DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

ALBERT B. FALL, Secretary

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

GEORGE 0ns SMITH, Director

Water-Supply Paper 4$7

THE ARKANSAS RIVER FLOOD 

OF JUNE 3-5, 1921

BY

ROBERT FOLLANS^EE

AND

EDWARD E. JON^S

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1922
i>
CONTENTS.

.Page.

Introduction________________ ___ 5

Acknowledgments ___ __________ 6

Summary of flood losses-__________ _ 6

Progress of flood crest through Arkansas Valley _____________ 8

Topography of Arkansas basin_______________ _________ 9

Cause of flood______________1___________ ______ 11

Principal areas of intense rainfall____ ___ _ 15

Effect of reservoirs on the flood__________________________ 16

Flood flows_______________________________________ 19

Method of determination________________ ______ _ 19

The flood between Canon City and Pueblo_________________ 23

The flood at Pueblo________________________________ 23

General features_____________________________ 23

Arrival of tributary flood crests _______________ 25

Maximum discharge__________________________ 26

Total discharge_____________________________ 27

The flood below Pueblo_____________________________ 30

General features _________ _______________ 30

Tributary streams_____________________________ 31

Fountain Creek____________________________ 31

St. Charles River___________________________ 33

Chico Creek_______________________________ 34

Previous floods i____________________________________ 35

Flood of Indian legend_____________________________ 35

Floods of authentic record__________________________ 36

Maximum discharges per square mile previously recorded_______ 40

Index ____ __________________________________ 43

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page. 

PLATE I. Map of Arkansas Valley between Canon City and Pueblo, Colo_ 6

II. A, Effect of flood in railroad yards; B, Overturned baggage car

from Denver & Rio Grande train _______________ 8

III. A, View looking upstream toward site of Schaeffer dam; B,

Beaver Creek 1 mile above mouth _______________ 18

IV. A, Eightmile Creek, showing typical section used in determining maximum discharge ; B, Skaguay reservoir, with dam 

and spillway _ ____________ __ 19

V. A, Silt 18 inches deep deposited in front of Union Depot; B, 

Overturned tracks on Denver & Rio Grande Railroad west 

of Pueblo_ ________ __ _________________ 24

VI. A, High-water mark on Electric Building; B, Union Depot on

the morning of June 4, 1921 ___________________ 25 

FIGTJBE 1. Hydrograph of Arkansas River at Pueblo, showing stage of river

from June 2 to June 5, 1921 ________ _ _______ _ 28

3

THE ARKANSAS RIFER FLOOD OF JUNE 3-5,1921.

By ROBERT FOUANSBEE, and EDWABD E. JONES,

INTRODUCTION.

Between/June 2 and Jijne 5, 1921, heavy rains of an intensity t©, 

justify the.term "cloud-bursts " in the foothill region of the Arkansas 

Valley in Colorado caused the severest flood in the valley since its 

settlement. Flood conditions prevailed during the entire* period, but 

there were three distinct Hoods .in the upper valley. The first flood 

was caused by heavy rairi on Dry Creek just above Pueblo on the 

night of June 2; the second was the main flood, which occurred dutv> 

ing the night of June 3; «ai|d the third was that due to the breaking of 

the Schaeffer reservoir, on? Beaver Creek, on the morning of June & 

The area considered in this report is shown in Plat© I.

The flood was remarkatjle for the very small area covered by the 

rainfall that was its chief I cause, and for the swift rise of the river 

to an unprecedented stage and its almost equally rapid fall. The 

swift rise and fall indicated very great flood discharges of the? 

tributary streams, which drain a mountainous country of steep slopes. 

The total discharge of the main flood was less than 90,000 acre-feet.

Immediately after the fjood the United States Geological Survey 

undertook an investigation of its causes and results, and the field 

work was begun as; soon as conditions permitted. An examination 

was made of all the streams within the area affected by the flood to 

procure data on maximum run-off in the foothill region and the 

effect of this tributary run-off upon the main flood. The maximum 

discharge of each stream was determined from the slope shown by 

well-defined high-water murks and from the average of several cross 

sections. As there are no regular Weather Bureau stations in the 

area, especial care was taken to obtain from local residents as reliable 

statements as possible regarding rainfall and time of flood flows of 

each stream. , From the' %>ld data ana from information obtained 

from various reliable sources it has been possible to show the cause 

ol the ;flood and the cause; of its .rapid rise and fall at Pueblo. In ' 5
6 THE ARKANSAS RIVER FLOOD OF JUNE 3-5, 1921.

addition every effort has been made to obtain the best possible data 

for determining the maximum and total discharge of the Arkansas at 

Pueblo. Although no field work was done below the mouth of St. 

Charles River, available data regarding the flood in that part of the 

Arkansas Valley have been compiled and are presented in this report. 

The field work, which was begun July 6, was in charge of Edward 

E. Jones, assisted by Kendall K. Hoyt. Tjbe computations Gqnn«Gte$ 

with the field work were made by Mr. Jones, assisted by P! VrHodges. 

The office studies were made and the report was prepared by Robert 

Follansbee, assisted by P. V. Hodges, J. B. Spiegel, and Mrs. Esther 

D. Rae.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

Acknowledgments are due to the engineering department of the 

Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad Co., especially Mr. Arthur 

O. Ridgway, assistant chief engineer, and Mr. C. M. Lightburn, for 

placing at the disposal of the Geological Survey data compiled by 

the railroad in an extensive survey made te determine flood losses; 

to Mr. R. G. Hosea, deputy State engineer, who furnished data regarding the flood at Pueblo and other valuable information relative 

to the flow of the Arkansas and several tributary streams; to Mr. 

H. D. Amsley, State hydrographer, for data on the flood at Pueblo 

and at other points in the Arkansas Valley; to Mr. J. M. Sherier, 

meteorologist of the Weather Bureau at Denver, for data and valuable suggestions; to Mr. F. R. Johnson, of the United States Forest 

Service, for data on rainfall; to Mr. J. L. Savage, designing engineer, 

United States Reclamation Service, for data on flood losses in Arkansas Valley; and to many local residents for information.

SUMMARY OF FLOOD LOSSES.

The entire Arkansas Valley from Elorenee, 30 miles west of Ptteblo, 

to the State line, was severely affected, and the loss of life and property was heavy. The greatest damage was done in Pueblo, the chief 

city in the valley. Below Pueblo the loss was ehiefly agricultural, 

more than 57,000 acres being inundated, of which 4,700 acres was destroyed for agriculture. The headworks of practically every irrigation system in the valley were damaged or destroyed. The valleys of 

the upper tributaries, notably St. Charles River and Fountain, Chico, 

and Beaver creeks, were also flooded. By the time the flood reached 

the Kansas line its crest height had so flattened out that its progress 

through Kansas caused no damage comparable with that in Colorado.

The exact extent of losses to life and property will never be known. 

The most complete estimate of property losses was one prepared for 

the board of United States Reclamation Service engineers who made
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 487 PLATE I

'

TELLER 

RESEFtVO/R

MAP OF ARKANSAS VALLEY BETWEEN CANON CITY AND PUEBLO, COLORADO

Blue shading indicates area of intense rainfall; blue dash line boundary of drainage basin of tributary stream

n 10 2o Miles

STJMMAEY Of FLOOD LOSSES. 7

an examination of the river and proposed plans for prevention 

against future floods. This estimate 1 is given below.

Property losses in Arkansas River flood of June, 19%1,

Federal, State, and county property___________ $900,000

Municipal property _______________.____ 800,000

Real estate (city and town)_________ _____ 3,420,000

Personal property (city and town)____________ 3,575,000

Farms___________________1___________ 3,675,000

Irrigation works____________l__f_________ 1,275,000

Railroads ____________________________ 4, 275, 000

Public utilities__________________________ 500, 000

Other property ______________________ 250,000

19,080,000

A report to the Pueblo city council stated that 510 dwellings were 

washed away, 98 buildings wrecked, and 61 buildings washed from 

their foundations.

The loss of life in Pueblo was heavy, pwing to the swift rise of the 

river and the unwillingness of many people to heed the flood warnings. The official list places the number of bodies recovered at 78, 

but many bodies that were washed downstream were not recovered.

All communication with the outside world was cut off, as all telegraph and telephone wires were down. The day after the flood 

relief measures were started by the city, assisted by local members 

of the National Guard and the American Legion. Near-by cities 

sent relief to the flood sufferers as soon as possible, but owing to 

the impassable condition of the railroads and highways progress 

was slow. Motor trucks loaded with food, clothing, and medical 

supplies headed by Army and State highway officers started from 

Denver and Colorado Springs on the 4th and reached Pueblo on the 

afternoon of the 5th.

The heaviest loss was incurred by the railroad companies, as the 

flooded area included nearly all the extensive terminals of the roads 

that enter Pueblo (PL II, A). So great was the damage to railroad 

property not only in Pueblo but in the surrounding territory that 

not a relief train could enter Pueblo for two days. Of the six 

railroad bridges over Arkansas Eiver and three over Fountain 

Creek, only one, the Santa Fe bridge to the Union Depot, escaped. 

All the others lost one or more spans or large portions of approaches. 

The Missouri Pacific yard and engine terminal was cut off by a new 

channel and was left on an island without rail connection. A Denver 

& Eio Grande train and a Missouri Pacific train were caught in the

1 Munn, James, and Savage, J. L., The flood of June, 1921, in the Arkansas Eiver, at 

Pueblo, Colo.: Am. Soc. Civil Eng. Proc., vol. 47, No. 7. September, 1921.
8 THE ARKANSAS RIVER FLOOD OF JUNE 3-6, 1921.

flood while trying to reach higher ground, cars were overturned., and 

several lives were lost (PL II, B). The 2,000 cars in the yards 

during the flood suffered enormous damage; many were floated away 

and overturned or crushed by the impact or pressure of debris. 

Some cars were floated great distances and were never recovered.2 

The total property loss in the city was estimated at $10,000,000.

PROGRESS OF FLOOD CREST THROUGH ARKANSAS

VALLEY.

The streams that enter Arkansas River between Canon City and 

the mouth of Chico Creek, 16 miles below Pueblo, were the source 

of the flood, and in that section of the river the flood crest increased 

rapidly as it proceeded downstream. Below the mouth of Chico 

Creek the river received practically no additional flood discharges.

The approximate time of the flood crest at several points, as obtained from local observers, and the maximum discharge at points 

where it was measured are given in the following table. As the 

crest flattened out, it became less sharply defined, and the exact time 

of its arrival at different points was more difficult to determine.

Progress of flood crest through Arkansas Valley.

Point of observation.

Holly... .......................

Distance 

between 

points.a

Mfe*.

8

OK

CO

10

1*1

9&

9a

7

30

Approximate time of crest.

Midnight June 3..............

Rate of 

progress.

Mttetper 

hour.

16.6

10.0

5.5

5.0

3.7

3.5

4.2

2.1

2,3

Crest 

flow.

Sec.-fl.

9000

103,000

200,000

170,000

130,000

Duration 

of crest 

flow.

utes.

utes.

a Measured along river.

The table shows that the rate of progress of the flood crest decreased as it traveled down the river. Above Pueblo the decrease 

was due chiefly to the decreased slope of the river, but this could not 

have had much effect in the lower part of the valley, as the mean 

slope decreases only from 8.3 feet to the mile between Pueblo and 

La Junta to 7.5 feet to the mile between La Junta and the State line. 

Below La Junta the chief factor in retarding the progress of the

* Data on railroad losses taken from Railway Age, June 17, 1921.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 487 PLATE II

A. EFFECT OF FLOOD IN RAILROAD YARDS.

B. OVERTURNED BAGGAGE CAR FROM DENVER & RIO GRANDE TRAIN.

OF ABJfetNSAS BASIH. ; |

flood was the flagging otit of the eldest due to the natural storage 

afforded by the area inundated. :,»:.=

Above La Junto the effect of channel borage in flattening the cj^sli 

Was obscured by the flood flows from the tributary streams, which increased the maximum discharge greatly. Below La Junta the flow 

from tributaries was small and the storage effect more marked, as 

shown, by the decrease in maximum discharge from 200,000 secondfeet at La Junta to 170,00® second-feet at the Amity canal, at a distance of 51 miles* and to 120,000 second-feet at Holly, at an additional 

distance of 37 miles. - . a . '

The flattening of the flood crest was compensated by its greater 

duration. At Pueblo it lasted 6 minutes; at La Junta, 45 minutes; 

and at Amity canal, &J hours. The duration of the crest at Holly is 

not known, but it must have been several hours.

TOPOGRAPHY OF ARKANSAS BASIN.

