Geology topics
Publications and source records attributed to Robert Follansbee.
This volume of the History of the Water Resources Branch of the United States Geological Survey by Robert Follansbee covers the period from July 1, 1919, to June 30, 1928. In conformity with the practice followed in the first volume of the "History" Mr. Follansbee has named this volume "Years of Increasing Cooperation."
The first records of floods in Colorado antedated the settlement of the State by about 30 years. These were records of floods on the Arkansas and Republican Rivers in 1826. Other floods noted by traders, hunters and emigrants, some of whom were on their way to the Far West, occurred in 1844 on the Arkansas River, and by inference on the South Platte River. Other early floods were those on the Purgatoire, the Lower Arkansas, and the San Juan Rivers about 1859. The most serious flood since settlement began was that on the Arkansas River during June 1921, which caused the loss of about 100 lives and an estimated property loss of $19,000,000. Many floods of lesser magnitude have occurred, and some of these have caused loss of life and very considerable property damage. Topography is the chief factor in determining the location of storms and resulting floods. These occur most frequently on the eastern slope of the Front Range. In the mountains farther west precipitation is insufficient to cause floods except during periods of melting snow, in June. In the southwestern part of the State, where precipitation during periods of melting snow is insufficient to cause floods, the severest floods yet experienced resulted from heavy rains in September 1909 and October 1911. In the eastern foothills region, usually below an altitude of about 7,500 feet and extending for a distance of about 50 miles east of the mountains, is a zone subject to rainfalls of great intensity known as cloudbursts. These cloudbursts are of short duration and are confined to very small areas. At times the intensity is so great as to make breathing difficult for those exposed to a storm. The areas of intense rainfall are so small that Weather Bureau precipitation stations have not been located in them. Local residents, being cloudburst conscious, frequently measure the rainfall in receptacles in their yards, and such records constitute the only source of information regarding the intensity. A flood resulting from a cloudburst rises so quickly that it is usually described as a 'wall of water.' It has a peak duration of only a few minutes, followed by a rapid subsidence. Nearly 90 cloudburst floods in Colorado are described in varying detail in this report. The earliest recorded cloudburst--called at that time a waterspout--occurred in Golden Gate Gulch, July 14, 1872. The 'wall of water' was described as a 'perpendicular breast of 10 or 12 feet.' A cloudburst flood on Kiowa Creek in May 1878 caused the loss of a standard-gage locomotive, and although search was made by means of long metallic rods, the locomotive was never recovered, as bedrock was about 50 feet below the creek bed. All available information relative to floods in Colorado, beginning with the flood of 1826 on the Arkansas River, is presented in this report, although for many of the earlier floods estimates of discharge are lacking. Floods throughout a large part of the State have occurred in 1844, June 1864, June 1884, May 1894, and June 1921. The highest floods of record were on the larger streams and occurred as follows: South Platte River, June 1921; Rio Grande, June 1927; Colorado River, June and July 1884; San Juan River, October 1911. The greatest floods on the plains streams occurred during May and June 1935 and were caused by cloudbursts. Ranchers living in the vicinity noted rainfalls as high as 24 inches in a 13-hour period, measurements being made in a stock tank. The effect of settlement on channel capacities can be clearly traced. When settlement began, and with it the beginning of the livestock industry, the plains were thickly covered with a luxuriant growth of grasses. With the development of the livestock industry the grass cover was grazed so closely that it afforded little protection against erosion during the violent rains and resulting floods. The intensive grazing packed the soil so hard as to increase greatly the percentage of rainfall that entered the streams. This co
The 11-year period from July 1, 1928, to June 30, 1939, was one of violent contrasts , both naturall and man-made; great floods and severe droughts occurred and great industrial activity 'W'as· succeeded by deep and persistent depression which droughts made even more devastating. It spans the· time from the first year of 50-50 cooperation with the States, to the last year that Nathan C. Grover was Chief of the Branch.
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This period extends from July 1, 1939, to June 30, 1947, and is called the years of World War II, although it was not until December 1941 that the United States entered the war which began in Europe in September 1939. By the beginning of the period, it was evident that this country might be drawn into the conflict and a rearmament program including the draft act , effective in September 1940, was started and prosecuted vigorously prior to December 1941, when the attack on Pearl Harbor forced us into the war. Although the war was not officially ended by June 1947, President Truman proclaimed the end of hostilities on December 31, 1946, thus terminating some of his war-time powers, and by further action terminated other war-time powers as of June 30, 1947.
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This report presents, in form for ready reference, the available data pertaining to the present and future utilization of the surface waters of the upper Colorado River Basin, above the Green River and includes information relating to topography, climate, evaporation, water supply, transmountain diversions, storage, irrigation and agriculture, and water power as they existed in 1927.
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Records of run-off in the Rocky Mountain States since the nineties and for a few stations since the eighties afford a means of studying the variation in the annual run-off in this region. The data presented in this report show that the variation in annual run-off differs in different areas in the Rocky Mountain region, owing to the differences in the sources of the precipitation in these areas. Except in the drainage basins of streams in northern Montana the year of lowest run-off shown by the records was 1902, when the run-ff at one station was only 36 per cent of the mean run-ff for the periods covered by the several records available. The percentage variation of run-ff for streams in different parts of Colorado is less for any one year than that for streams in the mountain region as a whole, and for streams in the same major drainage basin the annual variation is markedly similar. The influence of topography upon variation in annual run-ff for streams in Colorado is marked, the streams that rise in the central mountain region having a smaller range in variation than the streams that rise on the eastern or western edges of the central mountain mass. The streams that rise on the plains just east of the mountains have a greater variation than those of any of the mountain groups. The ratio of any 10-year mean to the mean for the entire period covered by the records ranges from 72 to 133 per cent. For the South Platte, Arkansas, and Rio Grande the run-off during the nineties was below the normal, but since about 1903 it has been above normal. For the Cache la Poudre low-water periods occurred during the eighties and from 1905 to 1922, but during the nineties the run-off was above the normal.
In 1923 severe floods occurred on the larger streams in Wyoming and a number of cloudburst floods on small streams in Wyoming and especially in Colorado. An investigation of the principal floods in each State was made, and the results are given in this paper, together with descriptions of two Colorado floods of 1922. In addition a study was made of all cloudburst floods to determine the areas chiefly subject to them.
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