Floods of 1950
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Floods of 1950 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 1137 This water-supply paper was printed as separate chapters, A-I UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1954 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Douglas McKay, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY W. E. Wrather, Director CONTENTS [The letters in parentheses preceding the titles are those used to designate |e papers for separate publication] Page (A) Missouri River basin floods of April-May 1950 in North and outh Dakota, by R. E. Oltman and others___________ __ 1 (B) Floods of 1950 in the Red River of the North and Winnipeg liver basins__________________________________. __ 115 (C) Flood of August 1950 in the Waimea area, Kauai, Hawaii, by t. K. Chun____________________________________ .__ 327 (D) Floods of May-July 1950 in southeastern Nebrasko_______. __ 351 (B) Floods of 1950 in southwestern Oregon and northwestern Calif nia_ 413 (F) Floods of November-December 1950 in the Central Valley Rsin, California_______________________________. __ 505 (G) Floods of 1950 in the upper Mississippi River and Lake Su >rior basins in Minnesota______________________ ____ 791 (H) Floods of November-December 1950 in western Nevada _ 897 (I) Summary of floods in the United States during 1950___ __. __ 957 Missouri River Basin Floods of April-May 1950 in North and South Dakota By R. E. OLTMAN and others FLOODS OF 1950 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 1137-A Prepared in cooperation with the North Dakota State Water Conservation Commission, the South Dakota State Engineer, the Corps of Engineers, United States Army, and the United States Bureau of Reclamation UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1951 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Oscar L. Chapman, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY W. E. Wrather, Director For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D. C. - Price 30 cents CONTENTS Page Abstract ............................................................ 1 Introduction ........................................................ 1 Administration and personnel ......................................... 3 Acknowledgments ........... ........................................ 3 General description of floods ......................................... 3 Flood damages ...................................................... 16 Meteorology (prepared by staff of United States Weather Bureau) ......... 21 Measurement of flood discharges ..................................... 26 Stages and discharges at stream-gaging stations ....................... 27 Explanation of data ............................................... 27 Missouri River main stem ........................................ 32 Missouri River near Williston, N. Dak. .......................... 32 Missouri River near Elbowoods, N. Dak. ........................ 32 Missouri River below Garrison Dam, N. Dak. .................... 33 Missouri River at Bismarck, N. Dak. ............................ 34 Missouri River near Mobridge, S. Dak. .......................... 35 Missouri River at Pierre, S. Dak. .............................. 36 Missouri River at Chamberlain, S. Dak. ......................... 37 Missouri River below Fort Randall Dam, S. Dak. ................. 38 Missouri River at Yankton, S. Dak. ............................. 38 Missouri River at Sioux City, Iowa .....;....................... 39 Little Missouri River Basin ......................................... 39 Little Missouri River near Watford City, N. Dak. ................. 39 Knife River Basin ..............'................................... 40 Knife River near Golden Valley, N. Dak. ......................... 40 Knife River at Hazen, N. Dak. .................................. 41 Spring Creek at Zap, N. Dak. ................................... 42 Heart River Basin ................................................ 43 Heart River near South Heart, N. Dak. ........................... 43 Heart River at Lehigh, N. Dak. .................................. 44 Heart River near Richardton, N. Dak. ........................... 45 Heart Butte Reservoir near Glen Ullin, N. Dak. ................... 46 Heart River below Heart Butte Dam near Glen Ullin, N. Dak. ....... 48 Heart River near Lark, N. Dak. ................................. 49 Heart River near Mandan, N. Dak. .............................. 50 Green River near Gladstone, N. Dak. ............................ 51 Muddy Creek near Almont, N. Dak. ............................. 52 Apple Creek Basin ............................................... 53 Apple Creek near Menoken, N. Dak. ............................. 53 Cannonball River Basin ........................................... 