HYDROLOGY OF NEW YORK 



479 



Central & Hudson River railroad crossing-, four miles east of 

 Rome, it is 418.4 feet; at The crossing three miles east of Utica The 

 water surface is 393.3 feet; at the mouth of Schoharie creek it is 

 about 270 feet, and at the New York Central & Hudson River rail- 

 road crossing at Schenectady it is 214 feet. The foregoing tabula- 

 tion, which includes streams below Little Falls as well as above, 

 indicates that rapid flood delivery is the marked characteristic of 

 all the tributary Mohawk streams. 



The area of the flats between Little Falls and Rome as computed 

 from the United States Geological Survey topographic sheets is 

 about 21 square miles, this area including in effect the flats 

 between the 400 and 420 contours. Adding thereto somewhat for 

 nearly level area above the 420 contour, we may take the total area 

 on Avhich temporary pondage may exist during flood-flows at some- 

 thing like 30 square miles. The effect of this pondage, so long 

 as the present natural conditions are maintained, will be to con- 

 siderably lengthen The period of flood runoff at Little Falls, Thus 

 decreasing the maximum at that place. 



The Mohawk river flood of August 24-26, 189S, may be men- 

 tioned. On August 23 and 24 very heavy thunderstorms occurred 

 throughout the central and eastern portions of the State. They 

 were specially severe about Utica, with the result, so far as can 

 be learned, of yielding a nearly unprecedented summer flood in the 

 Mohawk. The Mohawk flats between Herkimer and Rome were 

 so far covered with water as to do great damage to standing crops. 

 The water was still standing on the flaTs on the afTernoon of 

 August 27, but was down into the channel again on the afternoon 

 of the 28th. 



On August 25 Nine Mile creek, at Stittsville, flowed approxi- 

 mately 7820 cubic feet per second (catchment, G3 square miles), 

 or at the rate of 124.9 cubic feet per second per square mile. 



On the same date West Canada creek, at Middleville, gave a flow 

 of about 12,950 cubic feet per second (catchment, 519 square 

 miles), or about 24.9 cubic feeT per second per square mile, while 

 East Canada creek, at Dolgeville, flowed 6330 cubic feet per 

 second (catchment, 256 square miles), or at the rate of 24.7 cubic 

 feet per second per square mile. 



Probably these flows were for very short periods — perhaps two* 

 or three hours — because the highest flow over the middle dam at 