The part of the Arkansas drainage basin lying in Colorado is 

roughly rectangular and occupies the southeastern quarter of the 

State. Its northwest corner reaches the heart of the Rocky Mountains near Leadville, a little west of the center of the State. Arkansas River is formed by the junction of East Fork and Tennessee 

Fork, each of which rises in the Continental Divide at an elevation 

of 11,000 feet or more. From the junction of the two forks, 3 miles 

west of Leadville, the river flows southeastward for 84 miles to a 

point near Cotopaxi, then turns and follows an easterly course for 

245 miles to the State line; In the upper part of its course it flows 

through mountainous country in a narrow valley formed by parallel 

mountain ranges. Between Cotopaxi and Canon City it cuts through 

the front range of mountains, arid a few miles below Canon City it 

enters the upper end of the open valley. This valley gradually 

widens until it merges into the Great Plains a few miles west of 

Pueblo.

The drainage basin east of the mountains lies in the western portion of the Great Plains, which extend from the foot of the Rocky 

Mountains to the Mississippi Valley. These plains present wide 

areas of smooth surface traversed by the broad, shallow valley of 

Arkansas River and more or less deeply cut by the narrower valleys 

of lateral streams. Smooth surfaces and eastward-sloping plains 

are the characteristic features, especially of the uplands, but in parts 

of the region there are buttes, extended escarpments, and canyons of 

considerable depth.3 One of these buttes is Baculite Mesa, northeast 

of Pueblo, which rises 400 feet from the plain.

»Darton, N. H., Geology and underground waters of Arkansas Valley, Colo.: U. S. 

Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 52, p. 8, 1906.
10 THE ARKANSAS RIVER FLOOD OF JUNE 3-5,

Of the 28,000 square miles drained by Arkansas River in Colorado 

the upper 3,840 square miles is mountainous, with extremely rugged 

topography. Within this upper area there are many perennial tributaries, but east of the mountains the tributaries are relatively small 

except in time of spring high water from melting snow or after 

heavy rains.

The area covered by the rainfall of June 2-5, 1921, lies chiefly between Canon City and Pueblo. It is bounded on the north by the 

foothills of the Pikes Peak uplift and on the south by the Wet Mountains and their extension, Greenhorn Mountain. The following description of the topography is quoted from Gilbert: 4 .

Twenty miles south of Colorado Springs the line of foothills turns sharply 

westward for 20 miles and then, near Canon City, swings quickly to the south 

and southeast, holding the latter course for 40 miles. Within this flexure is a 

triangular tongue of the plains country half surrounded by mountain ranges.

For half its course between Canon City and Pueblo the Arkansas is closely 

hemmed in by rock bluffs 200 feet high, with cliffs of limestone at the top. Elsewhere its immediate valley is more open, usually with a sharp ascent on one 

side to a gravelly mesa and a long, gradual slope on the otfier. Farther back 

the ascent is broken by terraces of gravel or sand or by tracts of clayey badlands and here and there by rocky cliffs and mesas.

Within this area there are many tributaries that rise in the mountains that bound the drainage basin. The tributaries from the north 

are Oil, Sixmile, Eightmile, Brush Hollow, Beaver, Turkey, and 

Dry creeks, and those from the south are Chandler, Oak, Coal, Hardscrabble, Red, Rush, Pecks, and Rock creeks.

Between the steep slopes of the Wet Mountains and the river a 

broad area known generally as Boggs Flat slopes toward the river. 

Across this area the tributary streams heading in the mountains have 

cut* well-defined channels. In addition to these streams a number 

of arroyos or dry channels, of which Ritchie Gulch, Osteen and 

Cameron arroyos, Boggs and Blue Ribbon creeks are the .chief, rise 

in the upland area and carry water during the heavy rains to which 

this area is subject.

The following table was compiled chiefly from topographic maps:

* Gilbert, G. K., Underground water of the Arkansas Valley in eastern Colorado: U. S. 

Geol. Survey Seventeenth Ann. Rept., pt. 2, p. 558, 1896.
CAUSE OF FLOOD. 11

Elevations and distances along Arkansas River from Canon, City to ColoradoKansas Hne.

Point.

Oil Creek.... ........................................

Eightmite Creek.. ...................................

Beaver Creek................ ........................

Bed Creek.... .......................................

St. Charles River.. ..................................

Bridge north "of Rocky Ford .........................

Adobe Creek. .......................................

Caddoa... ...........................................

Tj^TUfir . j

Big Sandy Creek....................................

Elevation 

above 

sea level.

Feet. 

5,320

5,245 

5,125 

5,020 

4970 

4,900 

4,775 

4,670 

4,560 

4,430 

4,280 

4,150 

4,050 

3,930 

3,850 

3,760 

3,600 

3,550 

3,480 

3,350

Distance.

From' 

Canon 

City.

mies.

3.0 

9.8 

14.5 

18. 0 

23.2 

32.0 

43.0 

51.8 

67.1 

89.8 

104.8 

117.6 

133.1 

142.5 

156.3 

176.3 

185.0 

194.8 

211.4

Point to 

point.

Miles.

3.0 

6.8 

4.7 

3.5 

5.2 

8.8 

11.0 

8.8 

15.3 

22.7 

15.0 

12.8 

15.5 

9.4 

13.8 

20.0 

8.7 

9.8 

16.6

Descent between 

points.

Total.

Feel.

75 

120 

105 

50 

70 

125 

105 

110 

130 

150 

130 

100 

120 

80 

90 

160 

50 

70 

130

Per mile.

Feet.

25 

18 

22 

14 

13 

14 

10 

12 

8 

7 

9 

8 

8 

9 

7 

8 

6 

7 

8

CAUSE OF FLOOD.

The cause of the flood was a series of cloud-bursts 5 resulting from 

heavy rain-bearing clouds striking against the mountains and being 

deflected upward.

The daily weather maps for the first week in June show that an 

area of high pressure (exceeding 30.5 inches) appeared over the

6 The phenomena called " cloud-bursts " are very intense rainfalls of short duration 

over small areas that are sharply defined. Cloud-bursts are common along the eastern 

slope of the Rocky Mountains wherever canyons have cut deeply into the mountain 

masses. Each of these canyons acts like a chimney flue in creating a strong upward 

draft for the warm and relatively moist air from the plains, which passes up the canyon 

and reaches an altitude where the temperature becomes low enough to condense the 

moisture. The upwkrd draft is sufficiently strong to support the moisture for some 

time after condensation begins, but finally the weight of moisture in the air becomes 

too great to be longer sustained and it is precipitated in torrents.

Cloud-bursts of less violence also occur on the plains. The air over a small area becomes abnormally heated, and the convectional currents force the air upward.

Coincident with a cloud-burst is the other phenomenon of a " wall of water " rushing 

down the stream. Where the soil is clayey and has been baked hard by the sun, the 

conditions are ideal for rapid run-off after a heavy rain. The following explanation of 

the " wall of water " is taken from Engineering and Contracting for June 8, 1921:

" When rain begins to^fall more rapidly than the soil can absorb it, the first thin 

sheet of water that flows down the watercourses moves slowly, because the friction of 

the water is proportionately greater the shallower the stream. The friction acts like a 

dam, holding the stream back. Hence it follows that the water tends to bank up, so that 

the rain that fell first is overtaken by rain that fell many minutes later. The deeper 

the stream the faster it flows, for the frictional resistance is then proportionately less. 

Consequently the time comes when the flood moves rapidly, down the' watercourse, its 

front crest often being several feet deep and looking like a huge sea wave about to 

break on a shore."
12 THE ARKANSAS fclVEfc FLOOD OF JUNE 3-5, 1921.

province of Alberta on June 1. By the 2d it had displaced a lowpressure area over the upper Missouri Valley, and on the 3d it was 

over Manitoba and the northern part of North Dakota. Betw«e]n 

the 3d and 4th the movement was very slow, and it advanced only qs 

far as northeastern Minnesota. By June 5 the area had reached a 

point over the Great Lakes. During this period an area of low pressure (29.7 inches) had developed over western Arizona and remained 

over the southern Eocky Mountain plateau for several days. The 

difference in pressure between the " high " and " low " areas caused 

air currents to travel from the " high " to the " low " in an endeavor 

to equalize the pressure. The movement from the " high " area was 

outward and downward in a general clockwise direction toward the 

" low " area.

The relative positions of the areas of high and low pressure caused 

the storm to come primarily from the east or northeast. All along 

the front range in Colorado and New Mexico heavy rains occurred 

when the clouds were forced upward by reaching the mountains, but 

nowhere else was the rainfall as heavy as in the upper Arkansas 

Valley.

The general line of the front range and foothills bears to the southeast from the Wyoming boundary to Pikes Peak, a semidetached 

mountain mass rising abruptly from the plains. South of Pikes Peak 

the front range and line of foothills turn sharply westward for 20 

miles and then near Canon City swing quickly to the south and southeast and keep that course for 20 miles. This reentrant angle in the 

general line of the front range had a marked influence on the storm, 

causing it to concentrate at that point. From the statements of observers it is evident that the storm was deflected by Pikes Peak and 

came into the smaller area of heavy precipitation (pp. 15-16) from 

the north. Owing to the funnel shape of the valley opening upon the 

plains, air rushed into it both from the northeast and from the southeast around the end of Greenhorn Mountain. The rushing together 

gave the combined air currents a more or less circular movement that 

caused them to swing around to the north and northwest, where they 

met the storm coming down from the north. This circular motion 

caused the clouds to impinge against the side of the mountains so 

violently that they rose quickly and precipitated their moisture with 

great rapidity. Thunderstorms and hail, which occurred at the beginning of the rain, indicated the strong convective character of the 

storm.

The Weather Bureau received reports of precipitation at a number 

of points in this general region, which are summarized in the following table:
CAUSE OF PliOOD.

Rainfall in upper Arkansas Valley, Jwne 2-6, 1921, in inches.

[Except as noted all records are for 24 hours ending at 8 a. m. The records at Florence were taken by the

United Oil Co.]

Station.

Pueblo <*...... ......................

Lake Moraine *>.....

Victor «. . ............ .............

La Junta .

Elevation 

above 

sea level.

Feet. 

5,343

5,187

4,685

6,098

10,268

8,850

10,100

7,200

9,220

6,010

4,300

4,052

June 2.

-1.94

.14

.06

.25

JuneS.

0.30

.99

1.64

2.22

.65

2.53

.03

.98

June 4.

2.35

3.31

1.45

1.87

3.68

2.61

2.08

2.90

.89

1.06

on

.80

JuneS.

0.75

2.47

1.12

.65

1.40

1.43

1.55

.82

.56

71

.81

June 6

0.40

.13

.09

.40

.18

.48

.37

.05

.20

.04

10

.08

Total.

3.80

6.90

6.24

5.18

5.91

7.05

4.03

3.83

2.07

1.66

2.09

1.69

Predpi 

tation 

in 48 

hours 

ending afternoon of 

June 4.

2.65

411

3.09

4.09

4.33

5.14

2.11

2.90

1.87

1.06

.90

.80

« Records represent rainfall for 24 hours ending at midnight. 

& Records represent rainfall for 24 hours ending at 6 p. m. 

c Records represent rainfall for 24 hours ending at 4 p. m.

No Weather Bureau stations are maintained in the region of heavy 

rainfall, which, in the Arkansas River basin, extended from a point 

north of Colorado Springs ~on the 'north to the Wet Mountains on 

the south, and from Canon City on the west to a point just west and 

north of Pueblo on the east. Within this region in small areas 

the rainfall was intense. The precipitation in these areas can only 

be roughly estimated from statements of local residents, many of 

whom were interviewed for that purpose. The subjoined table and 

the brief statements that follow it summarize most of the information 

obtained. . 

Summarised statements of local residents regarding rainfall on June 3, 1921.

NORTH OF ARKANSAS RIVER.

Dry Creek in sec. 26, T. 20 N., 

R.65W. 

Sec. 27, T. 20 &., R. 65 W., just west 

of Pueblo. 

Teller reservoir on Turkey Creek. . . .

Creek.

Brush Hollow Creek in sec. 18, T. 19 

S.,R.69W. 

Eightmile Creek 5 miles above 

month. 

Eightmile Creek in sec. 15, T. 19 S., 

ST69W. 

Oil Creek in see. 35. T. 18 8.. R. 70 W.

Hardest at 10 p.m........ ........

12 inches (measured in concrete 

box). 

10 inches.. ........................

on morning of June 5).

rain gage); hardest at 9 p. m.

10 inches (hardest about 3.15 p. m.). 

No cloud-burst: ordinary hard rain.

]

Began.

7.30p.m..

Night of 

June 3-4. 

3p.m.....

8p.m..... 

3p.m..... 

5p.m.....

duration.

Ended.

