Great Flood of 1862
Encyclopedia
The Great Flood of 1862 or Noachian Deluge was the largest flood in the recorded history of Oregon
, Nevada
and California
, occurring from December 1861 to January 1862. It was preceded by weeks of continuous rains (or snows in the high elevations) that began in Oregon in November 1861 and continued into January 1862. This was followed by record quantitative precipitation in January 9-12th, which contributed to a flood which extended from the Columbia River
southward in western Oregon and through California to San Diego, and extended as far inland as Idaho
in Washington Territory
, Nevada
and Utah
in Utah Territory
and Arizona
in western New Mexico Territory
.
It was climaxed by a warmer, more intense storm with much more rain that was made more serious by the earlier large accumulation of snow, now melted by the rain in the lower elevations of the mountains. Throughout the affected area, all the streams and rivers rose to great heights, flooded the valleys, inundated or swept away towns, mills, dams, flumes, houses, fences, and domestic animals, and ruined fields. Early estimates of property damage was at $10,000,000. However, later it was estimated that approximately one-quarter of the taxable real estate in the state of California was destroyed in the flood. Dependent on property tax
es, the State of California went bankrupt. The governor, state legislature, and state employees were not paid for a year and a half.
The weather pattern that caused this flood was not an El Nino, but from the existing Army and private weather records it has been determined that the polar jet stream
was to the north as the Pacific Northwest
experienced a mild rainy pattern for the first half of December 1861. Then the jet stream slid south and freezing conditions were reported at Oregon stations by December 25. Heavy rainfall began falling in California as the longwave
trough moved down over the state, remaining there until the end of January 1862 and causing rain to fall everywhere in the state for nearly 40 days. Eventually the trough moved even further south, causing snow to fall in the Central Valley and surrounding mountain ranges.
at the higher elevations so that much snow fell in the Cascade Mountains, which when later melted by the warm rains produced the great quantity of water which flooded into the Willamette River
and other streams in the Cascades. Tributaries of the Willamette rising in the Oregon Coast Range
did not rise so high. Then the depression that came in at the beginning of December, produced strong, warm southerly winds in Oregon, with extremely heavy rain. The crest of the flood was reached at Salem
on December 3rd, at Oregon City
on the 4th, and at Milwaukie
, between Oregon City and Portland
, on the 5th, at Albany
December 8th, a second rise at Albany greater than the first. The crest at Albany and Salem were the highest ever known at any time. In Oregon, the flood was one of the largest in the history of the Willamette Valley
and the rest of Western Oregon. Flooding was heaviest on rivers with tributaries arising from the snow covered Cascade Mountains.
An article in the December 14, 1861, Oregon City Argus, described the course of the flood at Oregon City:
Flood waters were so high that at Oregon City at the floods crest on December 5th, the steamer St. Clair was able to run the falls and steamers were able to visit points at some distance from the normal river channel. Although large amounts of wheat and flour were swept away, some was recovered when Oregon City's Island Mill was found on Sauvie Island
downriver from Portland. The nearby town of Linn City
was completely destroyed by flooding and was not rebuilt. In addition, the flood destroyed the historic town of Champoeg, site of the first provisional government in Oregon, and Orleans, across the Willamette River from Corvallis
. Neither were rebuilt.
In other parts of Oregon flooding was severe also. The Umpqua River
had the greatest flood known even to the oldest Indians, and water was 10 to 15 feet higher than the 1853 flood. It rose from November 3rd to December 3rd, subsided for two days then rose again until the 9th. At Fort Umpqua, communication up river was cut off above Scottsburg, and the river was full of floating houses, barns, rails and produce. At Port Orford, the Coquille River
swept away settlers' property and also did great damage on the Rogue River
and on other small streams."
Flood damage was so great because the rivers in Oregon were the main routes of travel. The river front was the building site of mills, freight depots, and storehouses for grain and other foodstuffs. Business houses and many residences were near the landings. Farm buildings were mostly on sites convenient to the rivers, along with supplies of feed for livestock. Loss of so much wheat flour and demand from the new Idaho gold fields caused a spike in its price from $7 to $12 per barrel.
the storm creating the flood in Oregon dumped its precipitation as an unprecedented snowfall. Flooding on the Columbia River and the snow in the mountains, closed off supplies to the new mining towns on the Salmon River
, causing starvation among the miners of Florence
, cutoff from December until May 1862. In early July, as the heavy burden of snow in the Mountains melted, the runoff caused great flooding. The Boise River
flooded from extremely high runoff and is believed to been four times larger than its largest recorded flood in 1943. Flood waters made the river expand to a couple of miles wide. It washed away or covered the original route of the Oregon Trail
in the river valley.
, was destroyed by the flood in December 1861 and abandoned on June 10, 1862. Bridges were washed away in Trinity
and Shasta Counties
. At Weaverville
, John Carr was a witness to the sudden melt of snow by the heavy rain and onset of the flood in December 1861 on the Trinity River:
Like many other towns along the tributary rivers to the Sacramento
and San Joaquin River
s, at Knight's Ferry
, its homes, its mill and most of its businesses were ruined by the flood. Its bridge spanning the Stanislaus River
withstood the flood waters but was destroyed when the debris of the bridge at Two-Mile Bar, only a short distance up river, torn from its foundation, crashed into the Knights Ferry Bridge, crushing the truss supports and knocking it from its rock foundation. Some towns like Empire City
and Mokelumne City
were destroyed entirely.
