br />u . ~,; J <br /> <br />3 <br /> <br />CAUSE OF KANSAS FLOODS <br /> <br />Flood magnitudes are affected by physiography, climate, and regulation. <br />In a given area physiographic factors such as ground slopes, infiltration ca- <br />pacity of soils, and patterns and capacities of stream channels are considered <br />to be relatively stable in their influence on floods, Climatic factors such as <br />type, magnitude, and time distribution of flood-producing storms, are subject <br />to the vagaries of chance, and are primarily responsible for the chance vari- <br />ation of flood magnitudes in a given area. Manmade regulation such as storage <br />and diversions for irrigation, power development, and flood control modifies <br />the magnitude of natural flood flow. Physiography and climate are described <br />in the following paragraphs, and the effect of regulation is described in a sub- <br />sequent section entitled "Regulation". <br /> <br />Physiography <br /> <br />Kansas is in two major physical divisions of the United States (Schoewe, <br />1949). The extreme southeast corner of the State is in the Ozark Plateau pro- <br />vince of the Interior Highlands. The remaining portion of the State is in the <br />Central Lowland or Great Plains provinces of the Interior Plains. The pro- <br />vinces are further subdivided into detailed physiographic units as shown in <br />figure 1. The topography varies from the extremes of relatively level terrain <br />in the High Plains to rugged, hilly relief in the Flint Hills, but in most of the <br />State the land is gently rolling. In general, the surface slopes gradually from <br />west to east. The altitude of Kansas above mean sea level ranges from 4,135 <br />feet in Wallace County near the Colorado-Kansas State line to slightly less <br />than 700 feet where the Verdigris River enters Oklahoma. <br /> <br />Climate <br /> <br />Kansas, approximately in the geographical center of the conterminous <br />United States, has a climate typical of large continents in middle latitudes <br />(Flora, 1948). Total rainfall is rather light and varies considerable from year <br />to year, Wind movement is rather high, the average velocity ranging from <br />about 9 miles per hour in the east to about 13 miles per hour in the west. Ex- <br />treme weather changes from day to day are experienced frequently, <br /> <br />The average seasonal snowfall ranges from about 10 inches along the south- <br />ern border to about 24 inches in the northwestern part of the State, Snowmelt <br />seldom is a contributing factor in the occut'rence of floods in Kansas, <br />