Morning of June 4

Midnight. 

11 p. m.
14 THE ARKANSAS RIVER FLOOD OF JUNE 3-5, 1921. 

Summarised, statements of local residents, etc. Continued.

SOUTH OF ARKANSAS KIVER.

Chandler Creel- half a mile west of 

Florence.

Hardserabble Creek on divide 

southeast of Florence. 

Rush Creek in sec. 9, T. 21 S., R,

67 W. 

Rush Creek in sec. 22, T. 20 S..

R. 67 W. 

Pecks Creek 8 miles above mouth. . .

Pecks Creek in sec. 34, T. 21 S.,

B.67W. 

Cameron and Osteen arroyos in see. 

SO, T. 20 S., R. 66 W. 

Head of Rock Creek in sec. 34, T. 21 

S., R.67W. 

Between Rock and Soda creeks, 

sec. 29, T. 21 S., R. 66 W. 

Boggs Flat, about sec. 35, T. 21 S., 

R. 66 W. 

Blue Ribbon Creek in sec. 32, T. 20 

S.,R.65W. 

Blue Ribbon Creek in sec. 2, T. 21 S., 

R. 65 W. 

Beulab, in sec. 3, T. 23 S., R. 68 W. .

9 inches (measured in bucket); did 

not extend up Chandler Creek 

Smiles. 

4 inches of water ran over prairie . .

est rain 2 miles south. 

Tremendous rain ; water ran everywhere.

Five periods of very hard rain, .... 

4 inches of water on level. ......... 

Horse drowned in open field. ......

5 inches in 30 minutes: 6 inches of 

water ran over prairie. 

Hardestat 10p.m.. ..............

10 inches (hardest at 10 p. m) . . . 

Hard rain all night.. ..............

I

Began.

Hardestat 

6.30 p. m.

3p.m.....

2.30 p.m..

3p.m. .

/4 p.m..... 

\9 p. m....

3-4 p.m... 

5p.m..... 

4p.m..... 

3p.m..... 

6p.m.....

Juration.

Ended.

Midnight.

6.30 p. m. 

Midnight.

Morning of June I. 

4 a. m. June 4.

NOTE. Except where method of measuring rainfall is given above, the amounts can be considered .only 

roughly approximate, as the observers had no means of making accurate measurements.

Several ranchers on Boggs Flat stated that the precipitation during the afternoon and night of June 3 was 14 inches. A hardsurfaced road in that section was washed out to a depth of 7 feet.

The area drained by Dry Creek, unlike those of the other tributary streams, had its severest rain on June 2. Mr. J. F. Wing, who 

lives in sec. 26, T. 20 S., R. 65 W., stated that the heaviest rain 

began about 2 p. m. June 2 and continued until midnight or later. 

At 11 p. m. the bridge over Twenty-fourth Street in Pueblo was 

washed out. On June 3 it was misty or rainy all day, and at 7.30 

p. m. a very hard rain began, which became a cloud-burst at 10 p. m.

The residents living south of Arkansas River agreed that the 

storm came from the northeast, then worked around north, and 

finally to the northwest. The most complete statements are summarized below.

Mr. Fred Rosencrantz, who lives in sees. 32 and 33, T. 20 S., R. 65 

W., said that the storm appeared to come from the northeast and 

was met by another storm which came from Old Baldy (local name 

for Greenhorn Mountain) to the southwest. At that time the water 

in the Arkansas appeared to be flowing both up and down stream, the 

up-river current being caused by the inflow from Blue Ribbon Creek 

and other arroyos from the south.
PRINCIPAL AREAS OF INTENSE BAOTFALL. 15

Mr. C. F. Burke, manager of the Blue Ribbon ranch, in sees. 2 

and 3, T. 21 S., R. 65 W., stated that the storm appeared to come 

from the northeast and was met by a storm from the southwest.

Mr. J. H. Farris, in see. 34, T. 21 S., R. 67 W., stated that he 

first noticed storm clouds in the northeast. The storm appeared to 

work to the west on the north side of the river, theii south and 

southeast, and when it reached his ranch was coming from the northwest.

Mr. E. C. Higgins, who lives at the crossing of the Penrose and 

Canon City road over Eightmile Creek, 6 miles above its mouth, 

gave the most complete account of the storm. He said the sky had 

been very cloudy the entire morning of June 3. From the mesa 

above his house he could see for many miles along the east face of 

the Wet Mountain range, which lies south of Arkansas River. A 

dense bank of black clouds lay along the top and sides of the range 

during the morning, and about 1 p. m. it dropped down from the 

mountains and seemed to push out along the mesa top. A similar 

bank of clouds had hung in the hills to the north, in the direction 

of Cripple Creek. These clouds gradually dropped lower, and by 

1 p. m. it started to rain in the hills. Between 2.30 and 3 p. m. it 

began to rain at the Higgins ranch, and in a few minutes the rain 

was pouring down in sheets so continuous that it was impossible to 

see across the highway lane in front of the house.

Mr. Sim Wells, superintendent of the Colorado Fnel & Iron Co.'s 

ditch, who lives near the mouth of Rock Creek, stated that at the 

point where the creek leaves the high mesa lands the water came 

over the edge of the mesa in great sheets for a distance of half a 

mile on each side.

The rain began in the foothills north of the narrow mountain valley 

about 1 p. m. By 3 p. m. it had spread over the upper and middle 

parts of the valley, and between 5 and 7 p. m. it reached the lower 

end near Puebla On Eightmile, Rush, and Rock creeks the hardest 

rain occurred between 3 and 4 p. m.; near Pueblo it did not occur until 

10 or 11 p. m. The rain continued with intermissions until after 

midnight.

PRINCIPAL AREAS OF INTENSE RAINFALL.

The Weather Bureau records (p. 13) indicate that for the 48 hours 

ending on the afternoon of June 4 the rainfall in the drainage basin 

between Canon City and Pueblo was from 3 to 5 inches and that it was 

heaviest in the northern part of this area, near Pikes Peak. Within 

this general region there were smaller areas where the rainfall was 

yery intense but of short duration.
16 THE ARKANSAS RIVER FLOOD OF JF3STE 3-5^ 1921.

The statements of local residents and the measured maximum discharges of the tributary streams indicate two principal areas of 

intense rainfall. (See PL I.) The larger area, which is roughly elliptical, extends from the northern boundary of Pueblo County to the 

top of the Wet Mountains near Beulah, a, distance of 30 miles, and 

from a point a short distance above the mouth of Bush Creek nearly 

to Pueblo, a distance of 15 miles. The smaller area covers the south 

slope of the Pikes Peak uplift, which forms the northern part of 

the mountain valley, and extends from a point above Skaguay reservoir to a point 3 or 4 miles south of the, river, a distance of 25 miles, 

and from Oil Creek to Beaver Creek, a distance of 11 miles. The two 

areas cover 550 square miles.

EFFECT OF RESERVOIRS ON THE FLOOD.

Considerable misinformation relative to the effect of reservoirs 

upon the flood was disseminated by the general and technical press 

at the time of its occurrence. There are three reservoirs of considerable size within the areas of intense rainfall, and none of these 

contributed to the main flood of June 3. The Schaeffer reservoir, 

on Beaver Creek, failed on June 5, causing the flood of that date, 

which was very severe in the valley immediately below the mouth of 

Beaver Creek but flattened out farther downstream. The. other two 

reservoirs, the Skaguay reservoir, on Beaver Creek, and the Teller 

reservoir, on Turkey Creek, safely withstood the flood. At the time 

of the main flood the three reservoirs helped in a slight degree to 

reduce its magnitude by holding back a portion of the run-off above 

them.

The Schaeffer reservoir, which had a capacity of 3,190 acre-feet, 

was formed by an earth dam across Beaver Creek in see. 9, T. 18 S., 

R. 68 W. The dam had a maximum height of 100 feet above the 

bottom of the outlet and a length on the crest of 1,100 feet. Its 

average height was about 90 feet for the middle 500 feet of its 

length. The width on the crest was 15 feet, the outside slope 2 to 1, 

and the 'inside slope 3 to 1. A freeboard of 10 feet was provided. 

A concrete cut-off wall was provided in the middle portion of the 

dam, and a timber cut-off wall for the remainder. The inlet was a 

concrete tunnel 4 feet wide and 5 feefhigh, constructed on bedrock. 

The dam was built to a height of 20 to 30 feet by the hydraulicfill method when it was observed that the material deposited in the 

center of the dam retained water and did not consolidate, being more 

nearly liquid than solid. The liquid material was replaced by dry 

earth, and the dam was finished by depositing the earth by wagons, 

sprinkling, and rolling in thin layers. The inner slope was riprapped to the top. A spillway 100 feet wide was provided beyond
EFFECT OF BESEBVOIES ON THE FLOOD. 17

the east end of the dam, and the discharge was led away from the 

toe of the embankment by a canal constructed for that purpose.6

Mr. C. E. White, superintendent of the water division of the 

Beaver Park Irrigation Co., gave the following account of the failure of the reservoir (see PL III, A):

The storm of June 3 began at the reservoir about 7 p. m. At that time the 

water in the reservoir stood 7 feet below the spillway level. By 4.30 a. m. 

June 4 the run-off above the reservoir filled the reservoir and the water began 

to run over the spillway. By 7.30 a. m. the spillway was discharging 1,500 

second-feet, and in addition the large outlet gate was opened halfway. At 5.30 

p. m. the water flowing over the spillway had fallen 9' inches, and it was believed the flood had been successfully passed. Two hours later, at 7.30 p. m. 

June 4, the water flowing over the spillway began to rise again and continued 

to rise at the rate of 3 inches an hour. At this time the large outlet gate was 

opened wide, as was also a by-pass gate having a capacity of 88 second-feet. 

The water dropped slightly about 9.30 a. m. June 5, and shortly afterward the 

water appeared to give a surge and overtopped the dam for about 75 feet 

along its middle section. At this time the water flowing over the spillway 

was 4| feet deep. The dam failed soon afterward, being almost entirely 

washed out, and in 30 minutes' time the reservoir was empty.

By the failure of the Schaeffer dam about 3,600 acre-feet of water 

was released into Beaver Creek within 30 minutes. This resulted in 

a Veritable wall of water rushing down Beaver Creek and causing a 

flood in Arkansas River. The sudden rush of water down the Arkansas swept all before it for several miles, or until the natural storage of the river channel reduced the peak. The greatest damage was 

caused near Swallows, where several buildings and all freight cars 

standing on side tracks were washed away. The following table 

shows the time the flood was observed at several points between the 

reservoir and Pueblo:

Observed time of flood of June 5,1921, at several points between Schaeffer 

reservoir and Pueblo."

Point of observation.

Goodnight......................................................................

Time.

11.30a.m....

1.30p.m....

Distance 

below 

reservoir.

Miles. 

0

9

19

29

34

 Datafurnished chiefly by Mr. Arthur O. Bidgway.

The distance of 9 miles down Beaver Creek was covered in 1| hours, 

an average of 7.2 miles an hour. Down the Arkansas the flood

* Colorado State Engineer Fifteenth Bienn. Kept., p. 122, 1911. 

84158° 22 2
18 THE ARKANSAS RIVEE FLOOD OF JUNE 3-5, 1921.

traversed a distance of 25 mites in 8| hours, an average rate of ?UL 

miles an hour.

The maximum discharge of Bearer Creek was determined as 

153,000 second-feet at a point 1 mile above its mouth. Although this 

discharge is extremely high, it is entirely reasonable, as the mean 

discharge required to empty the reservoir in 30 minutes would have 

been 87,100 second-feet. (iSee PL III, B.)

At Pueblo the maximum discharge of the river caused by this 

flood, which lasted from 3 to 4 p. m. on June 5, was 31,000 second-feet. 

Before and after the flood the discharge of the river was about 15,000 

second-feet, and the difference, 16,000 second-feet, represents the flood 

crest from Beaver Creek as it reached Pueblo. Thus in traversing 25 

miles of river that was at medium flood stage the crest decreased 

from 153,000 second-feet to 16,000 second-feet.

The Skaguay reservoir is formed by a dam across the channel of 

West Beaver Creek. The dam is a steel-faced granite back-filled 

structure, having a maximum height of 70 feet to the spillway level. 

Its length is 405 feet on the crest and 220 feet :at the base. The top 

width is 20 feet. The steel-faced upstream slope stands at an angle 

of 30° with the vertical, and the downstream sl<j>pe at an angle of 50°. 