The entire Sacramento and San Joaquin
valleys were inundated for an extent of 300 miles (482.8 km), averaging 20 miles (32.2 km) in breadth. John Carr wrote of his riverboat trip up the Sacramento River when it was at one of its highest stages of flood:
The city of Sacramento
suffered the worst damage due to its levee
, which lay in a wide and flat valley at the junction of the American
and Sacramento Rivers
. When the floodwaters entered from the higher ground on the East, the levee acted as a dam to keep the water in the city rather than let it flow out. Soon the water level was 10 feet higher inside than the level of the Sacramento River on the outside. Dozens of wood houses, some two stories high, were simply lifted up and carried off by the flood, as was "all the firewood, most of the fences and sheds, all the poultry, cats, rats and many of the cows and horses". A chain gang
was sent to break open the levee, which, when it finally broke, allowed the waters to rush out of the city center and lowered the level of the flooding by five to six feet. Eventually the waters fell to a level on a par with the lowest part of the city.
Basin of the eastern California and western Utah Territory
(now Nevada
), suffered from a similar patern of flooding. Flooding began in December, 1861 in Carson Valley from a series of storms in the upper Carson River basin. Two feet of wet heavy snow fell on December 20, 1861, accumulating on the valley floor. Snow was followed by a period of very cold temperatures which froze the snow, followed by a three day rain starting on December 25, 1861. By January 2, 1862, the town of Dayton
and the area surrounding it had been flooded.
In the vicinity of Aurora
there had been light snowfall in November, then mild weather until Christmas Eve when it began a heavy and rapid snowfall for days, the temperature dropped below zero and the passes over the Sierras were closed. During the second week of January it warmed slightly and the snow became a torrential rain. Esmerelda and Willow gulches overflowing their banks flooded Aurora, with water standing up to three inches deep in many buildings, adobe buildings turned to mud and collapsed. After a week it cooled again and snow began to fall again. Within a few days the snow was deeper than it had been before the rains had begun to fall. Samuel Young of Aurora, recorded in his diary that the snow and rain had fallen for twenty six days out of thirty since December 24, 1861.
, beginning on December 24, 1861, it rained for almost four weeks for a total of 35 inches at Los Angeles
. The flooding drowned thousands of cattle and washed away fruit trees and vineyards that grew along the Los Angeles River
. No mail was received at Los Angeles for five weeks. The Los Angeles Star reported that:
The plains of Los Angeles County, at the time a marshy area with many small lakes and several meandering streams from the mountains, were extensively flooded, and much of the agricultural development which lay along the rivers was ruined. In most of the lower areas small settlements were submerged. These flooded areas formed into a large lake system with many small streams and a few more powerful currents cut channels across the plain and carried the runoff to the sea.
At Santa Barbara County the narrow coastal plains were flooded by the rivers coming out of the mountains, and the town of Ventura
was abandoned.
In San Bernardino County, all the fertile riverside fields and all but the church and one house of the New Mexican
colony of Agua Mansa
, were swept away by the Santa Ana River
, which overflowed its banks. The ringing church bell on the night of January 22, 1862 alerted the inhabitants to the approach of the flood, and all escaped.
Downriver in Los Angeles County, (includng what is now Orange County
) the flooding Santa Ana River created an inland sea lasting about three weeks with water standing 4 feet (1.2 m) deep up to 4 miles (6 km) from the river. In February 1862, the Los Angeles, San Gabriel
, and Santa Ana Rivers merged. Government surveys at the time indicated that a solid expanse of water covered the area from Signal Hill
to Huntington Beach, a distance of approximately eighteen miles.
In San Diego a storm at sea, backed up the flood water running into the bay from the San Diego River
, resulting in a new river channel cut into San Diego Harbor. The continuous heavy downpour also changed the look of the land, the previously rounded hills were extensively cut by gulleys and canyons.
To the north, in the Owens Valley
, similar snow and flooding conditions as those to the east in Aurora, lead to the local Paiute suffering the loss of much of the game they depended on. Cattle newly driven into the valley to feed the miners, competed with the native grazers and ate the native wild plant crops the Paiute depended on to survive. Starving the Paiute began to kill the cattle and conflict with the cattlemen began, leading to the subsequent Owens Valley Indian War
.
and Gila River
s. On January 20, 1862 the Colorado River began to rise, and on the afternoon of January 22nd it rose suddenly in three hours from an already high stage nearly six feet, overflowing its banks and turned Fort Yuma into an island in the midst of the Colorado River. At 1 o’clock on the morning of January 23rd the river reached its crest. Colorado City
, across the Colorado River
from Fort Yuma
, was washed away. The river overflowed its banks to the extent that there was water twenty feet deep on a ranch in the low lying ground just above the town where the Gila River joined the Colorado. The riverside home of steamboat entrepreneur George Alonzo Johnson
and the nearby Hooper residence were the only places in the town unharmed because they were built on high ground. Colorado City had to be rebuilt on higher ground after the 1862 flood.
