%1 http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/ en Flooding in Colorado http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/flooding-colorado <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Flooding in Colorado</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: x field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-article-image.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-article-image.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div id="carouselEncyclopediaArticle" class="carousel slide" data-bs-ride="true"> <div class="carousel-inner"> <div class="carousel-item active"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--1695--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--1695.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/damaging-deluge"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Flooding-in-Colorado-Media-1_0.jpg?itok=sLDDh68y" width="1000" height="775" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/damaging-deluge" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Damaging Deluge </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Floodwaters and accumulated debris on the South Platte River undercut a bridge.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--1697--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--1697.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/flash-flood-big-thompson-river"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Flooding-in-Colorado-Media-2_0.jpg?itok=jxlegcLr" width="1000" height="1481" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/flash-flood-big-thompson-river" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Flash Flood, Big Thompson River</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The 1976 Big Thompson Flood overran inhabitants and infrastructure within the Big Thompson Canyon.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--1699--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--1699.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/lawn-lake-dam-failure-1982"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Flooding-in-Colorado-Media-3_0.jpg?itok=S3R1upbp" width="1000" height="685" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/lawn-lake-dam-failure-1982" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Lawn Lake Dam Failure, 1982.</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The breached Lawn Lake Dam after the 1982 Fall River Flood.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> </div> <button class="carousel-control-prev" type="button" data-bs-target="#carouselEncyclopediaArticle" data-bs-slide="prev"> <span class="carousel-control-prev-icon" aria-hidden="true"></span> <span class="visually-hidden">Previous</span> </button> <button class="carousel-control-next" type="button" data-bs-target="#carouselEncyclopediaArticle" data-bs-slide="next"> <span class="carousel-control-next-icon" aria-hidden="true"></span> <span class="visually-hidden">Next</span> </button> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x 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field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2016-08-15T16:19:54-06:00" title="Monday, August 15, 2016 - 16:19" class="datetime">Mon, 08/15/2016 - 16:19</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/flooding-colorado" data-a2a-title="Flooding in Colorado"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fflooding-colorado&amp;title=Flooding%20in%20Colorado"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Coloradans have maintained a complex relationship with the natural process of flooding. On one hand, inhabitants of the arid West—from early indigenous communities to current metropolitan populations—have been attracted to the many resources floodplains provide. On the other hand, periodic inundations have taken significant tolls on both human lives and property. Examining Colorado floods over time reveals the complicated linkages between people and <a href="/article/water-colorado"><strong>water</strong></a>.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Rivers as Lifeways</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>When the rivers of Colorado overflow their banks, settlement patterns and density have often determined the extent of human risk. As enormous, <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/glaciers"><strong>glacier</strong></a>-melt floods molded the foothills of the <a href="/article/front-range"><strong>Front Range</strong></a> during the end of the last Ice Age, the first <a href="/article/paleo-indian-period"><strong>Paleo-Indian</strong></a> groups arrived in what would become Colorado. Thereafter, Native Americans used various river floodplains for seasonal sustenance. For example, the <strong>Cheyenne </strong>and <strong>Arapaho</strong> foraged and hunted game and, perhaps of equal importance, grazed horses near the river bottoms of the <a href="/article/south-platte-river"><strong>South Platte</strong></a> and <strong><a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/arkansas-river">Arkansas</a> </strong>Rivers in the winter. Frequent inundations delivered nutrient-rich alluvial soils to support a wide array of flora and fauna, which in turn nourished members of Native American societies. The nomadic existence of the Indigenous nations on the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado%E2%80%99s-great-plains"><strong>Great Plains</strong></a> and <a href="/article/rocky-mountains"><strong>Rocky Mountains</strong></a> meant that they were not particularly vulnerable to flooding.