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<br />~ <br /> <br />,.-.,....(. '.-:- <br />'10.JJ <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />27. FLOODS.- llistorical records include reference to many floods <br />in the Arkansas valley above John Hartin Reservoir. The earliest knOlm <br />flood in the area occurred in 1826, long before permanent settlement in <br />the valley. Other reported floods occurred in 1859, 186~, 1869, 1886, <br />and 1894. These floods were generally confined to the reach from Pueblo <br />downstream to he10w the present site of John ~lartin Rcservoir. <br /> <br />28. FLOOD OF JUNE 1921,- Weather Bureau records show that during <br />the period 2-4 June 1921, precipitation over the watershed bet\;een Canon <br />City and Pueblo was from three to five inches for the 48 hours ending <br />the afternoon of 4 June. The streams that enter the Arkansas River <br />between Canon City and the mouth of Chico Creek, 16 miles below Pueblo, <br />were the principal contributors to the flood. The flood wave increased <br />rapidly as it progressed downstream. Floodflows from many tributaries <br />contributed to flooding at Pueblo and caused the flood of record. The <br />peak discharge at Pueblo \;as 103,000 c.Ls,. I<hich increased to 200,000 <br />c.f.s. when it reached La Junta. Above La Junta the effects of valley <br />storage on peak attrition was obscured by tributary inflow. Below La <br />Junta the tributary inflOl; was small and the valley storage effect more <br />marked, as evidenced hy the decrease in peak dbcharge to 187,000 c.Ls. <br />at Las Animas and to 165,000 cLs. at L"m~r. <br /> <br />29. FLOOD 01' MAY 1935. - The flood of .30 Hav 1935 on ~lonument <br />Creek, the principal tributary to FO\ln(~in Creck, !>as the maximum known <br />but resulted in little damage at Pueblo \;here Fountain Creek flOl;s into <br />the Arkansas River. The flood peak, I<hich was considerably reduced by <br />the time it reached Pueblo, was estimated to be 35,000 c.f.s. near the <br />mouth of Fountain Creek. This flood \;as produced by an excessive rain- <br />fall of short duration over an area of less than 100 square miles in <br />the ~lonwnent Creek watershed, 'fo11()!"ing~_a" p~riod of general precipitation. <br />There \;ere reports of as much as s.e.Je"li'cmd.c'elght inches of rainfall in <br />24 hours at several locations in the storm are". This flood caused <br />_ __ _ _ _ ~ -scvere~ proper.ty_damage__and_ the loss of four lives in Colorado Springs <br />and vicinity. -- --- ------ ----- - -- --- <br /> <br />30_ FLOOD OF APRIL 1942,- The month of April 1942 was one of the <br />wettest months in Colorado's history. The average precipitation of <br />4.53 inches was the second largest of record for the State at that time. <br />This amolmt was exceeded only hy the 5.96 inches of precipitation during <br />April 1900, Ileavy precipitation, much of it in the form of snO\;, oc- <br />curred during 16-20 April over the Purgatoire River watershed. Rainfall <br />during the period 22-25 April hastened the melting of heavy sno" deposits <br />causing high flo"s on the Purgatoire River at Las Animas. Precipitation <br />over the Arkansas River "atershed above Las Animas produced a peak of <br />12,000 c.f.s. at Nepesta, 34,000 c.f.s. at La Junta, and 23,600 c.f.s. <br />at Las Animas. Although there \;as major flooding at Trinidad, \;here <br />the peak flow on the Purgatoire reached 27,000 c,f.s., the principal <br />damage in the Arkansas River valley was to transportation and irriga- <br />tion systems. <br /> <br />10 <br />