The Gila River also flooded, covering its whole valley at its mouth where it met the Colorado from the sand hills on the south to the foothills on the north. Twenty miles to the east of Fort Yuma, it swept away most of the mining boomtown of Gila City
along with a supply of hay being gathered there to supply the planned advance of the California Column
into Confederate Arizona. Further east the road was flooded, buildings and vehicles swept away and traffic was disrupted for some time thereafter by the mud covering the road to Tucson. The great flood in the Gila and Colorado Rivers, covered their bottom lands with mud. Much of the livestock along the rivers drowned and the crops of the Indians along the river were destroyed.
The overflow of the 1862 Colorado River flood waters reached the Salton Sink
via the Alamo
and New River
filling it creating a lake some 60 miles long and 30 miles wide.
settlements in Washington County
, St. George
, Grafton
, Duncans Retreat
, Adventure
, and Northrop were nearly destroyed by a flood that followed forty-four days of rainfall in January and February 1862. Springdale
, and Rockville
were founded in 1862 by settlers flooded out of Adventure, Northup and other places in the vicinity.
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, occurring from December 1861 to January 1862. It was preceded by weeks of continuous rains (or snows in the high elevations) that began in Oregon in November 1861 and continued into January 1862. This was followed by record quantitative precipitation in January 9-12th, which contributed to a flood which extended from the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
southward in western Oregon and through California to San Diego, and extended as far inland as Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
in Washington Territory
Washington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 8, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington....
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
and Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
in Utah Territory
Utah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....
and Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
in western New Mexico Territory
New Mexico Territory
thumb|right|240px|Proposed boundaries for State of New Mexico, 1850The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of...
.
It was climaxed by a warmer, more intense storm with much more rain that was made more serious by the earlier large accumulation of snow, now melted by the rain in the lower elevations of the mountains. Throughout the affected area, all the streams and rivers rose to great heights, flooded the valleys, inundated or swept away towns, mills, dams, flumes, houses, fences, and domestic animals, and ruined fields. Early estimates of property damage was at $10,000,000. However, later it was estimated that approximately one-quarter of the taxable real estate in the state of California was destroyed in the flood. Dependent on property tax
Property tax
A property tax is an ad valorem levy on the value of property that the owner is required to pay. The tax is levied by the governing authority of the jurisdiction in which the property is located; it may be paid to a national government, a federated state or a municipality...
es, the State of California went bankrupt. The governor, state legislature, and state employees were not paid for a year and a half.
Background
Prior to the flooding, Oregon had steady but heavier flow than normal rainfall during November and heavier snow in the mountains.The weather pattern that caused this flood was not an El Nino, but from the existing Army and private weather records it has been determined that the polar jet stream
Jet stream
Jet streams are fast flowing, narrow air currents found in the atmospheres of some planets, including Earth. The main jet streams are located near the tropopause, the transition between the troposphere and the stratosphere . The major jet streams on Earth are westerly winds...
was to the north as the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
experienced a mild rainy pattern for the first half of December 1861. Then the jet stream slid south and freezing conditions were reported at Oregon stations by December 25. Heavy rainfall began falling in California as the longwave
Rossby wave
Atmospheric Rossby waves are giant meanders in high-altitude winds that are a major influence on weather.They are not to be confused with oceanic Rossby waves, which move along the thermocline: that is, the boundary between the warm upper layer of the ocean and the cold deeper part of the...
trough moved down over the state, remaining there until the end of January 1862 and causing rain to fall everywhere in the state for nearly 40 days. Eventually the trough moved even further south, causing snow to fall in the Central Valley and surrounding mountain ranges.
Oregon
There was an excess of precipitation in November 1861 over most of Oregon, less so in the extreme northwest. It was cold enoughat the higher elevations so that much snow fell in the Cascade Mountains, which when later melted by the warm rains produced the great quantity of water which flooded into the Willamette River
Willamette River
The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...
and other streams in the Cascades. Tributaries of the Willamette rising in the Oregon Coast Range
Oregon Coast Range
The Oregon Coast Range, often called simply the Coast Range and sometimes the Pacific Coast Range, is a mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, in the U.S. state of Oregon along the Pacific Ocean...
did not rise so high. Then the depression that came in at the beginning of December, produced strong, warm southerly winds in Oregon, with extremely heavy rain. The crest of the flood was reached at Salem
Salem, Oregon
Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...
on December 3rd, at Oregon City
Oregon City, Oregon
Oregon City was the first city in the United States west of the Rocky Mountains to be incorporated. It is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon...
on the 4th, and at Milwaukie
Milwaukie, Oregon
Milwaukie is a city in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. A very small portion of the city extends into Multnomah County. The population was 20,291 at the 2010 census. Founded in 1848 on the banks of the Willamette River, the city, known as the Dogwood City of the West, was incorporated in...
, between Oregon City and Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, on the 5th, at Albany
Albany, Oregon
Albany is the eleventh largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon, and is the county seat of Linn County. It is located in the Willamette Valley at the confluence of the Calapooia River and the Willamette River in both Linn and Benton counties, just east of Corvallis and south of Salem. It is...