54 Cannonball River near New Leipzig, N. Dak. ..................... 54 Cannonball River at Breien, N. Dak. ............................. 55 Cedar Creek near Pretty Rock, N. Dak. .......................... 56 Beaver Creek Basin .............................................. 57 Beaver Creek at Linton, N. Dak. ................................ 57 Grand River Basin ................................................ 59 North Fork Grand River at Haley, N. Dak. ....................... 59 North Fork Grand River near White Butte, S. Dak. ................ 60 Grand River at Shadehill, S. Dak. ............................... 61 Grand River near Wakpala, S. Dak. .............................. 62 South Fork Grand River near Cash, S. Dak. ...................... 63 Moreau River Basin .............................................. 64 Moreau River at Bixby, S. Dak. ................................. 64 Moreau River near Faith, S. Dak. ............................... 66 Moreau River near Eagle Butte, S. Dak. .............. j.......... 68 Moreau River at Promise, S. Dak. .............................. 69 Cheyenne River Basin ............................................. 70 Cheyenne River near Eagle Butte, S. Dak. ........................ 70 Bad River Basin .................................................. 70 Bad River near Fort Pierre, S. Dak. ............................ 70 White River Basin ................................................ 71 White River near Oacoma, S. Dak. .............................. 71 Niobrara River Basin ............................................. 71 Niobrara River near Spencer, Nebr. ............................. 71 III IV CONTENTS Stages and discharges at stream-gaging stations--Continued. Page James River Basin ................................................ 72 James River at Jamestown, N. Dak. .............................. 72 James River at LaMoure, N. Dak. ............................... 73 James River at Columbia, S. Dak. ............................... 74 James River near Stratford, S. Dak. ............................. 75 James River at Ashton, S. Dak. ................................. 75 James River near Redfield, S. Dak. .............................. 76 James River at Huron, S. Dak. .................................. 76 James River near Forestburg, S. Dak. ............................ 77 James River near Scotland, S. Dak. ............................. 77 Pipestem Creek near Buchanan, N. Dak. .......................... 78 Elm River at Westport, S. Dak. .................................. 79 Turtle Creek at Redfield, S. Dak. ................................ 79 Vermillion River Basin .....'........................................ 80 Vermillion River near Wakonda, S. Dak. .......................... 80 Big Sioux River Basin ............................................. 80 Big Sioux River at Akron, Iowa ................................... 80 Summary of flood stages and discharges ................................ 81 Flood-crest stages ................................................... 90 Records of previous floods ............................................ 90 Fluctuations of ground-water levels (prepared by Geo. LaRocque, Jr., district engineer,Ground Water Branch) .............................. 105 References cited ..................................................... Ill Index ............................................................... 113 ILLUSTRATIONS Page Plate 1_. Floods make gage maintenance difficult: A, Both gage and bridge destroyed on Muddy Creek near Almont; B, Gage structure on Cannonball River near New Leipzig damaged and exposed by bank erosion. .................................................. 12 2. Swollen rivers and floating ice cause widespread damage: A, Northern Pacific main line washed out by Heart River; B, Can nonball River damage to Mott estimated at $1, 000, 000 ........ 13 3. Battering ice increases damage to Mott: A, Ice damages grain elevator office; B, Ice jam above concrete arch bridge ....... 14 4. Damage to Northern Pacific Railway branch line near Breien: A, Northern Pacific tracks washed out; B, Weeks were required to rebuild twisted and destroyed tracks ...................... 15 5. Cannonball River washes out highway bridges: A, This was new county bridge near town of Cannonball; B, Bank scour causes bridge failure near Heil ................................... 16 6. Cannonball River damages bridges and farm lands: A, River erupts from artificial channel to destroy bridge; B, Sand and silt deposited on farm land near Breien ......................... 17 7. Highway system damaged by local drainage and streams: A, Local drainage erodes shoulder of U. S. Highway 10; B, Shadehill bridge approach washed put by Grand River ..........'........ 18 8. Pipestem Creek and James River flood Jamestown; April 1950: A, Northern Pacific Railway along