The spillway is 60 feet wide and is cut through granite beyond the 

northwest end of the dam. It is divided into, six parallel channels 

by concrete and timber partitions. (See PL IV, B.) The steel plates 

are sheets measuring 5 by 15 feet and decreasing in thickness from 

half an inch at the bottom to a quarter of an inch at the top. This 

dam successfully withstood the flood, although,the water ran over it 

in the low places. To stop this overflow flashboards in the spillway 

were blown out with dynamite, and the consequent sudden release of 

water into the channel below the dam washed out 50 feet of woodstave pipe-line leading to the power house, 5 miles below.

The Teller reservoir 7 is formed by the construction across Turkey 

Creek of an earth dam having a maximum heigjht of 106 feet, a crest 

length of 770 feet, and a bottom length of about 500 feet. The hills 

that form the abutments of the dam are very steep, and near the top 

the dam abuts against rock cliffs at both ends. The embankment has 

a crest width of 22 feet, an outside slope of 1| to 1, and an inside slope 

of 3 to 1. The inner slope is protected by a reinforced-concrete pavement 4 inches thick, anchored to the earthwork by concrete plugs 6 

inches in diameter and 2 feet long, spaced 12 feet apart. This concrete pavement is connected with a concrete toe wall, which is carried 

to bedrock across the creek bottom. Concrete cut-off walls were also 

provided where the embankment abuts against the rock cliffs at 

the ends. The outlet consists of a concrete tunnel 7 feet wide and

» Colorado State Engineer Fifteenth BJeton. Eept., p. 119, 1911,
U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 487 PLATE III

Ji,...

*rvrf -^

* - * - j -j -fcJHy^^-Jk

. -.?rJ^tXrf5*

^ ^":?-^- - "E^l:: -, ' *». «'

V

. VIEW LOOKING UPSTREAM TOWARD SITE OF SCHAEFFER DAM. 

Debris from dam in foreground. Line shows former crest of dam.

B. BEAVER CREEK 1 MILE ABOVE MOUTH. 

X-X, Section used to determine maximum discharge.
IT. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 487 PLATE IV

A. EIGHTMILE CREEK, SHOWING TYPICAL SECTION USED IN DETERMINING MAXIMUM DISCHARGE.

Dotted lines show location of upper, middle, and lower cross sections.

B. SKAGUA.Y RESERVOIR, WITH DAM (IN FOREGROUND) AND SPILLWAY (IN CENTER)
FLOOD FLOWS. 19

6' feet 4 inches high constructed in a trench in the natural ground 

entirely below the artificial embankment. This tunnel is provided 

with two 30-inch pipe inlets equipped with gate valves. A spillway 

for the reservoir was provided over a rock cliff some distance from 

the dam.

This reservoir successfully withstood the flood, storing all the runoff above it until the high water had passed.

FLOOD FI/OW8.

METHOD OF DETERMINATION.

As no gaging stations were maintained on the streams within the 

areas of intense rainfall, it was necessary to determine the maximum 

discharge by the slope method after tile flood had passed. The work 

was done with a plane-table equipped with a Johnson quick-leveling 

head, a reconnaissance alidade having a 3-inch striding level, a 

14-foot stadia rod graduated to half-tenths, and a 100-foot steel tape. 

All distances were measured with the tape and checked by stadia.

Each tributary stream was measured as near the mouth as the 

condition of the channel permitted. A careful inspection was made 

to locate a segment of channel which was reasonably straight and 

free from brush or other obstructiori and in which the discharge 

had been confined to the regular channel with little or no overflow. 

In the portion of the stream measured cross sections were measured 

at the upper end, middle, and lower end. Plate IV, A, shows a typical segment. At each of the three sections stakes were set at the 

high-water line on each side of the channel. Beginning at the upstream end a level line was run around the six stakes, closing on the 

initial point with an allowable error of 0.05 foot. The distance on 

each side between stakes was measured along the high-water line. 

The cross section between each pair of stakes on opposite sides of the 

cnannel was carefully measured. The general location of each 

measuring point was determined by reference to section corners. Owing to the effect of bends in the channel that could not be entirely 

avoided, the difference in elevation between adjacent cross sections 

was not the same on both sides of the stream, nor was the distance as 

measured along the high-water line the same on both sides. Both 

distances and differences in elevation were averaged to determine the 

mean slope between adjacent sections.

Each cross section was plotted on a large scale, and the area was 

determined by planimeter. By means of tables based on Kutter's 

formula for flow in open channels the discharge between the upper 

and middle cross sections and that between the middle and lower sections were determined, the areas of the two cross sections being aver-
20 THE ARKANSAS EIVER FLOOD OF JUNE 3-5, 1921.

aged and the average slope between them being used. The discharge 

through the upper, middle, and lower sections was also determined by 

averaging the hydraulic factors for all three cross sections and using 

the average slope between the upper and lower sections. Thus, three 

separate determinations of the discharge of each stream were made. 

In general, the discharge given by the last-mentioned determination 

was used. Where the difference in area between the upper and lower 

cross sections made a marked difference in the velocity through each 

section, a correction for velocity of approach was applied to the slope 

between them.

Although the conditions of flow were not the same for all cross sections the main channels were uniformly free from vegetation, and as 

the overflow areas were only a small percentage of eaeh cross section 

the value for the coefficient of roughness (n) was taken as 0.035 for 

the tributary streams and 0.030 for Arkansas River above Pueblo.

The best section of Arkansas River for using the slope method of 

measurement is just west of Pueblo and above Dry Creek. In this 

locality three cross sections of the river valley between well-defined 

high-water marks were measured. The lower section was opposite 

the lower end of the North Side settling basin of the city waterworks; the middle section 1,230 feet upstream, at the upper end of 

the settling basin; and the upper section 1,740 feet farther upstream. 

On computing the mean slope between the different sections the 

slope between the middle and lower sections was found to be so 

slight that it was believed to be within the influence of backwater 

from Pueblo and was discarded. The slope for a mean distance of 

1,740 feet between the upper and middle sections was found to be 

0.00125, and the maximum discharge was determined from the mean 

of the areas of the two cross sections as 83,500 second-feet.

To determine the maximum discharge at Pueblo it was necessary 

to add the flow entering from Dry Creek. It was impossible to determine definitely the amount of water in Dry Creek at the time 

of the peak flow in Pueblo, as Dry Creek had two floods, one during 

the night of June 2-3 and one the evening of June 3. The maximum 

discharge of the stream in the first flood was found to be 24,400 

second-feet, and as the second flood was somewhat less the discharge 

at the time of the Pueblo peak was assumed to be 19,500 second-feet. 

By adding this assumed discharge of 19,500 second-feet* in Dry 

Creek to the discharge of the Arkansas above Dry Creek the maximum discharge of the Arkansas at Pueblo was found to be 103,000 

second-feet.

The results of the field work are given in the Iollowing table;
Maximum discharge of streams in area ofheavy rain

Stream.

Oil Creek. .................................

Oak Creek. ................................

Red Creek ........

RuBh Creek.. ........... ..... ...

Tributary 

from 

north or 

south.

N. 

S. 

N. 

8. 

S. 

N. 

N. 

S. 

N. 

8. 

N. 

S. 

S. 

N. 

S. 

S. 

S.

s.

N. 

S.

s.

s.

N.

Distance 

above 

Main 

Street 

bridge, 

Pueblo.

Miles. 

40.2 

36.2 

35.8 

35.2 

345 

33.5 

31.0 

28.8 

25.0 

22.0 

20.0 

19.8 

16.8 

142 

13.5 

12.0 

11.0 

9.8 

9.5 

8.2 

48 

42 

2.5 

1.8

Maximum 

discharge.

Total.

Sec.-ft. 

2,510 

1,610 

1,890 

2,760 

3,720 

10,000 

5,320 

3,300 

"9,470 

920 

968 

911 

4,670 

9,000 

9,060 

13,900 

19,400 

53,900 

9,740 

15,400 

1,910 

9,130 

83,500 

24,400

Per 

square 

mile.

Sec.-ft. 

6 

118 

77 

41 

167 

154 

243 

19 

45 

41 

104 

22 

238 

188 

1,160 

1,900 

564 

913 

619 

582 

1,060, 

1,360

283

Drainage 

area.

So. miles. 423 

13.6 

246 

68 

22.3 

65 

21.9 

173 

213 

22.6 

9.3 

40.6 

19.6 

648 

7.8 

7.3 

344 

59 

15.8 

26.5 

1.8 

6.7

86

Time of flood 

11 p. m. Jun

7p.m. June

7.30p.m. Ju

7p.m. June

7p.m. June

8.30p.m. Ju

8p.m. June

7. 30 p. m. Ju

7.30 a. m. Ju

5 p. m. June 

5p.m. June

5p.m. June

5.30p.m. Ju

8.30p.m. Ju

9 p. m. June 

9 p. m. June 

5 or 6 p. m. J

9 p. m. June 

5.45p.m. Ju

6.30p.m. Ju

llp.m. Jun

llp.m. Jun

Midnight Ju

lip. m. Jun

Creek, 9 miles above its moutn). The amount passing the spillway and waste gates of the Schaeffer reservoi

computed to be 3,100 second-feet. To this was added the drainage to Beaver Creek from 68.5 square miles betwe

the chief tributary, was found to be 4,490 second-feet, or 93 second-feet per square mile. Applying this unit run-o

feet, which added to the 3.100 second-feet passing the dam gives a total maximum natural discharge of 9,470 

discharge due to the breaking of the Schaeffer reservoir, see pp. 17-18.

6 The area of 48 square milesis that of Turkey Creek below the Teller reservoir, as little or no water passed 

e The discharge given above represents the computed discharge at the mouth. The measuring point was 

that point was applied to the area above the mouth to determine the total discharge. The hydraulic factors a

« The discharge of Arkansas Eiver at Pueblo as given on p. 20 was 103,000 second feet.
Maximum discharge of streams in area ofheary rain/all near P

Stream.

Salt Creek /................................

Tributary

from 

north or 

south.

N.

S.

S.

N.

above

Street 

bridge, 

Pueblo.

Miles. 

tl.5

el. 5

«8.8

«15.0

Maximum 

discharge.

Total.

Sec.-ft. 

34,000

32,100

71,800

28,600

Per 

square 

mile.

Sec.-ft. 

36

38

Drainage 

area.

So. miles. 

932

750

Time of floo

t Below Pueblo.

f The discharge of Salt Creek was Increased greatly by water from St. Charles River through the Colorado 

As the discharge of Salt Creek was so greatly increased from St. Charles River the unit run-off has no value.

9 The measured discharge of St. Charles River does not include the overflow to Salt Creek; no unit run-off 

ft Measurement made by State engineer's office.
THE FLOOD AT, PUEBLO. 23 

THE FLOOD BETWEEN CANON CITY AND PUEBLO.

From Canon City to Florence, a distance of 8 miles by river, the 

valley is comparatively narrow and was little damaged by the flood. 

The maximum discharge increased from 3,740 second-feet at Canon 

City to 9,000 second-feet at Florence.8 The tributary streams in this 

section Oil, Chandler, Sixmile, Oak, and Coal creeks lie partly 

within the upper of the two areas of intense rainfall but did not have 

as high unit discharges as the tributaries nearer Pueblo. (See table 

of maximum discharge, pp. 21-22.)

Between Florence and the mouth of Beaver Creek, a distance of 

10 miles, the discharge must have increased considerably, as the 

principal tributaries, Eightmile, Brush Hollow, and Hardscrabble 

creeks, had their flood crests between 7.30 and 8.30 p. m. on June 3, 

about the time the river was highest at Florence. At Portland, 5 

miles below Florence, the highest water occurred at 11 p. m., when 

the water was 4 feet deep in the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad 

station. The water started to fall here at 11.30 p. m. and in an hour 

had fallen 3f feet.

From Beaver Creek to Turkey Creek, a distance of 11 miles, the 

maximum stage during the evening of June 3 could not have increased very greatly, as the tributary streams, Rush and Red creeks 

and Ritchie and Fred Rohr gulches, had their flood crests about 5 

p. m.," several hours before the passage of the main flood crest in the 

river. In this stretch the greatest damage was caused not by the 

flood of June 3 but by that of June 5 due to the failure of the 

Schaeffer reservoir on Beaver Creek (p. 17). (See PL V, B.)

Between Turkey Creek and Pueblo the discharge of the river increased very rapidly, as this was the section which received the maximum run-off from the areas of intense rainfall.

THE FLOOD AT PUEBLO. 

GENERAL, FEATURES.