December 8th, a second rise at Albany greater than the first. The crest at Albany and Salem were the highest ever known at any time. In Oregon, the flood was one of the largest in the history of the Willamette Valley
Willamette Valley
The Willamette Valley is the most populated region in the state of Oregon of the United States. Located in the state's northwest, the region is surrounded by tall mountain ranges to the east, west and south and the valley's floor is broad, flat and fertile because of Ice Age conditions...
and the rest of Western Oregon. Flooding was heaviest on rivers with tributaries arising from the snow covered Cascade Mountains.
An article in the December 14, 1861, Oregon City Argus, described the course of the flood at Oregon City:
- During the month of November the rain had been falling almost continuously, and a vast amount of snow must have accumulated in the mountains. No snow, however, had fallen in the Willamette Valley, and the river, up to Sunday, December 1st, exhibited no indication of an unusual rise. It might have been noticed, and doubtless will be again if the phenomenon ever occurs hereafter, that November's long and rather cold rain was succeeded during the closing days of the month by a warm, humid state of the air, rain falling in copious showers almost without intermission. On Sunday the river looked swollen and threatening, but, until still later, no serious apprehensions were entertained. On Monday morning the steamer Rival left this place for Portland while the Express came up on her usual trip, but finding navigation difficult and dangerous they concluded to leave the trip half done, each boat stopping at the wrong end of her route. The Onward also started up the river on her usual trip. The Island Mill was kept running Monday and through the night. Mr. John Chapman and his wife being on the Island unsuspicious of danger. But the crash of the falling bridge just before daylight, destroying all egress to the main land, roused them to a consciousness of immediate danger, and they passed several anxious hours before help could be extended to them and they could be extricated from their perilous situation in skiffs from below. This was accomplished safely and in good time, for the water was rising rapidly, and by afternoon rushed down the chasm over which the bridge had stood in a way to prevent all approach. This afternoon (Tuesday) a large part of the breakwater at the warehouse on the opposite side of the river succumbed to the immense pressure of water, and at intervals great masses of timbers comprising the crib-work would burst up and be swept away by the mighty torrent.
- Tuesday evening a gloom settled on a scene such as probably never was witnessed in our Valley before. The ceaseless roar of the stream made a fearful elemental music widely different from from the ordinary monotone of the Falls; while the darkness was only made more visible by the glare of torches and hurrying lights, which with the shouts of people from the windows of houses surrounded by the water, all conspired to render the hour one of intense and painful excitement. The flood has covered the highest mark of January '53, and is still rapidly rising. As late as anything could be seen the mills were still standing, but the insatiate monster is still creeping up inch by inch, winding its swelling folds round the pillars and foundations of all the houses in its way, crushing and grinding them in the maw of destruction, and sweeping the broken fragments into a common vortex of ruin. All night as on the night previous, people whose homes were being invaded hurried to places of security, glad to escape even with the sacrifice of all their goods.
- The light of Wednesday morning revealed a scene of desolation terrible in its extent no less than in its completeness. The Oregon City and Island Mills, Willamette Iron Works, Foundry and Machine Shop; all the breakwaters designed to protect the mills and upper end of Oregon City except one short piece are carried away, and over where they stood now sweeps a foaming current against which no building unprotected by a solid breakwater as a defense could possibly stand. An immense amount of drift has passed and apparently the debris of many houses but everything is ground so fine and is hurried out of sight so quickly that little can be known for certain. On the fragments of a large barn, as appeared by the quantity of grain, straw, etc., sat a number of chickens, bearing melancholy evidence of devastation above. We were compelled to vacate our office this afternoon, the water rising nearly two feet on the floor. Main Street is navigable for skiffs past our door down as far as the Masonic Hall.
Flood waters were so high that at Oregon City at the floods crest on December 5th, the steamer St. Clair was able to run the falls and steamers were able to visit points at some distance from the normal river channel. Although large amounts of wheat and flour were swept away, some was recovered when Oregon City's Island Mill was found on Sauvie Island
Sauvie Island
Sauvie Island, in the U.S. state of Oregon, originally Wapato Island or Wappatoo Island, is the largest island along the Columbia River, at 26,000 acres , and the largest river island in the United States...
downriver from Portland. The nearby town of Linn City
Linn City, Oregon
Linn City was a community in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States, that existed from 1843-1861. The former site of Linn City was incorporated into the city of West Linn.-History:...
was completely destroyed by flooding and was not rebuilt. In addition, the flood destroyed the historic town of Champoeg, site of the first provisional government in Oregon, and Orleans, across the Willamette River from Corvallis
Corvallis, Oregon
Corvallis is a city located in central western Oregon, United States. It is the county seat of Benton County and the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton County. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 54,462....
. Neither were rebuilt.
In other parts of Oregon flooding was severe also. The Umpqua River
Umpqua River
The Umpqua River on the Pacific coast of Oregon in the United States is approximately long. One of the principal rivers of the Oregon Coast and known for bass and shad, the river drains an expansive network of valleys in the mountains west of the Cascade Range and south of the Willamette Valley,...
had the greatest flood known even to the oldest Indians, and water was 10 to 15 feet higher than the 1853 flood. It rose from November 3rd to December 3rd, subsided for two days then rose again until the 9th. At Fort Umpqua, communication up river was cut off above Scottsburg, and the river was full of floating houses, barns, rails and produce. At Port Orford, the Coquille River
Coquille River
The Coquille River is a stream long, in southwestern Oregon in the United States. It drains a mountainous area of of the Southern Oregon Coast Range into the Pacific Ocean. Its watershed is located between that of the Coos River to the north and the Rogue River to the south.-Geography:The river,...
swept away settlers' property and also did great damage on the Rogue River
Rogue River
Rogue River may refer to:* "Rogue River" , an episode of Jericho and the eponymous place* Rogue River , a river in Michigan, USA* Rogue River , a river in Oregon, USA* Rogue River, Oregon, a city in Oregon, USA...
and on other small streams."
