Big Thompson Flash Flood, 1976, Drake, CO
Posted by: 
ronjean
N 40° 25.205 W 105° 17.029
13T E 475922 N 4474422
The flash flood took the lives of 144 people as it swept down the canyon
Waymark Code: WM92TQ
Location: Colorado, United States
Date Posted: 06/19/2010
Views: 10
From the Memorial placed on the 25th anniversary: "Beginning about 7:00 p.m. a thunderstorm towering over 50,000 feet stalled near Hague's Peak in the upper reaches of the Big Thompson Canyon.
The torrential downpour from that storm put almost 12 inches of rainfall in the Glen Comfort and North Fork areas in just four hours. This normally pleasant river rapidly became a raging torrent as the volume of water reached a peak 31,000 cfs, far above the 200 cfs that normally flow through the narrows.
The resulting flash flood caused destruction as far as the Platte River southeast of Greeley, Colorado. It destroyed homes, businesses, and roads...
It took the lives of 144 people."
The flood also destroyed a power generating station, leaving only the foundation and parts of the turbines. The height of the water reached 17 feet above the average 3 foot depth of the river. According to the USGS, the flow of water in the Big Thompson River was estimated at 30100 cubic feet per second, where the average annual flow is 125 cfs (average summer flow is 200 cfs). A park is now next to the new generating station, and the Memorial is several miles above this point.
Natural or man made event?: Natural
What type of marker?: wall plaque
When did this occur?: July 31, 1976
Website related to the event..: [Web Link]
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Visit Instructions:
A picture showing the level along with any markers telling of what had occurred can be used. Better yet would be a picture of you or someone standing next to the high level mark, that would show if you would have been just wading or completely submersed.