Pueblo, the second city in size in the State, is on Arkansas River 

a few miles east of the foothill region and just above the mouth of 

Fountain Creek. The 1920 census gave its population as 42,908. It 

is an important railroad center, being on the lines of the Atchison, 

Topeka & Santa Fe, Denver & Rio Grande Western, Missouri 

Pacific, and Colorado & Southern railways. It is also an important 

manufacturing center, the steel mills, smelters, railroad car shops,

8 Engineers of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Co. measured a cross section of the 

river 300 feet below Pikes Peak Avenue bridge and also measured the slope from a point 

1,100 feet upstream to a point 1,100 feet downstream. The slope was found to be 0.0031, 

and the discharge was computed as 9,000 second-feet.
24 THE AEKANSAS RIVEB FLOOD OF JUNE 3-5 1921.

foundries, and other manufacturing plants employing about 18,000 

men. The city lies mainly on the flood plain of the river but extends 

onto the bluffs on either side. Originally the river pursued a winding course through the city, but its channel was straightened and 

levees were built to furnish protection against a flood of 40,000 

second-feet, slightly greater than the maximum discharge of the flood 

of 1894.

The heavy rains on June 2 and 3 in the region west of Pueblo 

caused several successive rises in the river. The highest rise and 

the one that caused the great damage was the second, which occurred 

on the night of June 3. Dry Creek, which drains an area of 86 

square miles just west of Pueblo on the north side of the Arkansas, 

was subject to its severest flood the night of June 2. This flood 

caused the river at Pueblo to rise by 2 a. m. June 3 to a stage 

of 13.7 feet on the State gage just below the Main Street bridge. 

This rise subsided in a few hours, and as the river channel could 

safely carry a flood of that stage, little damage was done. The intense rains that began on the afternoon of the 3d caused the river 

to rise rapidly at 5 p. m., and by 8.45 p. m. the levees were overtopped 

at a stage of 18.1 feet. The river continued to rise until at midnight the maximum stage of 24.66 feet was reached. This stage was 

maintained for only a few minutes, and then the river fell almost 

as quickly as it rose, until about 4 a. m. June 4 it had receded to 

the top of the levee (18.1 feet). By 2.30 p. m. the river had fallen 

to a stage of 9.5 feet and by midnight to 9.1 feet. About the time 

the levees were overtopped they broke at several places near the 

west end of the city, and large quantities of water flowed directly 

through the heart of the business section. A third rise reached a 

stage of 11.1 feet at 4 a. m. June 5, but the river quickly subsided 

again and remained at a stage of 9.1 feet until 2.15 p. m., when a 

fourth flood, caused by the breaking of the Schaeffer dam on 

Beaver Creek, reached the city. The river reached a stage of 13 

feet from 3 to 4 p. m. and then fell to 9.1 feet at 7 p. m. By this 

time the flood run-off from the area of heavy rains had passed, and 

the river continued to recede gradually, except for a temporary rise 

to 8 feet at 5.30 p. m. June 6.

When the levees were overtopped an immense volume of water 

flowed across the old flood plain and through the heart of the business section, which'lies on both sides of the river. The area inundated covered 3 square miles und extended from Sixth and Main 

streets north of the river to the bluffs south of the Denver & Bio 

Grande Railroad yards on the south side of the river.

The following table shows the height of the high-water mark above 

the sidewalk level on different buildings in the city;
TJ. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 487 PLATE V

A . SILT 18 INCHES DEEP DEPOSITED IN FRONT OF UNION DEPOT.

B. OVERTURNED TRACKS ON DENVER & RIO GRANDE RAILROAD WEST OF

PUEBLO.

Rails attached to underside of ties.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-FUPPLY PAPER 487 PLATE VI

MM I

A. HIGH-WATER MARK ON ELECTRIC BUILDING. 

I'icture taken at 5.30 a. m. June 4, 1921.

B. UNION DEPOT ON THE MORNING OF JUNE 4, 1921. 

High-water mark near top of windows.
THE FLOOD AT PtJEBLO. 25 

High-water mark on different buildings in Pueblo,

Building.

Fulton Candy Co...... ...........

Electric...........................

McCarty Block....................

Central Block... .................

Post Office.. ......................

Western National Bank. ..........

Location.

Main and Fifth streets....................................

Height 

above 

sidewalk.

Feet. 

9.8

9.8

11.9

12.5

12.6

5.£

13.2

14.4

Plate VI shows views of the Union Depot and Electric Building, 

and Plate V, Ay shows the 18-inch deposit of silt left by the flood at 

the Union Depot.

The first warning of the approaching flood reached the city about 

6 p. m. on the 3d, stating that a wall of water1 was rushing down the 

river. Messengers were sent out at once to warn the people living in 

the lowlands called Peppersauce Flats. Hundreds of people rushed to 

the levees to witness the approach of the great wall of water, not 

thinking that the city could be inundated, as the levees were believed 

high enough to protect it. The sudden breaking of the levees cut off 

the people from the higher land, and in endeavoring to escape many 

were drowned, as were many others in the houses in the lowlands who 

had refused to heed the flood warning. Fires broke out almost simultaneously in different parts of the city, terribly illuminating the darkness caused by the failure of the lighting system. Burning piles of 

timber from a blazing lumber yard drifted through the streets of the 

city, lodging momentarily against frame buildings and setting them 

on fire. It was almost impossible to fight the fires, as the buildings 

were surrounded by water, which prevented the fire department from 

reaching them. Even if the buildings could have been reached, however, the breaking of the city water system would have made it impossible to put out the flames. The fires finally burned themselves out;

ARRIVAL OF TRIBUTARY FLOOD CRESTS.

A study of the tributary flood crests in their relation to the maximum discharge of the Arkansas at Pueblo requires the determination 

of the time of their arrival at that point. This can not be determined 

absolutely but can be estimated with a fair degree of accuracy. The 

time required for the flood from the Schaeffer reservoir to travel the 

25 miles from the mouth of Beaver Creek to Pueblo on June 5 is 

known to be about 3| hours, a rate of 7,1 miles an hour. (See p. 18.) 

At that time the stage of the river was much lower than when the 

bulk of the water from the tributary streams formed the flood of the 

3d. Consequently the retardation due to channel storage was
26 THE ARKANSAS RIVER FLOOD OF JUNE 3-5, 1921.

ably greater on the 5th than on the 3d. For the earlier period the 

mean rate of the flood crests from the tributary streams has been 

assumed as 7.5 miles an hour. On this basis the following table has 

been computed:

Time of arrival of tributary flood crests at Pueblo on June 3-4, 1921.

Stream.

Unnamed arroyo. ....................................

Pecks Creek .......................................... 

Cameron Arroyo.. ....................................

Bush Creek. .......................................... 

Bed Creek. ........................................... 

Fred Bohr Gulch. ....................................

Bitchie Gulch ........................................

Brush Hollow Creek. .................................

Chandler Creek. ...................................... 

Oil Creek.... .........................................

Distance 

from tributary to 

Pueblo.

Miles. 

1.8

4.2

4.8

8.2

9.5 

9 8

11.0 

12.0 

13.5

14.2

16.8 

19.8 

20.0

22.0 

25.0

28.8

31.0 

33.5

34.5

35.2

35.8

36.2 

40.2

Time flood crest 

entered river.

10 p. m. June 3....

11 p. m. JuneS...-

6.30p.m. JuneS.-

5.45 p. m. June 3. ..

5.30p.m. JuneS... 

9 p.m. JuneS. .... 

9 p.m. JuneS.....

8.30 p. m. JuneS...

5.30p.m. JuneS... 

5p.m. JuneS..... 

5p.m. JuneS-.-..

5p.m. JuneS..... 

7.30a.m. June 4...

7.30p.m. JuneS..

8p.m. JuneS..... 

8.30p.m. JuneS..

7 p. m. JuneS.-...

7p.m. JuneS.....

7.30 p.m. JuneS...

7p.m. JuneS..... 

11 p. m. JuneS....

Tune flood crest 

reached Pueblo.

10.15 p. m. June 3.

11.35 p. m. June 3.

11.40p.m. JuneS.

7.35p.m. JuneS.

7 p. m. June 3. 

10.20 p. m. June 3.

7 p. m. June 3. 

10.35p.m. JuneS. 

10.50 p. m. June 3.

10.25 p. m. June 3.

7.45 p. m. June 3. 

7.40 p. m. June 3. 

7.40 p. m. June 8.

7.55p.m. JuneS. 

10.50 a. m. June 4.

11.20p.m. JuneS.

12.10 a. m. June4v 

1 a. m. June 4.

11. 35 p. m. JuneS.

11.40p.m. JuneS.

12.15 a. m. June 4.

11.50 p. m. June 3. 

4.20 a. m. June 4.

Apparently the first flood crests to reach Pueblo .were those from 

Boggs, Pecks, Kush, and Red creeks and Fred Rohr and Kitchie 

gulches, all tributaries within a distance of 25 miles. The time of 

their arrival was between 7 and 8 p. m. June 3. These crests were 

probably greatly diminished in volume when they reached Pueblo, 

being affected by the natural storage in the river channel. Although 

the heavy rains continued during the afternoon and evening, and a 

considerable volume of water reached the Arkansas during that 

period, no more flood crests reached Pueblo until late in the evening. 

From 10 p. m. until midnight the floods from the tributaries near 

Pueblo, which were the streams having the greatest flood discharge, 

reached the city. At the same time the flood crests from the most 

distant tributaries also arrived. As the river-channel storage became 

less with increasing stage, the later floods must have reached Pueblo 

in much more nearly their original volumes than the earlier ones. 

The effect of the arrival of all these flood crests is shown on the accompanying hydrograph (fig. 1, p. 28).

MAXIMUM DISCHARGE.

The State engineer maintains a gaging station at the Main Street 

bridge in Pueblo, but the gage was entirely destroyed by the flood of
THE FLOOD AT PUEBLO. 27

June 3, and because the area inundated was so wide it was impossible 

to make discharge measurements during the peak flow. After the 

flood the United States Geological Survey determined the maximum 

discharge as 103,000 second-feet. (See p. 20.)

An idea of the unprecedented discharge of the river during the 

flood is given by the following table showing the available records of 

maximum discharge:

Annual maximum discharge of Arkansas River at Pueblo for certain years.

Year.

1886................

1886................

1887................

1894................

1895................

1896................

1897................

1898................

1899................

1900................

1901................

1902................

1903................

1904................

1905................

1906................

Date.

May 29............

July 18..... .......

May 31.... ........

July 31.. ..........

Aug. 18...........

July 13............

June 20.. .........

May 21.. ..........

Discharge.

Secondfeet. 

4,530

7.660

6.520

so inn

5.000

3,440

3,750

5,380

4,890

6,980

10,700

8,320

6,100

3,310

6,460

4,880

Year.

1907................

1908................

1909................

1910................

1911................

1912................

1913................

1914................

1915................

1916................

1917................

1918................

1Q1Q

1920................

1921................

Date.

July 28... .........

Aug. 18. ..........

July 6.. ...........

July 23... .........

May 30.. ..........

Discharge.

Secondfeet. 

4,640

1,930

5,800

8,000

7,000

10,000

7,800

7,500

17,000

8,900

6,800

9,600

5,230

4,800

103,000

NOTE. For 1901 and from 1909 to 1920 the discharge is that for the 

the other years the maximum discharge is that for the 24-hour period.

TOTAL DISCHARGE.

stage recorded. For

The recording gage at Pueblo was destroyed by the flood, and no 

continuous record of river height exists. From the testimony of local 

observers and from high-water marks it has been possible to construct a fairly complete and accurate hydrograph of the Arkansas at 

Pueblo from June 2 to 5 (fig. 1). The most complete record of the 

river during the time of the principal rise was that obtained by Mr. 

B. Milton Stearns, assistant chief train dispatcher of the Denver & 

Rio Grrande Railroad. As the water rose in the Union Depot the 

distance to the water surface from a fixed point was measured with a 

level rod and the time noted. This was done at frequent intervals 

from 9 p. m. on the 3d to T a. m. on the 4th, the period during which 

the river was above the floor of the Union Depot. The reference 

points used were later connected to the city datum by level, and the 

maximum stage was found to be at 4,684.75 feet above the sea. The 

maximum stage at the river gage at the Main Street bridge was 

determined after the flood, from a well-defined water mark on the 

outside of the new city hall, 150 feet distant. This mark was found 

to be 24.66 feet above the zero of the gage, or 4,681.70 feet above the 

sea, 3.05 feet lower than the maximum observed at the Union Depot.
28 THE ARKANSAS RIVER FLOOD OF JUNE 3-5, 1921.

The difference is due chiefly to the fact that the Union Depot is 750 

feet upstream from the river gage and 1,700 feet away from the river. 

A line of levels between high-water marks on the Victoria Avenue 

bridge, in line with the Union Depot, and the Main Street bridge 

showed a difference of 2.1 feet. The remaining difference is probably due to the fact that the water surface at the Union Depot was 

higher than at the river, 1,700 feet distant, as shown by level lines run 

after the flood.