Flood damage was so great because the rivers in Oregon were the main routes of travel. The river front was the building site of mills, freight depots, and storehouses for grain and other foodstuffs. Business houses and many residences were near the landings. Farm buildings were mostly on sites convenient to the rivers, along with supplies of feed for livestock. Loss of so much wheat flour and demand from the new Idaho gold fields caused a spike in its price from $7 to $12 per barrel.
Idaho
In the interior of Washington TerritoryWashington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 8, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington....
the storm creating the flood in Oregon dumped its precipitation as an unprecedented snowfall. Flooding on the Columbia River and the snow in the mountains, closed off supplies to the new mining towns on the Salmon River
Salmon River (Idaho)
The Salmon River is located in Idaho in the northwestern United States. The Salmon is also known as The River of No Return. It flows for through central Idaho, draining and dropping more than between its headwaters, near Galena Summit above the Sawtooth Valley in the Sawtooth National...
, causing starvation among the miners of Florence
Florence, Idaho
Florence is a ghost town in Idaho County, Idaho, United States. The town was originally settled as a mining camp in the winter of 1861, Several hundred miners who had come for the Clearwater Gold Rush of 1861, heard of a huge bonanza there on the Salmon River. Many of the miners walked from...
, cutoff from December until May 1862. In early July, as the heavy burden of snow in the Mountains melted, the runoff caused great flooding. The Boise River
Boise River
The Boise River is a tributary of the Snake River in the northwestern United States. It drains a rugged portion of the Sawtooth Range in southwestern Idaho northeast of Boise, as well as part of the western Snake River Plain...
flooded from extremely high runoff and is believed to been four times larger than its largest recorded flood in 1943. Flood waters made the river expand to a couple of miles wide. It washed away or covered the original route of the Oregon Trail
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail is a historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and locations in between.After 1840 steam-powered riverboats and steamboats traversing up and down the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri rivers sped settlement and development in the flat...
in the river valley.
Northern California
Fort Ter-Waw, located in Klamath, CaliforniaKlamath, California
Klamath is an unincorporated, rural, census-designated place in Del Norte County, California, situated on US Route 101 inland from the mouth of the Klamath River. The population was 779 at the 2010 census, up from 651 at the 2000 census...
, was destroyed by the flood in December 1861 and abandoned on June 10, 1862. Bridges were washed away in Trinity
Trinity County, California
Trinity County is a large, rugged and mountainous, heavily forested county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of California, along the Trinity River and within the Salmon/Klamath Mountains. It covers an area of over two million acres , and as of the 2010 census its population...
and Shasta Counties
Shasta County, California
Shasta County is a county located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The county occupies the northern reaches of the Sacramento Valley, with portions extending into the southern reaches of the Cascade Range. As of the 2010 census, the population was 177,223, up from 163,256...
. At Weaverville
Weaverville, California
Weaverville is a census-designated place and the county seat of Trinity County, California. The population was 3,600 at the 2010 census, up from 3,554 at the 2000 census.-History:Founded in 1850, Weaverville is a historic California Gold Rush town...
, John Carr was a witness to the sudden melt of snow by the heavy rain and onset of the flood in December 1861 on the Trinity River:
- The winter of 1861–2 was a hard one. From November until the latter part of March there was a succession of storms and floods. I remember my being in Weaverville, I think it was in the month of December, 1861. ... It had been raining all the day previous. The ground was covered with snow one foot deep, and on the mountains much deeper. We arrived at the ranch just before dark, and I wanted to cross his bridge and stay at John Carter's that night, but " Uncle " Strudivant would not listen to any such thing. Stay with him I must. He told me that the bridge was named Jeff Davis, and that old Trinity could not carry enough water to wash "Jeff" out,.... He had a private cottage a short distance from the ranch and toll-house. It was close to the foot of the mountain, the divide between Weaverville and the Trinity RiverTrinity River (California)The Trinity River is the longest tributary of the Klamath River, approximately long, in northwestern California in the United States. It drains an area of the Coast Ranges, including the southern Klamath Mountains, northwest of the Sacramento Valley...
. ... He and I advocated our respective sides of the political issues until 11 o'clock, when we " turned in." It rained all afternoon and night. The weather had turned warm, and the rain came down in torrents. Several times I went to the door during our political discussion, and every time it seemed to be raining harder, and I wished myself on the otherside of Trinity River. I frequently said, " Uncle Joe, I am afraid the bridge will go." His reply was, " Jeff will stand it." ... We slept until about 4 o'clock in the morning, when Jerry Whitmore, one of Uncle Joe's partners, came to where we were, and knocked on the door to wake us up. Uncle Joe called out, " What is wanted?" Jerry replied, "The bridge is gone—not a stick left, and, the water will soon be up to the house."
