Rocky Mountain National Park Flood
Looking roughly east, this is a two-frame panorama looking down the Fall River Valley in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, from the viewing area at Rainbow Curve (3,294m) on the Trail Ridge Road which reaches a maximum altitude of 3,595m at Fall River Pass. Lower sections of the road can be seen on the right above.
The key to the image is the alluvial fan visible on the valley floor just right of centre. Trace back up the Roaring River valley that can be seen intermittently rising to the left above, and almost 10 km upstream you reach Lawn Lake at an elevation of 3,400m (not visible above).
Originally just over 6.6 hectares, it was expanded by farmers in 1903 who built a 6m-high earthen dam for irrigation purposes that expanded the lake to 19.4 hectares. This increased the capacity for water in the lake to approximately 257 million gallons. The water was usually released from the dam into the Big Thompson and Fall River at Estes Park using the Roaring River. The dam became neglected due to the remote area that it was in which is believed to have led to its eventual erosion.
The dam broke at 06:30 a.m. on 15 July 1982, releasing an estimated 228 million gallons of water. The channel of the river overflowed, carrying boulders and trees with it as it went down the side of the mountain 760m to what is now called Horseshoe Park in the Fall River valley floor, emptying the lake in about 30 minutes.
In the Fall River Valley the water continued downstream into the distance above. Two kilometres further downstream, the rush of water hit the 5m-high concrete Cascade Lake dam, which was used to power a hydroelectric plant and broke it. This added a further four million gallons to the flood. The rushing water continued into the lake behind the Olympia Dam in Estes Town (in the far distance in the upper right of the image above), some 13 km from Horseshoe Park. Here the dam was strong enough to absorb the onrushing water and held.
The scar of Roaring River valley is clear in the image, despite being taken 16 years after the flood. The large alluvial fan at Horseshoe Park includes broken trees, boulders bigger than cars, and silt. The debris created a shallow wetland and lake called Fan Lake which is partially visible above.
Three people were killed in the flood. One was camping along Roaring River valley and was swept away. Two others were lost at the Aspenglen camping site near Cascade Lake dam. Despite park rangers having given warning and cleared the campsite, they returned to retrieve items before the flood arrived and were caught by it. Some $30 million-worth of damage was done in Estes Park when downtown was inundated.
Scanned from negatives.
Rocky Mountain National Park Flood
Looking roughly east, this is a two-frame panorama looking down the Fall River Valley in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, from the viewing area at Rainbow Curve (3,294m) on the Trail Ridge Road which reaches a maximum altitude of 3,595m at Fall River Pass. Lower sections of the road can be seen on the right above.
The key to the image is the alluvial fan visible on the valley floor just right of centre. Trace back up the Roaring River valley that can be seen intermittently rising to the left above, and almost 10 km upstream you reach Lawn Lake at an elevation of 3,400m (not visible above).
Originally just over 6.6 hectares, it was expanded by farmers in 1903 who built a 6m-high earthen dam for irrigation purposes that expanded the lake to 19.4 hectares. This increased the capacity for water in the lake to approximately 257 million gallons. The water was usually released from the dam into the Big Thompson and Fall River at Estes Park using the Roaring River. The dam became neglected due to the remote area that it was in which is believed to have led to its eventual erosion.
The dam broke at 06:30 a.m. on 15 July 1982, releasing an estimated 228 million gallons of water. The channel of the river overflowed, carrying boulders and trees with it as it went down the side of the mountain 760m to what is now called Horseshoe Park in the Fall River valley floor, emptying the lake in about 30 minutes.
In the Fall River Valley the water continued downstream into the distance above. Two kilometres further downstream, the rush of water hit the 5m-high concrete Cascade Lake dam, which was used to power a hydroelectric plant and broke it. This added a further four million gallons to the flood. The rushing water continued into the lake behind the Olympia Dam in Estes Town (in the far distance in the upper right of the image above), some 13 km from Horseshoe Park. Here the dam was strong enough to absorb the onrushing water and held.
The scar of Roaring River valley is clear in the image, despite being taken 16 years after the flood. The large alluvial fan at Horseshoe Park includes broken trees, boulders bigger than cars, and silt. The debris created a shallow wetland and lake called Fan Lake which is partially visible above.
Three people were killed in the flood. One was camping along Roaring River valley and was swept away. Two others were lost at the Aspenglen camping site near Cascade Lake dam. Despite park rangers having given warning and cleared the campsite, they returned to retrieve items before the flood arrived and were caught by it. Some $30 million-worth of damage was done in Estes Park when downtown was inundated.
Scanned from negatives.