June 2 June 3 June 4 June 5

FIGUBE L Hydrograph of Arkansas River at Pueblo, showing stage of river from

June 2 to June 5, 1921.

The data covering the rise from the Dry Creek flood in the early 

morning of June 3 were taken from the continuous chart on the recording gage shortly before it was destroyed. Data for the remainder 

of the time were obtained by the State engineer's office from several 

reliable sources.

The hydrograph of June 2-5 (fig. 1) shows that although the 

maximum discharge was high the river rose and fell so quickly 

that the total discharge in acre-feet for the flood period was comparatively small. The rainfall in the affected area was very heavy, 

but it ceased so soon that the extremely high run-off from the steep 

slopes of the tributary streams was of very short duration. Furthermore, the time of maximum rainfall was not the same on all 

tributaries but in general was latest on the tributaries near Pueblo.
THE FLOOD AT PUEBLO. 29

This caused the peak flows from the near-by tributaries to reach 

Pueblo at the same time as the peak flows from the more distant 

streams, producing the most favorable conditions possible for a flood 

of great height.

It is impossible to determine accurately the total discharge at 

Pueblo during the flood, owing to the great size of the area oFerflowed, the breaks in the levee, and the scour in the main channel 

caused by the flood. The discharge up to the time the levees were 

overtopped and broke, about 9 p. m. June 3, can be determined satisfactorily, as a fair rating curve for the State gage is available. For 

the remainder of the period only a rough estimate can be made. The 

peak flow at the maximum stage of 24.66 feet was 103,000 secondfeet. (See p. 20.) To determine the discharge at the time the levees 

were overtopped it was assumed that of the total scour of 1.4 feet 

noted after the flood, about 0.5 foot had occurred at that time, and 

the flow through the breaks in the levees was estimated to be 10,000 

second-feet. Although this estimate may be as much as 100 per cent 

in error the effect of such an error on the entire discharge would be 

very small.

As explained on page 24, the levees were built to protect the city 

against a flood flow of 40,000 second-feet, which would reach a gage 

height of 18.1 feet. The additional flow permitted by the scour of 

0.5 foot, however, would give a discharge of 40,000 second-feet at 

gage height 17.6 feet. Adding the 10,000 feet that escaped through 

the breaks would give a flow of 50,000 second-feet at gage height 

17.6 feet. From this figure and the maximum discharge at 24.66 feet 

(103,000 second-feet) an approximate rating curve was plotted for 

use between 9 p. m. and midnight.

As the river fell the scouring action continued until at the time the 

river was once more within its channel the gage height was 0.9 foot 

lower for the same discharge than it was when the break had just 

occurred.

The lower part of the rating curve was defined byi a measurement made by the State engineer's office at a stage of 5.6 feet, showing 

a discharge of 6,270 second-feet. By applying the above-described 

rating curve to the hydrograph the total discharge from 8 a. m. June 

2, at the time the river first started to rise, until midnight of June 5, 

after the flood had passed, was found to be 145,000 acre-feet. Of this 

amount 90,000 acre-feet was the total flow from noon of June 3 to 

midnight of June 4.

It was impossible to determine the total discharge of the tributary 

streams.
30 THE ARKANSAS RIVER FLOOD OF JUNE 3-5, 1921.

THE FLOOD BELOW PUEBLO.

GENERAL FEATURES.

Practically all gages on the river between Pueblo and the Kansas 

line were destroyed by the flood, making it impossible to obtain records of maximum discharge in the regular manner. Data regarding 

flood discharges were obtained chiefly from the State engineer's 

office for different points in the Arkansas Valley.

The stages and discharges of Arkansas Eiver at La Junta during 

the passage of the flood crest are given in the following table:

Stages and discharges of Arkansas River at La, Junta, June J^-5, 1921.

Time.

1.30p.m...........

2.30p.m. _ .......

Gage 

height.

Feet. 

3.65

4.35

4.75

5.0

16.8

17.7

Approximate 

discharge.

Secondfeet. 

3.050

6,400

Q fiftfl

11 400

162,000

0200,000

Time,

2p.m..............

height.

feet. 

17.7

16.8

15.1

11.15

7.4

Approximate 

discharge.

Secondfeet. 

200,000

162,000

125,000

69,000

21,000

o The State engineer's office measured a cross section of the river at the head of the Fort Lyon canal, 3 

miles west of La Junta, and the slope of the riverf rom a point 2,700 feet upstream to a point 2,400 feet downstream. The mean slope was found to be 0.0015, and the discharge was computed as 200,000 second-feet.

The increase in the maximum flood flow from 103,000 second-feet 

at Pueblo to 200,000 second-feet at La Junta was due to the discharge 

of the intervening tributaries, St. Charles Eiver and Fountain, Salt, 

and Chico creeks, all of which were affected by the heavy rainfall. 

The table on page 22 shows the quantity and approximate time of the 

maximum discharges of these tributaries, obtained from local residents.

The crest flow of the river was increased chiefly by the flood from 

St. Charles River, which reached its crest within an hour bf the arrival of the peak flow from Pueblo. Although Fountain Creek did not 

reach its maximum until about 3 a. m. June 4, or three hours after the 

peak at Pueblo, it is certain that at the time of the Pueblo peak the 

Fountain Creek discharge was at least 15,000 or 20,000 second-feet. 

Salt Creek also contributed 32,000 second-feet to the peak flow, much 

of it from the St. Charles River basin, although its own peak did 

not occur until two hours later.

Information regarding the flood between La Junta and Holl r is
THE FLOOD BELOW PUEBLO. 31

The crest stage of the flood of October 19, 1908, was 10.1 feet, or 4.9 

*eet lower.

Mr. Osear Hellbeek, engineer for the Arkansas Valley Sugar 

3eet & Irrigated Land Co., made the following computations of the 

discharge of Arkansas River over the diversion dam of the Ainity 

ranal, 2 miles east of Prowers : 9

Discharge of Arkansas River at Am4ty caneA^ June 4-5, 1921, \

Time. Depth 

over dam.

.Fee*.

2.5

3.0

4 0

5.5

, 6.0

7.0

7.5

Discharge.

SeconA~feet.

6,000

10.000

15,000 20; ooo

K,000

45,000

55,000

80.000

110,000

Time,

4.30a.m............

8.00a.m............

11.00 a. m...........

12.00 a. m.... .......

1.00p.m............

9.00p.m............

Depth 

over dam.

Feet.

8.5

o n

a n

O K

8.0

8.0

7.5

7.0

6.0

Dis^MTge.

-A 

Secoful-feet. 

3»,a»

, 170,000

/ 170,000

V43S,000

130,000

1»,000

190,000

110,000

80,000

55,000

At Lamar the river started to rise at 4 a. m. June 5. At 8 a. m. 

i'Jie gage read 10.4 feet, and at 11 a. m. the crest height of 11.9 feet 

"^as reached. This stage continued until 1 p. m., when the river 

Parted to fall. The flood was 2 or 3 feet higher than that of 1904, 

'he greatest flood previously recorded.

At Holly the high-water mark was determined from levels after 

'he flood to be about 9.1 feet above the datum of the State gage, 

"^he discharge was estimated as 120,000 second-feet.

TRIBUTARY STREAMS.

The tributary streams below Pueblo chiefly affected by the flood 

-ere Fountain, Chico, and Salt creeks and St. Charles Kiver. These 

rtreams, unlike the tributaries above Pueblo, which had a very high 

1 nt short flood run-off, had sustained high stages. This was due 

lo the fact that the rain extended over the greater part of their 

Trainage areas, and although it was not as heavy as that over the 

j-maller areas of the upper tributaries, it caused high stages in the 

streams, on account of the comparatively large drainage areas. For 

the same reason the high run-off was not concentrated at one time 

1 »ut continued for 24 hours or longer.

FOUNTAIN CREEK.

Fountain Creek is formed by a number of small streams on the 

north slope of Pikes Peak, of which Catamount and Cascade creeks

P Hoses, B, G., unpublished report on Arkansas River flood, dated August 15, 1921.
32 THE ARKANSAS RIVER FLOOD OF JUNE 3-5, 1921.

are the largest. In its upper course Fountain Creek flows through 

canyons and has a heavy fall, which in the lower part of Ute Par* 

amounts to 300 feet in a little more than half a mile. Near Colorado 

Springs the creek leaves the mountains and enters upon the plains 

across which it flows southward to its mouth a short distance beloT^ 

Pueblo. At Colorado Springs it is joined by Monument OeeK 

whic^ rises in Palmer Lake, on the divide between the Arkansa^ 

and JSouth Platte drainage basins. Other important tributaries ar?. 

Rocl^; and Little Fountain creeks, which rise in the mountains sout> 

of Colorado Springs. Fountain Creek flows over a^ sandyJbed, and 

although it has considerable underflow, ordinarily it carries, verj 

littl^ water at the surface. Its drainage area is 932 Square miler 

The <?nly marked topographic features on the generally level surfacer^f the plains consist of scores of little conical hills called " tepe^. 

buttes," most of them||||y&an SQ^Je^j^h. & «:,*&< 

The following tablehasbeen compiled from topographic maps:

Elevations and distances along Fountain Creek from Monument Creek to moutl-.

-Point.

Elevation 

above 

sea level.

Feet. 

5,960 

5,700 

5,500 

5,300 

5,200 

5,000 

4,850 

4>7QO 

4,660

 i . ,_.*ftaiBistance.

From 

Monument 

Creek.

Miles.

10.0 

16.1 

23.4 

28.0 

36.2 

43.8 

49,6 

52.0

Point to 

point.

Miles.

10.0 

6.1 

7.3 

4.6 

8.2 

7.6 

5.8 

2.4

Descent between 

points.

Total

Feet.

260 

200 

200 

100 

200 

150 

150 

40

Per 

mite.

Feet.

26 

33 

27 

22 

.24 

20 

36 

17

On June 3 a heavy rain that extended over the greater part of th^ 

drainage basin began about 9 p. m. and lasted all night From Fountain station to Pueblo, according to local residents, the storm wa* 

the worst in many years, but no estimates have been made regarding 

the total rainfall. At Colorado Springs, near the north end of th^ 

basin, the Weather Bureau record showed the rainfall for the 2-thours ending 8 a. m. June 4 to be 1.87 inches. It was evidently 

heavier farther south, as indicated by the statements regarding th-? 

storm, but it is not believed to have been as severe as that in the area** 

of intense rainfall.
SHme. of

 ," '" rrt

ort J

Distance 

. al*jf* '; mouth.

Battes.':.'.!: A. i'.U'.V;*.. .V/.V... 

W^wam.......................

3Ptooo..........................

Bragdon.......................

Eden..........................

Mooth.........v.i'.'........ >'.v.

-»T'V

About midnight. 

After midnigpt. 

3 4. au }«iie-4l

Flood .came very suddenly.

and discharge of Fountain Creek at nttoutK.

. ' > ' Time.

, « Mknight..............................

Midnigbt.. ............................

s Stage.

. .! '.* .._........ .. : .'

Crest ..................................... u ..

Approximate discharge. ;

Sesmd-feet. 

> 100

f., 4,000

12,000

34,000

25,000

. 12,000

18*flOO

12,000

10,000

4,000

The total discharge was about 70,000 acre-feet.

ST. CHARLES RIVER.

St. Charles River drains the eastern slope of the southern half of 

the Greenhorn Eange and the foothill region lying between that 

range and the Arkansas. After leaving the mountains the St. 

Charles flows through a canyon for 10 miles, below which the valley 

widens, and the river finally emerges upon the plain, across 

which it flows in a northeasterly direction to its junction with the 

Arkansas, 8 miles below Pueblo. Its chief tributaries are Spring 

-"Branch and Greenhorn Creek. The topography of its drainage basin 

is very rough, as the stream traverses the steep slopes of the mountains, the deeply eroded foothill region, and the rolling plains next 

to the Arkansas. The tJrainage area is 482 square miles.

The following table has been compiled from topographic maps:

. Elevations and distances along St. Charles River from source to niouth.

Point.

Source.. .............................. ,...........*...

Do..............................................

Do..............................................

Do..............................................

Do. .............................................

Do..............................................

Do. .............................................

Mouth...............................................

Elevation 

above 

sea level.

Feet. 

9,000

6,250

5,750 

5,250 

5,000 

4,800 

4,700 

4,600 

4,560

Distance.

From

source.

Miles.

6.5 

10.7

t 18.5 

24.7 

31. 6 

36.0 

40.7 

41.9

Point to 

point.

Miles.'

6.5 

4.2

'7.8 

6.2 

7.2 

4.1 

4.7 

1.2

Descent between 

points.

.,T.oWU

Feet.

2,750 

500 

500 

260 

200 

100 

100 

40

Per mile.