- The water in the river had been rising all night, and men were stationed on the bridge with poles to keep logs from striking the piers. At about 4 o'clock in the morning a large spruce tree came down the river with roots, branches and all. The men seeing it come, and knowing the bridge was doomed, escaped from the bridge before the roots of the tree struck it. It was well they did, for one of the men who were on the bridge told me next morning that as soon as the tree struck the bridge it went through it as if nothing had been in its way, cutting it completely in two, and the whole structure fell into the river and was soon out of sight. As soon as daylight came Uncle Joe and I went to the ruins. Not a plank of the bridge was left. The rain was yet pouring down. The snow was nearly all gone. Everything around the place looked desolate. On the flat where the house was built they had the finest bearing orchard in Northern California. If the river rose but a little more, the trees would be swept away, and the house with them. All the forenoon the river continued to rise, and at last it began to spread over the orchard and wash the black loam away. Finally, as the current became stronger amongst the trees, one after another began to fall, some floating off with the water, and others hanging by the roots. Trinity that morning was playing havoc with the settlers on its banks. It was dreadful to look upon. Standing on high ground, one could see property of all kinds on its way to the ocean. The river itself seemed like some mighty uncontrollable monster of destruction broken away from its bonds, rushing uncontrollably on, and everywhere carrying ruin and destruction in its course. When rising, the river seemed highest in the middle. When falling, it became lowest in the middle, and all the drift worked toward the center of the stream. When the river was at or near its highest, one could see floating down parts of mills, sluice-boxes, miners cabins, water-wheels, hen-coops, parts of bridges, bales of hay, household furniture, sawed lumber, old logs, huge spruce and pine trees that had withstood former storms for hundreds of years—all rushing down that mad stream on their way to the boundless ocean. From the head settlement to the mouth of the Trinity River, for a distance of one hundred and fifty miles, everything was swept to destruction. Not a bridge was left, or a mining-wheel or a sluce-box. Parts of ranches and miners cabins met the same fate. The labor of hundreds of men, and their savings of years, invested in bridges, mines and ranches, were all swept away. In forty-eight hours the valley of the Trinity was left desolate. The county never recovered from that disastrous flood. Many of the mining-wheels and bridges were never rebuilt..
Flooding of the Central Valley
- "The rainy season commenced on the 8th of November, and for four weeks, with scarcely any intermission, the rain continued to fall very gently in San Francisco, but in heavy showers in the interior. According to the statement of a Grass Valley paper, nine inches of rain fell there in thirty-six hours on the 7th and 8th inst. Whether, it is possible that so much rain could fall in thirty-six hours I will not decide; but it is certain that, the amount was great, for the next day the river-beds were full almost to the hilltops. The North Fork of the American RiverAmerican RiverThe American River is a California watercourse noted as the site of Sutter's Mill, northwest of Placerville, California, where gold was found in 1848, leading to the California Gold Rush...
at AuburnAuburn, CaliforniaAuburn is the county seat of Placer County, California. Its population at the 2010 census was 13,330. Auburn is known for its California Gold Rush history.Auburn is part of the Greater Sacramento area.- History :...
rose thirty-five feet, and in many other mountain streams the rise was almost as great. On the 9th the flood reached the low land of the Sacramento ValleySacramento ValleyThe Sacramento Valley is the portion of the California Central Valley that lies to the north of the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta in the U.S. state of California. It encompasses all or parts of ten counties.-Geography:...
."
Like many other towns along the tributary rivers to the Sacramento
Sacramento River
The Sacramento River is an important watercourse of Northern and Central California in the United States. The largest river in California, it rises on the eastern slopes of the Klamath Mountains, and after a journey south of over , empties into Suisun Bay, an arm of the San Francisco Bay, and...
and San Joaquin River
San Joaquin River
The San Joaquin River is the largest river of Central California in the United States. At over long, the river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through a rich agricultural region known as the San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suisun Bay, San Francisco Bay, and the Pacific Ocean...
s, at Knight's Ferry
Knights Ferry, California
Knights Ferry is a town in Stanislaus County, California, United States. Nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, it is about east of Modesto on the Stanislaus River. The Willms Ranch, a California Landmark near the town, was one of many filming locations for the television series Bonanza...
, its homes, its mill and most of its businesses were ruined by the flood. Its bridge spanning the Stanislaus River
Stanislaus River
The Stanislaus River in California is one of the largest tributaries of the San Joaquin River. The river is long and has north, middle and south forks...
withstood the flood waters but was destroyed when the debris of the bridge at Two-Mile Bar, only a short distance up river, torn from its foundation, crashed into the Knights Ferry Bridge, crushing the truss supports and knocking it from its rock foundation. Some towns like Empire City
Empire City (Historic Landmark)
The Empire City Historic Landmark is a California Historic Landmark in honor of the pioneers who settled on the south bank of the Tuolumne River and called their town Empire City, which was elected as the county seat of...
and Mokelumne City
Mokelumne City, California
Mokelumne City is a ghost town in San Joaquin County, California, United States. Once the second largest town in San Joaquin County, it was established in 1850 and destroyed by the floods of 1862...
were destroyed entirely.