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Anglo-Americans were also attracted to <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/wetlands-and-riparian-areas"><strong>riparian areas</strong></a>. The <a href="/article/colorado-gold-rush"><strong>Colorado Gold Rush (1858–59)</strong></a> resulted in white settlement along Colorado’s rivers: first, as prospectors in search of gold nuggets; second, as farmers to support the burgeoning mining population. They encountered floods as well. These inundations typically arrived as <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/snow"><strong>snow</strong></a>melt in the late spring or early summer. In June 1864, for instance, the Sprague family (which included a young <strong>Abner Sprague</strong>, who would later develop early tourism in <a href="/article/rocky-mountain-national-park"><strong>Rocky Mountain National Park</strong></a>) moved from Illinois to obtain a squatter’s claim and grow crops near the <strong>Big Thompson River</strong>. Upon arrival, neighbors remarked that the stream had flooded a month earlier and wiped out numerous homesteads in the valley. Since then, the Big Thompson River has produced thirteen large floods—including deluges in 1894, 1919, 1938, 1951, 1976, and 2013—and many other smaller floods. These torrents became more hazardous to humans with the permanent occupation of floodplains.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Taming the Rivers</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>As Colorado’s population swelled over the turn of the century—from nearly 195,000 in 1880 to over 935,000 by 1920—it became more vulnerable to catastrophic floods. Storm clouds regularly formed precisely where most Coloradans had settled: at the eastern base of the Rockies. These moisture-laden weather cells frequently ruptured into heavy downpours when pushed over the mountains, a phenomenon known as a cloudburst. In early June 1921, for example, cloudburst conditions developed near the foothills of Cañon City, eventually dumping rain over tributaries of the Arkansas River. The waters quickly surged far above usual levels once they hit the primary channel, producing the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/1921-pueblo-flood"><strong>1921 Arkansas River flood</strong></a> that ravaged the city of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/pueblo-0"><strong>Pueblo</strong></a>. With more than 43,000 residents, the industrial boomtown featured one of the state’s largest urban populations at the time of the flood. After floodwaters receded, the torrent had killed 78 people, wiped out 510 dwellings, and caused $19 million in property losses (or .25 billion in 2015 dollars). Moreover, the railroad depots of the <strong>Denver &amp; Rio Grande</strong> and the Missouri Pacific suffered the biggest financial setbacks, as more than 2,000 railcars were damaged in the deluge. For the “Pittsburgh of the West,” more human infrastructure on the river floodplain led to increased vulnerability.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>During the twentieth century, Coloradans increasingly relied on dams and channel modifications for flood protection and water storage. As <a href="/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a> grew, municipal planners lobbied for measures to shield the burgeoning metropolis from inundations. During the Great Depression of the 1930s, for instance, the Works Progress Administration funded the construction of <strong>Englewood Dam</strong> on Dry Creek, a tributary of the South Platte River. Apart from this <a href="/article/new-deal-colorado"><strong>New Deal</strong></a> project, the US Army Corps of Engineers erected <strong>Cherry Creek Dam</strong> between 1948 and 1950 for flood prevention. The reservoir served as a catchment basin for excess water—up to 13,960 acre-feet—to be stored near the confluence of Cherry and Cottonwood creeks in <strong>Aurora</strong>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Despite these engineering schemes, the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/south-platte-flood-1965"><strong>1965 South Platte River flood</strong></a> overwhelmed the Denver metropolitan area. From June 14 to June 20, a series of weather systems hit the Front Range. The South Platte and Arkansas river basins flooded from <a href="/article/fort-collins"><strong>Fort Collins</strong></a> to Pueblo. While the downpour inundated many areas, Denver suffered the worst damage because more than 60 percent of the city lay within the flood zone. In all, the Mile High City accrued $378 million in property losses (the equivalent of almost $3 billion in 2015), making it the most damaging torrent in Colorado’s history. In response, the Corps of Engineers built two more structures for flood control: the <strong>Chatfield Dam </strong>on Plum Creek, from 1967 to 1975, and the <strong>Bear Creek Dam </strong>at the convergence of Bear and Turkey creeks, from 1968 to 1982.