Feet.

420 

11» 

64 

40 

23 

24 

21 

33

84158° 22 3
84 THE ARKANSAS BIVER FLOOD Of JTJHE 3-5, 1921.

Although little if any of the St. Charles drainage basin lies within 

the area of intensest rainfall, it was subject to very heavy rain, 

which began during the evening of June 18, and lasted through the 

night. The crest flow occurred about 1 a, m. June 4 and lasted for 

an hour. From measurements of cross section and slope this discharge was estimated to be 71,800 second-feet.

Estimated discharge of St. Charles River, June 3-7, 1921.

Time.

Jane 4. 1.10 a . m ..............................

2^0a.m.. ............................

4.00a.m..............................

9.00».m..............................

6.00 p.m..............................

June 5, 8.00 a.m...."..........................

5.00p.m..............................

Midnight...... .

June?, Noon.. ...............................

Stage.

fi f nAt* tlAlnW M*A«t

Approximate 

discharge.

See.-/*. 

SO

71,800

60,000

34.000

7,300

4,000

1,000

550

1,690

1,000

360

The total discharge was about 60,000 acre-feet.

CHICO CREEK.

The area drained by Chico Creek joins that of Fountain Creek 

on the west. Chico Creek rises in the central part of El Paso 

County, 15 miles east of Colorado Springs, and flows southward to the 

Arkansas, which it joins 14 miles east of Pueblo. Its -principal 

tributary, Black Squirrel Creek, enters Chico Creek a few miles 

above the mouth. Throughout the upper half of its course the 

creek has an average fall of 65 feet to the mile; in the lower half 

the fall is 29 feet to the mile. The drainage basin lies wholly withiiK. 

the area of the Great Plains and has a rolling topography, On account of the small normal rainfall, Chico Creek carries little water 

except after heavy rains. The total drainage area is 750 square 

miles.

No information regarding rainfall in this basin during the flood 

is available; but as Chico Creek drains an area adjacent to that of 

Fountain Creek the general storm probably extended over its basin 

also.

The State engineer's office measured the cross section and slope of 

Chico Creek near the mouth and determined the crest discharge to 

be 28,600 second-feet.
PREVIOUS FLOODS. 

Estimated discharge of Chioo Greek, June $-6,

35

Time.

4a.m..................................

M*iWgM_ r _ T

State.

fVnAt flrir

Crest........................................

Approximate discharge.

Sec.-ft.

28,600

4,000

21,000

2,500

1,060

800

0

The total discharge was about 36,000 acre-feet.

PREVIOUS FLOODS.10 

FLOOD OF INDIAN LEGEND.

As the permanent settlement of Pueblo and the upper Arkansas 

Valley began about 1859, records of floods prior to that time are not 

available. Reports were common among the early settlers of an Indian legend regarding a flood occurring before the whites came, in 

which, it was stated, the water reached from bluff to bluff. The truth 

or falsity of this legend can be determined only by circumstantial 

evidence.

One of the early settlers of Pueblo, a Mr. Proffitt, who passed 

through the Arkansas Valley on his way to the Mexican War in 1846, 

stated that he saw evidence of a former flood along the river below 

the site of the present city of Pueblo. The cottonwood trees along 

the river were tipped downstream and still bore drift in their 

branches. The flood causing this must have occurred prior to 1846, 

as Oliver (" Old Scout") Wiggins, an early settler of Colorado, who 

testified to the early flow of Arkansas River in the Kansas-Colorado 

water suit, stated that in that year there was a great drought, during 

which all the buffalo perished or left the country. This statement is 

substantiated by Ruxton, an English Army officer, who visited the 

region in 1847 and recorded ("Adventures in Mexico and the Rocky 

Mountains ") that there were no buffalo but many skeletons.

In writing of Fremont County, Rockafellow " states that the first 

white settler was a French trader named Maurice, who lived near the 

mouth of Adobe Creek. Maurice told the pioneers that 4 feet of 

snow fell all over the valley in 1844 and lay there three " moons." He 

fixed the year as that of the great flood at St. Louis, which was 1844. 

Maurice did not mention a later flood, but authentic history records

10 Based chiefly on data furnished by Mr. A. J. Weston, of the Denver & Rio Grande 

Western Railroad Co.

** History of Arkansas Valley, Chicago, O. L. Baskin & Co., 1881.
£6 THE ARKANSAS HIVEK' MX>QD OF JUNE 3-5, 1921.

one of the greatest floods in the lower Arkansas River as occurring 

in 1844. Eufus Sage,12 who crossed this region in that year, records 

the fact that the streams in the lower Arkansas Valley were of unprecedented size and velocity, and this caused frequent delays to his 

journey. At Pauhee Fork his party was compelled to wait four weeks 

to ford the river.

The foregoing evidence indicates that the flood of Indian legend 

probably occurred during 1844.

Mr. Archie Proffitt, a resident of Pueblo, states that an Indian 

showed his uncle, who came to Pueblo in 1859, river silt in cwmces 

of the rock along the mesa near City Park, which the Indian claimed 

was the high-water mark of an old flood. This mark was at about 

the elevation of the floor of the viaduct, whfMh is 12 feet above the 

flood of 1921. It may have been made by the flood of Indian legend.

FIXJODS OF AUTHENTIC RECOBD.

Regular observations of the stage of Arkansas River began in 

1885, when a gaging station was established at Rock Canyon, 9 

miles above Pueblo. This station was maintained until late in 1887. 

The station at Pueblo was established in the fall of 1894 and has been 

maintained almost continuously since that time. Records of floods 

from the settlement of the Arkansas Valley to the establishment 

of the gaging station on the river are found chiefly in the files of the 

local newspapers and in the testimony of witnesses in the KansasColorado water suit before the United States Supreme Court.

The first flood of authentic record occurred in 1855, after a winter 

of very heavy snowfall, although the flood itself was probably caused 

by hard rain during a period of melting snow. No information regarding the exact date and approximate height of this flood is 

available.

The next flood recorded was that of June 11, 1864, caused chiefly 

by very heavy rains. The early settlers in Pueblo agree that this 

flood reached a point near Third and Santa Fe avenues. The flood 

of 1921 was nearly 3 feet deep at this point, and if, as seems probable, the street has been graded down since 1864, the latest flood may 

have been but very little higher than that one. As Pueblo was then 

but a small settlement of less than 100 inhabitants, with only a few 

houses to obstruct the flood flow, it is probable that the same amount 

of water now would reach a considerably higher stage in the city. 

During this flood all the streams in the valley were very high and 

overflowed their banks for great distances, Turkey^Beaver, and 

Hardscrabble creeks being especially high. Fountain Creek was the 

first to rise, and many cabins on its banks at a point back of the

" Rocky Mountain life, Boston, Wentworth, Hewes & Co., f858.
PBEVIOIIS F&Q0BS. 87

present steel works were washed away. No loss of life was c«- 

ported. No records of .precipitation covering the period ol the flood 

are available. , , .:,*.-

A flood during May, 1867, caused the removal of Fort Lyon to, a 

point 17 miles farther west. The rainfall for May was 4.84 inches, 

as compared with a normal of 2 inches.

During a flood in June, 1869, the river, it is said, contained an immense amount of water.

The files of the Pueblo Chieftain contain notes concerning several 

floods during 1875, of which the largest was on September 1$ and 

was caused by heavy rains. The following statement concerning this, 

flood is taken from the Las Animas Leader of September I^nn49^

1875 :18 , .'i' .- ;.-. ; <

On September 16 ft rush of water came down from Purgatory River at La's 

Animas, Colo. The water was 5 feet higher than at any peevioofc time, thot 

year. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Co.'s tracks were under water for onehalf mile on each side of the Purgatory, the bridge being 3 to 4 feet tinder ^atter, 

At Fort Lyon the water was 4 feet higher than ever known before. dPhe bottom 

land between the bridge and the post trader's (a distance of three-fourths of at 

mile) was a swift, raging flood. Up the Purgatory considerable .damage w&s 

done, the greatest losses being of cordwood, stacked hay, cattle, fences, and 

adobe houses. The Arkansas above the mouth of the Purgatory was also' in 

flood at this time, there being reports of damage as far up as Pueblo^ The 

Apishapa brought In a large amount of this water, and the flood height wf*s $&* 

highest in 15 years.

This flood could not have been unusually high in the upper 

as the Pueblo papers did not give any great space to it.

Some minor floods occurred during July and August, 1880, and 

August, 1881, For 1880 the few available rainfall records sh$w 

nearly twice the normal amount during the flood months, and fo? 

1881 the Pikes Peak record showed nearly three times the normal 

rainfall during August.

A flood of considerable magnitude in the Arkansas and Purgatoir© 

near Las Animas occurred July 20-25, 1886. The rainfall at Las 

Animas was 3.36 inches during July 24 and 25 and 4.66 inches for the 

month, or more than twice the normal. This flood was not severe at 

Pueblo, as the. newly established gaging station showed a maximum 

of only 3,080 second-feet on July 21. The rainfall at Pueblo for July 

was only 0.39 inch.

The next flood recorded was that of August 10, 1889. The Denver 

Republican of that date stated that rain began falling about 5.30 p. m. 

August 9 and flooded the region around Pueblo. The issue of August 

11 stated that " a terrible and disastrous rainstorm visited Florence 

August 9 in the evening, lasting two hours. The Denver & Biq

11 Meeker, E. I., |>urgatory River flood : U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 147, 

p. 165, 1905.
38 THE ARKANSAS EIVEE FLQOD OF JUNE 3-5, 1921.

Grande is having lots of trouble caused by the cloud-burst of Friday 

night. The Hardscrabble bridge washed out." That this flood was 

of considerable magnitude at Pueblo is inferred from the statement 

that the city council on August 12 appropriated $3,000 to repair and 

strengthen the levee. All obstructions in the channel were ordered 

removed. Pueblo reported 1.02 inches of rain in one hour August 9. 

This intense rainfall, with a temperature of 98° before the storm, 

indicated a cloud-burst, which was local to the valley between Pueblo 

and Canon City.

No unusual floods are recorded after 1889 until 1893. Although 

this was the second driest year in 35 years, as shown by records of 

precipitation at Pueblo, the flood on July 26,1893, seems to have beett 

the fourth in magnitude in three-quarters of a century. The river 

reached a stage 10 feet lower than that of 1921. The Eocky Mountain 

News of July 27,1893, stated as follows:

Heavy rain at Pueblo broke the levee and did $200,000 damage. At 9 i>. m. 

July 26 the river began to rise and rose 8 feet in 2 hours. A saloon standing 

in the levee became undermined and fell into the channel. Water rushed through 

the break in the levee, and in 10 minutes the city hall was surrounded by 6 feet 

of water. The crest of this flood is said to have reached the floor of ttie Union 

Depot.

The rainfall at Pueblo was 1.36 inches on July 26 and 0.22 inch on 

the 27th. The precipitation for the year was 6.84 inches, as compared 

with a normal precipitation of 12.50 inches.

The most destructive flood in the history of the Arkansas Valley 

prior to the flood of 1921 occurred May 30, 1894. Heavy precipitation on May 30 and 31 extended over the Arkansas drainage basin, 

taking the form of snow at the higher elevations, notably on Pikes 

Peak and the mountains in the upper end of the basin. On the evening of May 30 Salida reported that rain had fallen cdntinuously for 

36 hours and probably would continue during that night. For duration and volume the storm at that point exceeded anything in the 

memory of the oldest inhabitant. At the same time Florence reported that rain had fallen for the preceding 24 hours and that 

the amount was estimated at 3 to 4 inches. Castle Bock and Palmer 

Lake reported rain on May 30. The rainfall on the 30th and 31st 

at Pueblo was 3.02 inches and at Canon City on the 29th and 30th 

5.06 inches. The following account of the flood is printed in the 

Kocky Mountain News of May 31, 1894, in a communication dated 

at Pueblo May 30:

In consequence of an all-day downpour of rain such as has not occurred in 

tiiis valley in 20 years, the Arkansas River to-night came up and broke the 

levees in four places on the north side and two on the south side. Everything 

is a sea of water from Union Avenue viaduct to the post office. All business 

cellars are filled in that territory, and the water is over the floors from 6 inches
PKEVIOTJS FLOODS. 39

to 2 feet. Tnis is a worse flood than any that has occurred since the town, 

became ft city. The water flows with a strong current through the streets, sad 

everything is contusion, The flood covers the city from Union Avenue on :the 

south side to Fourth Avenue on the north side, an area of three-quarters of a 

mile.

The issue of the News on June 1 stated that on Second Street between Santa Fe Avenue and Main Street the water was 4 feet deep 

over the floors of the buildings. Five lives were lost in Pueblo and 

damage amounting to nearly $2,000,000 was done to property.