The entire Sacramento and San Joaquin
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley is the area of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta in Stockton...
valleys were inundated for an extent of 300 miles (482.8 km), averaging 20 miles (32.2 km) in breadth. John Carr wrote of his riverboat trip up the Sacramento River when it was at one of its highest stages of flood:
- … I was a passenger on the old steamer "Gem", from Sacramento to Red BluffRed Bluff, CaliforniaRed Bluff is a city in and the county seat of Tehama County, California, United States. The population was 14,076 at the 2010 census, up from 13,147 at the 2000 census....
. The only way the pilot could tell where the channel of the river was, was by the cottonwood trees on each side of the river. The boat had to stop several times and take men out of the tops of trees and off the roofs of houses. In our trip up the river we met property of every description floating down—dead horses and cattle, sheep, hogs, houses, haystacks, household furniture, and everything imaginable was on its way for the ocean. Arriving at Red Bluff, there was water everywhere as far as the eye could reach, and what few bridges there had been in the country were all swept away. I managed to get to CottonwoodCottonwood, CaliforniaCottonwood is a census-designated place in Shasta County, California, United States. The population was 3,316 at the 2010 census, up from 2,960 at the 2000 census. Cottonwood is a stagecoach town founded in 1882. Cottonwood is equidistant between Redding and Red Bluff , in both directions...
, and had to lay over for a week before any of the streams between there and Hay Fork ValleyHayfork, CaliforniaHayfork is a census-designated place in Trinity County, California, United States. The population was 2,368 at the 2010 census, up from 2,315 at the 2000 census...
were fordable.
The city of Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
suffered the worst damage due to its levee
Levee
A levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels...
, which lay in a wide and flat valley at the junction of the American
American River
The American River is a California watercourse noted as the site of Sutter's Mill, northwest of Placerville, California, where gold was found in 1848, leading to the California Gold Rush...
and Sacramento Rivers
Sacramento River
The Sacramento River is an important watercourse of Northern and Central California in the United States. The largest river in California, it rises on the eastern slopes of the Klamath Mountains, and after a journey south of over , empties into Suisun Bay, an arm of the San Francisco Bay, and...
. When the floodwaters entered from the higher ground on the East, the levee acted as a dam to keep the water in the city rather than let it flow out. Soon the water level was 10 feet higher inside than the level of the Sacramento River on the outside. Dozens of wood houses, some two stories high, were simply lifted up and carried off by the flood, as was "all the firewood, most of the fences and sheds, all the poultry, cats, rats and many of the cows and horses". A chain gang
Chain gang
A chain gang is a group of prisoners chained together to perform menial or physically challenging work, such as mining or timber collecting, as a form of punishment. Such punishment might include building roads, digging ditches or chipping stone...
was sent to break open the levee, which, when it finally broke, allowed the waters to rush out of the city center and lowered the level of the flooding by five to six feet. Eventually the waters fell to a level on a par with the lowest part of the city.
Nevada
The Carson RiverCarson River
The Carson River is a northwestern Nevada river that empties into the Carson Sink, an endorheic basin. The main stem of the river is long....
Basin of the eastern California and western Utah Territory
Utah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....
(now Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
), suffered from a similar patern of flooding. Flooding began in December, 1861 in Carson Valley from a series of storms in the upper Carson River basin. Two feet of wet heavy snow fell on December 20, 1861, accumulating on the valley floor. Snow was followed by a period of very cold temperatures which froze the snow, followed by a three day rain starting on December 25, 1861. By January 2, 1862, the town of Dayton
Dayton, Nevada
Dayton is a census-designated place in Lyon County, Nevada, United States. The population was 5,907 at the 2000 census.-History:Dayton is at the western end of the Twenty-Six Mile Desert at a bend in the Carson River. Immigrants stopping there for water would consider whether to follow the river...
and the area surrounding it had been flooded.
In the vicinity of Aurora
Aurora, Nevada
Aurora is a ghost town in Mineral County in the western central part of the U.S. state of Nevada, approximately southwest of the town of Hawthorne and three miles from the California border....
there had been light snowfall in November, then mild weather until Christmas Eve when it began a heavy and rapid snowfall for days, the temperature dropped below zero and the passes over the Sierras were closed. During the second week of January it warmed slightly and the snow became a torrential rain. Esmerelda and Willow gulches overflowing their banks flooded Aurora, with water standing up to three inches deep in many buildings, adobe buildings turned to mud and collapsed. After a week it cooled again and snow began to fall again. Within a few days the snow was deeper than it had been before the rains had begun to fall. Samuel Young of Aurora, recorded in his diary that the snow and rain had fallen for twenty six days out of thirty since December 24, 1861.
Southern California
In Southern CaliforniaSouthern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
, beginning on December 24, 1861, it rained for almost four weeks for a total of 35 inches at Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. The flooding drowned thousands of cattle and washed away fruit trees and vineyards that grew along the Los Angeles River
Los Angeles River
The Los Angeles River is a river that starts in the San Fernando Valley, in the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains, and flows through Los Angeles County, California, from Canoga Park in the western end of the San Fernando Valley, nearly southeast to its mouth in Long Beach...
