﻿440 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  lower 
  reaches 
  than 
  either 
  Buffalo 
  or 
  Cayuga 
  creek. 
  It 
  results, 
  

   therefore, 
  that 
  floods 
  in 
  Cazenovia 
  creek 
  reach 
  Buffalo 
  several 
  

   hours 
  earlier 
  than 
  those 
  in 
  Buffalo 
  and 
  Cayuga 
  creeks. 
  The 
  chan- 
  

   nel 
  in 
  the 
  lower 
  portions 
  of 
  all 
  these 
  streams 
  is 
  irregular 
  and 
  

   sinuous, 
  which, 
  together 
  with 
  the 
  flattening 
  of 
  slopes, 
  produces 
  

   the 
  usual 
  flood 
  congestion 
  in 
  the 
  lower 
  reaches. 
  The 
  annual 
  oc- 
  

   currence 
  of 
  floods 
  in 
  these 
  streams 
  has 
  long 
  been 
  a 
  source 
  of 
  dam- 
  

   age 
  and 
  has 
  been 
  a 
  bar 
  to 
  the 
  development 
  of 
  the 
  city 
  of 
  Buffalo 
  

   towards 
  the 
  southeast. 
  The 
  Buffalo 
  engineers 
  have 
  been 
  for 
  sev- 
  

   eral 
  years 
  making 
  studies 
  of 
  floods 
  in 
  these 
  streams 
  in 
  order 
  to 
  

   devise 
  plans 
  for 
  their 
  prevention. 
  Serious 
  floods 
  have 
  occurred 
  at 
  

   the 
  following 
  dates 
  : 
  

  

  January 
  5, 
  1890. 
  December 
  22, 
  189S. 
  

  

  December 
  16, 
  1893. 
  January 
  13, 
  1900. 
  

  

  January 
  14, 
  1894. 
  February 
  9, 
  1900. 
  

  

  May 
  20, 
  1894. 
  April 
  22, 
  1901. 
  

  

  March 
  30, 
  1896. 
  December 
  14, 
  1901. 
  

  

  January 
  13, 
  1898. 
  March 
  .1, 
  1902. 
  

  

  February 
  16, 
  1898. 
  July 
  7, 
  1902. 
  

   December 
  5, 
  1898. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  stated 
  in 
  the 
  report 
  of 
  the 
  Buffalo 
  Flood 
  Committee, 
  made 
  

   to 
  the 
  Water 
  Storage 
  Commission, 
  that 
  in 
  the 
  flood 
  of 
  March 
  1, 
  

   1902, 
  the 
  maximum 
  discharge 
  of 
  the 
  Buffalo 
  river 
  was 
  about 
  23,000 
  

   cubic 
  feet 
  per 
  second 
  (catchment, 
  420 
  square 
  miles), 
  or 
  at 
  the 
  

   rate 
  of 
  55 
  cubic 
  feet 
  per 
  second 
  per 
  square 
  mile. 
  This, 
  however, 
  

   was 
  an 
  unusual 
  flood; 
  the 
  ordinary 
  flood-flows 
  are 
  estimated 
  at 
  

   about 
  18,000 
  cubic 
  feet 
  per 
  second, 
  or 
  at 
  the 
  rate 
  of 
  43 
  cubic 
  feet 
  

   per 
  second 
  per 
  square 
  mile, 
  although 
  from 
  the 
  conclusions 
  of 
  the 
  

   committee, 
  given 
  on 
  page 
  442 
  of 
  the 
  Report 
  of 
  the 
  Water 
  Storage 
  

   Commission, 
  it 
  is 
  inferred 
  that 
  exceptional 
  floods 
  may 
  exceed 
  

   25,000 
  to 
  28,000 
  cubic 
  feet 
  per 
  second, 
  or 
  at 
  the 
  rate 
  of 
  about 
  66 
  

   cubic 
  feet 
  per 
  second 
  per 
  square 
  mile. 
  1 
  

  

  Floods 
  in 
  Tonawanda 
  creek. 
  High 
  floods 
  have 
  occurred 
  in 
  this 
  

   stream 
  in 
  1865, 
  1889, 
  1896 
  and 
  1902. 
  The 
  flood 
  of 
  March, 
  1865, 
  is 
  

   considered 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  extreme 
  maximum, 
  although 
  the 
  flood 
  of 
  

  

  1A 
  large 
  amount 
  of 
  information 
  in 
  regard 
  to 
  Buffalo 
  river 
  is 
  given 
  in 
  the 
  

   Report 
  of 
  the 
  Water 
  Storage 
  Commission, 
  at 
  pp. 
  71-76 
  and 
  pp. 
  422-443, 
  

   inclusive. 
  

  

  