;At its highest stage the water was 3 feet deep in the Denver & Bio 

Grande Railroad freight yard and kept that stage from 2 to 8.30 

a. m. May 31, It receded slowly and by 6 a. m. June 1 had fallen 

only 4| feet. The highest stage was about 7 feet less than that of 

the flood of 1921. |

Subsequent to the flood the city engineer, Mr, E. W. Hathaway, 

measured the slope of the river and its flood cross section just west 

of the city. He found the maximum discharge of the flood to be 

39,100 second-feet, of which 24,200 second-feet had been carried by 

the river channel and the remainder flowed through the city on both, 

sides of the river. Subsequently the river channel in Pueblo was 

widened and the levees raised so that the improved channel would 

carry 40,000 second-feet.

In the Arkansas Valley above Pueblo the flood of 1894 reached a 

higher stage than that of 1921,. the high-Water mark on the old 

Denver & Kio Grande Railroad pump house at Florence being 2 feet 

higher than that of June 3, 1921. The crest of the flood reached 

Rocky Ford some time during May 31. Lamar reported the flood 

crest at noon June 2. The upper limit of the flood area was about 

Hardscrabble Creek, which carried an unusual flood flow. Coal and 

Chandler creeks were also very high.

Heavy rains on June 5, 1894, extending from Canon City to 

Pueblo, again raised the Arkansas until it reached a stage at Pueblo 

about 8 inches lower than that of May 31. The rainfall on June 5 

was 1.82 inches at Canon City and 0.64 inch at Pueblo.

The lower Arkansas Valley was visited by very severe floods during 1904, but they did not reach the upper valley. Between Wichita 

and Arkansas City the flood of July 9,1904, was the severest known. 

For ten days before that date the maximum discharge at Pueblo was 

1,520 second-feet. On September 30, 1904, the severest flood known 

occurred on Purgatoire River. This flood caused a great amount 

of damage on Arkansas River below the mouth of the Burgatoire,14 

but it did not affect the Arkansas Valley above the Purgatoire. The 

maximum discharge at Pueblo for the week preceding September 30 

was 1,100 second-feet.

« Meeker, R. I., U. S. Geol. Survey Water-supply Paper 147, pp. 165-168, 1905.
40 THE ARKANSAS KCVER FLOOD OF JU35TE 3-6, 1921.

The next serious flood in the Arkansas Valley, and the las! 

before 1921, occurred October 19-21,1908, and affected the area east 

of La Junta. It was due to very heavy rains. Records kept by th& 

Amity Canal Co. at various points showed a rainfall of 6 inches 

or more extending from Prowers to Holly. Practically all the rain 

was believed to have fallen in eight hours during the night of October 18. The area affected by the flood extended from La Junta, on 

the west to Lamar on the east and from the Missouri Pacific Bailroad on the north to the south boundary of Otero, Bent, and Prowei*s 

counties on the south. The maximum stage of the river at Holly 

was 11 feet on the river gage. The maximum discharge at this 

point was estimated from cross sections and Mope measurements nlad^ 

after the flood as 136,000 second-feet. The flood at the Amity &&M 

was estimated as greater than 100,000 second-feet. 15 . That this flood did not affect the upper river is shown b^ the 

fact that the maximum discharge of the Arkansas ajb Puebld fbif $t 

week prior to the flood was only 298 second-feet, which showsj that 

there was no flood at Pueblo within the time it would have taken 

for flood flow there to reach La Junta by October 19. ;

MAXIMUM DISCHARGES PEfc SQUARE MILE PREVIOUSLY

RECORDED.

During the flood of 1921 the tributary streams had maximum discharges per square mile that were almost unprecedented in the Rocky 

Mountain States. The only recorded unit discharge that, equaled, 

them was that of Hogan's Gulch near Eden, Colo., a station on the 

Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad between Colorado Springs 

and Pueblo. Here a cloud-burst on August 7, 1904, caused a flood, 

that was estimated to have a maximum discharge of 9,640 second-feet 

from a drainage area of 6.1 square miles, or 1,580 second-feet per 

square mile. 16

It is apparent that streams draining small areas in the foothill 

region subject to cloud-bursts must have had as high discharges in 

the past asN those that caused the recent flood, but no record of such 

discharges has been made.

The following table shows the greatest previously recorded unit 

run-offs in the Rocky Mountain States, arranged in order of unit, 

magnitude:

is Freeman, W. B., TJ. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 274, pp. 33-40, 1910. 

16 Data furnished by Denver & Bio Grande Western Railroad Co.
PREVIOUS FLOODS. 41 

Maximum discharges previously recorded for streams im, Rocky Mountain States.

Stream.

Gaffinas Elver at Hot Springs, N. Mex .........

Mora River at Weber. N. Hex..................

North Fork of Bun River near Augusta, Mont. .

North Fork of Cache la Poudre Elver at LiverDate.

Sept. 29, 1904 

Sept. 30, 1904 

October, 1904 

Sept. 30, 1904

June 21,1916 

July 24,1896 

May 26,1917 

October, 1908

May 20,1904 

June 23,1916 

May 20,1904 

July 14,1912

Maximum 

discharge.

Total.

Sec.-ft. 

22,200 

11,600 

156,000 

27,700 

45,400 

32,300 

8,600 

3,740 

35,000

20,000 

3,400 

8,500 

11,000

Per 

square 

mile.

Sec.-ft. 

140 

129 

105 

94 

61 

54 

48 

42 

39

38 

38 

34 

25

Drainage 

area.

Sq. mi. 

159 

90 

1,480 

294 

742 

600 

180 

90 

900

532 

90 

251 

445

Period 

of maximum 

discharge.

Hows. 

12 

1 

.5 

2 

L6

5.2

3

9.5 

.5

One of the most complete lists of flood flows in various parts of the 

country is contained in a paper by Emil Kuichling.17 A general 

discussion of destructive floods in the United States is .given in the 

following water-supply papers of the United States Geological Survey:

96. Destructive floods in the United States in 1903, by E. C. Murphy. 

147. Destructive floods in the United States in 1904, by E. C. Murphy. 

162. Destructive floods in the United States in 1905, by E. C. Murphy and 

others.

Many references to flood literature are also given in appendix 7 of 

the report of the Flood Commission, Pittsburgh, Pa.

17 Flood flows: Am. Soc. Civil Eng. Trans., Vol. 77, pp. 650-662, 1914.

INDEX.

Page. 

Acknowledgments for aid- 6

Amity canal, discharge of Arkansas

River at _____ 81 

Amsley, H. D., acknowledgment to 6 

Arkansas River, course of 9 

discharge .of_____ 21, 26-29, 30, 31 

elevations and distances along- 11 

tributaries of ___ _____ 10 

Arkansas Valley between Canon City 

and Pueblo, Colo., map 

of ____ ji_ 6

Baggage car, overturned, plate showing ___________ 8 

Beaver Creek, flood in__ __ 16-18 

view on, 1 mile from mouth,

plate showing_ 18 

Blue Ribbon Creek, rainstorm on 14,15 

Boggg Mat, rainstorm on 14 

Burke, C. F., description of rainstorm by 15

Canon City, Colo., flood flow at and

below 23 

Cause of the flood ,. 11-15 

Chico Creek, course and fall of _ 34 

flood flow on__________ 31, 34-35 

Cloud-bursts, production of 11 

Colorado, maximum discharges per

square mile in 41 

Creeks, computed discharge of_ 19-22 

Crest of flood, progress of 8-9

Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad Co., acknowledgment to _ _ _ 6 

overturned baggage car on,

plate showing 8 

overturned tracks of, plate

showing 24 

Discharges of streams, determination

of _____________ 19-20 

results of determinations of__ 21-22 

Discharges per square mile, maximum recorded in the 

Rocky Mountain 

States__________ 40-41 

Drought of 1846, testimony on___ 35 

Dry Creek, rainstorm on____ 13,14 

rise from flood on_ ___ 21,24, 28

Bightmile Creek, rainstorm on___ 13,15 

typical section of, plate show-

. ing ______^____ 19 

Electric Building, Pueblo, Colo., 

high-water mark on, 

plate showing-' 25

1 Page.

Elevations and distances along Arkansas! River 11 

Extent of the floodi-_______- 6-8

15

Farris, J. H., description of rainstorm !by 

Flood crests from tributary streams,

arrival of, at Pueblo. 25-26 

Flood of Indian legend 35, 36 

of September, 1875, newspaper

accounjt of_ 87

of 1864, extent! of . 36-37

of 1889, newspaper report of_ 87-38

of 1893, accounjt of_______ 38

of 1894, accounit of _______ 38-39

of 1908, account of______:_ 40

Floods of authentic! record 36-40

Florence, Colo., flood flow at and

below | . 28 

Follansbee, Robert, work of _ __ 6 

Fort Lyon, Colo., flood stage at__ 80 

Fountain Creek, course and descent

of __i 82 

flood flow on__ j._______ 81, 32-33

Gilbert, G. K., cited_________ 10

Higgins, IX C., description of rainstorm jby 15 

Hodges, P. V., work pf __ 6 

Hogan's Gulch, Colo.j, cloud-burst at_ 40 

Holly, Colo., high-w|ater mark at SI 

Hosea, R. G., acknowledgment to 6 

Hoyt, Kendall K., ^ork of_____ 6

Investigation by thfe United States

Geological Survey _ 5-6

Johnson, F. R., acknowledgment to 

Jones, Edward E., ^ork of_______

La Junta, Colo., flo^d flow at______

Lamar, Colo., flood jflow at_______

Las Animas (Colo.)j Leader, cited__ 

Lightburn, C. M., acknowledgment 

to ... 

Literature on flood$. 

Losses from the

Montana, maximum] discharges per 

squarel mile in 

New Mexico, maximum discharges per

square mile in.

6

6

30

31

37

6

41 

6-8

41

41

Portland, Colo., floojd flow at___- 28

43
44 INDEX.

Pueblo, Colo., account of the flood 

at______________

Page.

24-25 

'arrival of tributary flood crests

at _____________ 25-26

description of __________ 23-24

discharge of Arkansas River at,

maximum________ 26/27

total ____________ 27-29

discharge of Arkansas River below____________ 30-35

flood damage in and- near* plate :

shewing _______ 8, 24, 25

high-water marks in_______, 24-25

levees at, capacity and breaking of-,____iT.___ : 24, 25^-29

loss of life and property in__ 6-8

Rae; Mrs. Esther D., work of_____ 6 

Railroad tracks, bvertnroed, plate

showing- !.__ 24 

Railroad yards, effect of flood in,

plate showing ____ 8 

Rainfall, intense, principal areas of- 15-16 

records of, for June 2-6, 1921 _ 12-15 

Relief, measures for 7 

Reservoirs, effects of, on the flood_ 16-19 

Residents, local, statements of, concerning rainstorm__ 13-15 

Ridgway, Arthur O., acknowledgment to ____ ___ 6 

Rock Creek, rainstorm on_ 14,15 

Rocky Mountain News, cited - 38 

Rosencrantz, Fred, description of

rainstorm by _____ 14 

Rush Creek, rainstorm on _ 14,15

St. Charles River, course and detent of _______ 83 

flood flow on 31,34

Savage, 3. I/., acknowledgment to C 

Schaeffer dam, view looking toward

site of, plate showing- If 

Schaeffer reservoir, construction and

failure of ________ 16-lf 

Sherier, 3. M., acknowledgment to_ f 

Silt deposited in front of Union Depot, Pueblo, Colo.,

plate showing _____ (M 

Skagnay reservoir, construction of If 

with dam and spillway, plate - 

Sources of the flood---,. _ _ 

Spiegel, 3 B«, wwk *&,*;_--- __ - . 

[Streams, computed discharge of 

:Teller reservoir, construction of.*- _ 18-lf 

.Topography of Arkansas drainage,,

basin -,^_r t , 9-11 

Turkey Creek, flood 'flow abpve and

belaw _____ _ ___ _ 23

Union Depot, PueWo, Colo., . raeasurements of w a t e r

level at_ __ : _ 

on June 4, 1921, plate showing

silt deposited in- front of, plate

showing -. 

Wall of water, production of 

Wells, Sim, description of rainstorm

by ____________ 

White, C. E., account of failure of

Schaeffer reservoir by_ 

Wing, J. F., description of rainstorm by 

Wyoming, maximum discharge per

square mile on Crow

Creek in __ 

2f 

24

II 

If 

IT 

i-f

41

ADDITIONAL COPIES

OF THIS PUBLICATION MAT BE PROCURED FROM

THE StTPEKINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS f

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

' WASHINGTON, D. C.

AT

10 CENTS PER COPY