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Rivers Strike Back</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Often, human actions contributed to the devastating effects of flooding. The <strong>1976 Big Thompson River flood</strong> offers an example. In the 1930s, the Colorado State Highway Department used New Deal money to construct a modern highway in Big Thompson Canyon. The road infrastructure, while easing automobile travel to <strong>Estes Park</strong> and Rocky Mountain National Park, required realigning and channeling the river in numerous places, thus amplifying the river’s hydraulic power. After World War II, promotional materials capitalized on the explosion in postwar vacationing by highlighting the natural wonders—and downplaying the natural hazards—of Big Thompson Canyon. These idealized places, in turn, led to an upsurge in riverine population as more permanent residents and seasonal tourists occupied the floodplain. On the evening of July 31, 1976—at the peak of vacation season—a thunderstorm dropped between eight and fourteen inches of water in an area of seventy square miles between Estes Park and Drake. The downpour almost matched the region’s yearly average in total rainfall. In addition to destroying homes, roads, and businesses, 144 people died, making the 1976 flash flood the most lethal deluge in Colorado history.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In other instances, human actions contributed to the flood itself. The <strong>1982 Fall River (Lawn Lake) flood</strong> offers a pertinent example. Lawn Lake was a body of water located in the high mountains of what would eventually become Rocky Mountain National Park. In 1903, and again in 1931, the Farmer’s Irrigation Ditch &amp; Reservoir Company built retaining walls around the lake to augment its water storage in order to support irrigated agriculture near <strong>Loveland</strong>. Over time, though, water suppliers ignored the dam. Maintenance required a six-mile hike to the site, and no automobiles or heavy equipment could reach the area. After years of neglect, a leaky outlet pipe destabilized the earthen structure, and on the morning of July 15, 1982, the Lawn Lake Dam collapsed. The water churned down the Roaring River, then roiled along the Fall River, destroying campgrounds and killing two people in the park before it reached the Big Thompson River. The booming river then swamped the resort town of Estes Park, which incurred most of the property damages, until the <strong>Olympus Dam </strong>finally contained the floodwaters.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Resiliency and Vulnerability</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>During the transition to the twenty-first century, Coloradans have in some ways adapted to floods while also exposing themselves to new challenges. Like most cities along the Front Range’s urban corridor, Fort Collins experienced a population boom over the second half of the twentieth century, surpassing 100,000 people by 1995. With rising density, the amount of impervious surfaces associated with development—from rooftops to roadways—covered many areas that previously absorbed storm runoff. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, emergency planners counteracted this trend by deciding on more flexible approaches to flooding. The city of Fort Collins purchased commercial and residential properties within the floodplain and established green space to supplant these formerly developed areas. The <a href="/article/spring-creek-flood-1997"><strong>Spring Creek flood</strong></a> struck on July 28, 1997, when about twelve inches of rain fell over Fort Collins. Although a devastating event—most notably, at the campus of <strong>Colorado State University</strong>—flood mitigation efforts saved an estimated ninety-eight lives and prevented approximately $5 million in property damage. In the aftermath of the 1997 flood, the city developed more of its storm-water detection and management systems, which turned out to be a sound choice sixteen years later.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>For a week in September 2013, heavy showers pounded the parched landscape of northern Colorado—nearly seventeen total inches in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/boulder"><strong>Boulder</strong></a>, nine in Estes Park, six in Loveland, and six in Fort Collins. Most streams of the South Platte River watershed swelled in their channels, overtopped their banks, and inundated surrounding areas. In seventeen counties, the floods washed out roadways, demolished bridges, damaged some 26,000 dwellings, razed more than 2,000 homes, and caused an estimated $2 billion in property losses. Eight people were killed, with thousands more endangered and dispossessed. Scientific evidence for human-induced climate change suggests that extreme events like the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/september-2013-floods"><strong>2013 northern Colorado floods</strong></a> have become more frequent and more intense since about 1950. Heavy rainfall events, while varying from region to region, have generally increased in severity and number because a warmer atmosphere possesses the overall potential to carry more moisture and—it follows—dump more water. As a result, Coloradans may expect larger and more numerous floods into the foreseeable future. Although Coloradans have acted to improve resiliency, they remain vulnerable to flooding.