HYDROLOGY OP NEW YORK 



477 



The foregoing flood elevations have been deduced from current- 

 meter measurements and, as there is no very satisfactory place 

 for making such measurements at Utica, are subject to consider- 

 able error. The catchment area at Utica is 500 square miles. 



In the spring of 1S88, the Mohawk at Eidge Mills gave a flow 

 of 7030 cubic feet per second (catchment, 153 square miles), or at 

 the rate of 4G cubic feet per second per square mile. On March 

 12, 1898, the flow at the same point was 5266 cubic feet per second, 

 or at the rate of 35 cubic feet per second per square mile. 



In the foregoing at Eidge Mills and Little Falls the data have 

 been computed in accordance with the Cornell University coeffi- 

 cients. The ratio of the catchment area at Little Falls to that of 

 Eidge Mills is 8.56. If we assume the flow of the several tributary 

 streams above Little Falls to have been the same as that of the 

 main Mohawk river above Eidge Mills, the maximum discharge of 

 the entire catchment area is found by multiplying 5266, the flow 

 in cubic feet per second at Eidge Mills on March 12, 1898, by 8.56, 

 the ratio of the catchment areas. This gives a maximum inflow 

 into the Mohawk river above Little Falls of about 45,000 cubic 

 feet per second. Probably, however, this assumption is too large 

 for the special case under consideration, as the flow of Oriskany 

 creek at Oriskany on March 12, 1898, was only 600 cubic feet per 

 second, or 4.1 cubic feet per second per square mile. 



If, however, we assume that at some time the total flow from 

 the tributary streams above Little Falls will approximate about 

 35 cubic feet per second per square mile, it follows that we may 

 expect an inflow into the valley above Little Falls of certainly 

 45,000 cubic feet per second, although probably in March, 1898, it 

 did not reach that figure. As to why such a flow is possible, we 

 may consider (1) that tributary streams all have a rapid descent 

 from the adjacent high ground, and (2) the large temporary stor- 

 age of the flats above Little Falls. 



By way of showing the character of the inflowing streams the 

 following data relative to the descent of a number of the more 

 important ones are cited. In the following tabulation we have 

 the name of the tributary, distance from headwaters to mouth, 

 and elevation of the headwaters, the elevation being taken not at 



