Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1909-10-04
Enormous Amount
of Water Flowed
to Waste
ALSO DID LARGE DAMAGE
w, B. freeman of u. S. Geo
logical Survey Gives Facts
and Figures

w B. Freeman of Denver, district
engineer of the L. S. Geological Sur
vey today completed checking up the
figures of the photographic measure
ments taken during the recent floods
on the San Juan, Las Animas and La
Plata rivers and will leave for other
sections of the Territory tomorrow
after finishing up other business in
the Office of Territorial Engineer Yer
non l., Sullivan. He says:
On September 5th and 9th. 1909, a
very heavy flood took place on the
San Juan river and tributaries in
southwestern Colorado and northwest
ern New Mexico. 1t is stated by the
oldest residents in the vicinity of AZ
tee and Pennington that both the Ami
mas and San Juan rivers reached a
higher stage during this flood than at
any time since the country has been
settled, and there was even a state
ment TO the effect, that the Indians
had no memory of a time when the
San Juan was so high.
The high water was caused by heavy
and continuous rains at the head
waters and all along the courses of
these streams. The upper San Juan
itself and all its tributaries from the
Piedra westerward to and beyond the
La Plata, from the north, were simul-
taneously in flood with the Canon
| Largo and other large perennial trib-
utaries from the south, all of which
/ are capable of carrying enormous
| quantities of water. The Canon Largo
| for instance, has main water course
one hundred miles long and tributaries
forty or fifty miles long so that it
drains very large area which at
times is subject to an excessive run
off. s,
/ The effect of the combined flow of
| these streams can readily be imagined
and there was the usual resulting dam
| ag In Colorado, the d. &, r. CIR. R.
| sustained the greater part of the loss.
/ Their tracks were washed out in many
places and the traffic was suspended
| for days. The cost to that railroad
company, no doubt, amounted to sever
! al thousand dollars. The Animas river
! did considerable damage in the town
! of Durango and surrounding country,
/ In San Juan county, New Mexico,
the principal loss was sustained by
| the Pennington branch of the d. & R.
! g., by the county through the washing
| out of the suspension bridge across the
San Juan at Blanco, and by the farm
ers through the overflow of their lands
/ by the flood waters of the Animas and
| San Juan rivers. The extent of the
j total loss in that county is not known
but it is believed to be not less than
| $4,000; the Blanco bridge alone costs
| about $4,000.
| The Flora Vista glade which runs
into the Animas river near Flora Wis
ia. carried a great deal of water and
sediment and did no little damage tc
the railroad track and the surround
ing country both by washouts and the
deposition of sediment. Other glades
and arroyos were correspondence
high, though most of them were not in
a position to do much damage.
The various streams in that section
commenced to rise rapidly on Sunday
September 5th, and by Sunday night
they were at high stages. The maxi
mum heights were obtained early Mon
day morning on the upper reaches o.
these streams and about ten o'clock or
Monday night in the vicinity of Farm
ington.
The rainfall was quite geenral As
far west as Fruitland there was abou
seven-tenths of an inch of precipita
ton during the first six days of Sep
tember, most of which fell on the
sixth; and as far east as Chama, the
rainfall amounted to one and six-tenth'
inches from September 1st to 9Th. A
Durango, Colo the rainfall was three
and six-tenths inches during the above
period of which one and sixty-fou
hundredths 0.64) inches fell on Sep
temper 5th and 0.S2 inches on Septem
Der 9Th. The precipitation at all othe
points was in proportion to the above
and it was at the same time tina
the San Miguel river was in such dis
astrous food
The San Juan river at Arboles. Col
above the most important tributaries
was at very high stage and probabl.
reached it's maximum on Sunday night
At Blanco, n. NJ. above the Cano1
Largo, the U. S. geological survey anC
territorial gauge read ten feet on Sun