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/wright-will" hreflang="und">Wright, Will</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/floods" hreflang="en">floods</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-floods" hreflang="en">colorado floods</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-flood-history" hreflang="en">colorado flood history</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/spring-creek-flood" hreflang="en">spring creek flood</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/boulder-flood-1894" hreflang="en">Boulder Flood of 1894</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/telluride-flood-1914" hreflang="en">Telluride Flood 1914</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/irrigation" hreflang="en">irrigation</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/dam" hreflang="en">dam</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/water" hreflang="en">water</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/front-range-floods-2013" hreflang="en">front range floods 2013</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/cloudburst" hreflang="en">cloudburst</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/arkansas-river" hreflang="en">Arkansas River</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/big-thompson-river" hreflang="en">big thompson river</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/cache-la-poudre-river" hreflang="en">cache la poudre river</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/south-platte-river" hreflang="en">south platte river</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/estes-park" hreflang="en">Estes Park</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Ruth M. Alexander, “2013 Northern Colorado Flood Oral History Project: Final Report” (Fort Collins: Northern Colorado Flood Oral History Collection, Water Resources Archive, Colorado State University Libraries, 2015).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Thomas G. Andrews, <em>Killing for Coal: America’s Deadliest Labor War </em>(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2008).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Tim P. Barnett et al. “Human-Induced Changes in the Hydrology of the Western United States,” <em>Science </em>319 (February 2008).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>City of Fort Collins, “<a href="https://www.fcgov.com/naturalareas/finder/gustav">Gustav Swanson Natural Area</a>,” n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Terri Cook, “<a href="https://www.earthmagazine.org/article/disaster-strikes-along-colorados-front-range">Disaster strikes along Colorado’s Front Range</a>,” <em>EARTH Magazine</em>, January 20, 2014.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Robert Follansbee and Edward E. Jones, <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/wsp/0487/report.pdf"><em>The Arkansas River Flood of June 3–5, 1921</em></a>, US Geological Survey Water Supply Paper 487 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1922).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Robert Follansbee and Leon R. Sawyer, <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/wsp/0997/report.pdf"><em>Floods in Colorado</em></a>, US Geological Survey Water Supply Paper 997 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1948).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="http://www.assessment.ucar.edu/flood/flood_summaries/07_28_1997.html">Fort Collins—July 28, 1997</a>,” Weather and Climate Impact Assessment Science Program, 2007.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>P. Frich et al., “Observed coherent changes in climatic extremes during the second half of the twentieth century,” <em>Climate Research </em>19 (January 2002).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Neil S. Grigg et al., “Fort Collins Flood 1997: Comprehensive View of an Extreme Event,” <em>Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management</em> 125 (September/October 1999).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.fcgov.com/naturalareas/finder/gustav">Gustav Swanson Natural Area</a>,” City of Fort Collins, n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Sarah Hines, “<a href="https://www.fs.fed.us/rm/science-application-integration/docs/science-you-can-use/2014-03.pdf">Our Relationship with a Dynamic Landscape: Understanding the 2013 Northern Colorado Flood</a>,” <em>Science You Can Use Bulletin</em> (March/April 2014).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Robert D. Jarrett and John E. Costa, <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1369/report.pdf"><em>Hydrology, Geomorphology, and Dam-Break Modeling of the July 15, 1982 Lawn Lake Dame and Cascade Lake Dam Failures, Larimer County, Colorado</em>,</a> US Geological Survey Professional Paper 1369 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1986).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Kenneth Jessen, “<a href="https://www.reporterherald.com/2015/03/12/lawn-lake-dam-break-inundated-estes-park/">Lawn Lake dam break inundated Estes Park</a>,” <em>Loveland Reporter-Herald</em>, March 14, 2014.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>James C. Knox, “Large increase in flood magnitude in response to modest changes in climate,” <em>Nature </em>361 (February 1993).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>James C. Knox, “Sensitivity of modern and Holocene floods to climate change,” <em>Quaternary Science Reviews </em>19, no. 1 (2000).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>H. F. Matthai, <a href="https://pubs.usgs.gov/wsp/1850b/report.pdf"><em>Floods of June 1965 in South Platte River Basin, Colorado</em></a>, US Geological Survey Water Supply Paper 1850-B (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1969).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>David G. McComb, <em>Big Thompson: Profile of a Natural Disaster</em> (Boulder, CO: Pruett, 1980).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Gerald A. Meehl et al., “Understanding future patterns of increased precipitation intensity in climate model simulations,” <em>Geophysical Research Letters </em>32 (September 2005).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>P.C.D. Milly et al., “Increasing risk of great floods in a changing climate,” <em>Nature </em>415 (January 2002).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Seung-Ki Min et al., “Human contribution to more-intense precipitation extremes,” <em>Nature </em>470 (February 2011).</p>&#13; &#13; <p> “<a href="http://www.assessment.ucar.edu/flood/flood_summaries/06_14_1965.html">South Platte &amp; Arkansas Basins: June 14–20, 1965</a>,” Weather and Climate Impact Assessment Science Program, 2007.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>A. E. Sprague, “My First Visit to Estes Park,” Manuscript Collection 597, Stephen H. Hart Library and Research Center, History Colorado.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>A. E. Sprague, “Pioneering on the Big Thompson and in Estes Park,” <em>Colorado Magazine </em>12 (May 1935).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>A. E. Sprague, “Transportation,” Manuscript Collection 597, Stephen H. Hart Library and Research Collection, History Colorado.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Abner E. Sprague, <em>My Pioneer Life: The Memoirs of Abner E. Sprague</em> (Estes Park, CO: Rocky Mountain Nature Association, 1999).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Claudia Tebaldi et al., “Going to the Extremes: An Intercomparison of Model-Simulated Historical and Future Change in Extreme Events,” <em>Climatic Change</em> 79 (2006).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Kevin E. Trenberth et al., “Observations: Surface and Atmospheric Climate Change,” in <em>Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis</em>, Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, ed. S.D. Solomon et al. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>US Army Corp of Engineers, <a href="https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a368527.pdf"><em>Report on the Floods of June 1965—South Platte River Basin, Colorado and Nebraska</em></a> (Omaha: US Army Engineer District, 1967).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>US Army Corps of Engineers, “<a href="https://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/Missions/Dam-and-Lake-Projects/Tri-Lakes-Projects/Bear-Creek-Dam/">Bear Creek Dam and Lake</a>,” n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>US Army Corps of Engineers, “<a href="https://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/Missions/Dam-and-Lake-Projects/Tri-Lakes-Projects/Chatfield-Dam/">Chatfield Dam and Lake</a>,” n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>US Army Corps of Engineers, “<a href="https://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/Missions/Dam-and-Lake-Projects/Tri-Lakes-Projects/Cherry-Creek-Dam/">Cherry Creek Dam and Lake</a>,” n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>US Census Bureau, “<a href="https://www.census.gov/dmd/www/resapport/states/colorado.pdf">Colorado – Resident Population and Apportionment of US Representatives</a>,” n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Maarten K. Van Aalst, “The impacts of climate change on the risk of natural disasters,” <em>Disasters 30</em>, no. 1 (2006).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Elliott West, <em>The Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers, and the Rush to Colorado</em> (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1998).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Will Wright, “Accelerating Waters: An Anthropocene History of Colorado’s 1976 Big Thompson Flood,” (Master’s thesis, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, 2016).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Karen M. O’Neill, <em>Rivers by Design: State Power and the Origins of US Flood Control</em> (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2006).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Jared Orsi, <em>Hazardous Metropolis: Flooding and Urban Ecology in Los</em> Angeles (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Ted Steinberg, <em>Acts of God: The Unnatural History of Natural Disaster in America</em> (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Will Wright, "Geophysical Agency in the Anthropocene: Engineering a Road and River to Rocky Mountain National Park," <em>Environmental History </em>22, no. 4 (October 2017).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Mon, 15 Aug 2016 22:19:54 +0000 yongli 1694 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org