. No mail was received at Los Angeles for five weeks. The Los Angeles Star reported that:
The plains of Los Angeles County, at the time a marshy area with many small lakes and several meandering streams from the mountains, were extensively flooded, and much of the agricultural development which lay along the rivers was ruined. In most of the lower areas small settlements were submerged. These flooded areas formed into a large lake system with many small streams and a few more powerful currents cut channels across the plain and carried the runoff to the sea.
At Santa Barbara County the narrow coastal plains were flooded by the rivers coming out of the mountains, and the town of Ventura
Ventura, California
Ventura is the county seat of Ventura County, California, United States, incorporated in 1866. The population was 106,433 at the 2010 census, up from 100,916 at the 2000 census. Ventura is accessible via U.S...
was abandoned.
In San Bernardino County, all the fertile riverside fields and all but the church and one house of the New Mexican
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
colony of Agua Mansa
Agua Mansa, California
Agua Mansa is a former settlement in an unincorpated area of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Now a ghost town, only the cemetery remains, it once was the largest settlement in San Bernardino County. The town was established in 1845 on the Santa Ana River, across from the town of...
, were swept away by the Santa Ana River
Santa Ana River
The Santa Ana River is the largest river of Southern California in the United States. Its drainage basin spans four counties. It rises in the San Bernardino Mountains and flows past the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, before cutting through the northern tip of the Santa Ana Mountains and...
, which overflowed its banks. The ringing church bell on the night of January 22, 1862 alerted the inhabitants to the approach of the flood, and all escaped.
Downriver in Los Angeles County, (includng what is now Orange County
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
) the flooding Santa Ana River created an inland sea lasting about three weeks with water standing 4 feet (1.2 m) deep up to 4 miles (6 km) from the river. In February 1862, the Los Angeles, San Gabriel
San Gabriel River (California)
The San Gabriel River flows through southern Los Angeles County, California in the United States. Its main stem is about long, while its farthest tributaries extend almost altogether...
, and Santa Ana Rivers merged. Government surveys at the time indicated that a solid expanse of water covered the area from Signal Hill
Signal Hill, California
Signal Hill is a small city in California located in the Greater Los Angeles area. Signal Hill, completely surrounded by the city of Long Beach, was incorporated on April 22, 1924, roughly three years after oil was discovered in Signal Hill. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
to Huntington Beach, a distance of approximately eighteen miles.
In San Diego a storm at sea, backed up the flood water running into the bay from the San Diego River
San Diego River
The San Diego River is a river in San Diego County, California. It originates in the Cuyamaca Mountains northwest of the town of Julian, then flows to the southwest until it reaches the El Capitan Reservoir, the largest reservoir in the river's watershed at . Below El Capitan Dam, the river runs...
, resulting in a new river channel cut into San Diego Harbor. The continuous heavy downpour also changed the look of the land, the previously rounded hills were extensively cut by gulleys and canyons.
To the north, in the Owens Valley
Owens Valley
Owens Valley is the arid valley of the Owens River in eastern California in the United States, to the east of the Sierra Nevada and west of the White Mountains and Inyo Mountains on the west edge of the Great Basin section...
, similar snow and flooding conditions as those to the east in Aurora, lead to the local Paiute suffering the loss of much of the game they depended on. Cattle newly driven into the valley to feed the miners, competed with the native grazers and ate the native wild plant crops the Paiute depended on to survive. Starving the Paiute began to kill the cattle and conflict with the cattlemen began, leading to the subsequent Owens Valley Indian War
Owens Valley Indian War
The Owens Valley War was fought between 1862 and 1863, by California Volunteers and local settlers against the Owens Valley Paiutes, and their Shoshone and Kawaiisu allies, in the Owens Valley of California and the southwestern Nevada border region. The removal of a large number of the Owens River...
.
Arizona
In western New Mexico Territory, heavy rains fell in late January causing severe flooding of the ColoradoColorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
and Gila River
Gila River
The Gila River is a tributary of the Colorado River, 650 miles long, in the southwestern states of New Mexico and Arizona.-Description:...
s. On January 20, 1862 the Colorado River began to rise, and on the afternoon of January 22nd it rose suddenly in three hours from an already high stage nearly six feet, overflowing its banks and turned Fort Yuma into an island in the midst of the Colorado River. At 1 o’clock on the morning of January 23rd the river reached its crest. Colorado City
Yuma, Arizona
Yuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. It is located in the southwestern corner of the state, and the population of the city was 77,515 at the 2000 census, with a 2008 Census Bureau estimated population of 90,041....
, across the Colorado River
Colorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
from Fort Yuma
Fort Yuma
Fort Yuma is a fort in California that is located in Imperial County, across the Colorado River from Yuma, Arizona. It was on the Butterfield Overland Mail route from 1858 until 1861 and was abandoned May 16, 1883, and transferred to the Department of the Interior. The Fort Yuma Indian School and a...
, was washed away. The river overflowed its banks to the extent that there was water twenty feet deep on a ranch in the low lying ground just above the town where the Gila River joined the Colorado. The riverside home of steamboat entrepreneur George Alonzo Johnson
George Alonzo Johnson
George Alonzo Johnson 49er, Colorado River steamboat entrepreneur, California politician.George Alonzo Johnson was born in August 16, 1824, in Palatine Bridge, Montgomery County, New York. In 1849 as a sailor he heard of the discovery of gold and left New York drawn by the California Gold Rush...
and the nearby Hooper residence were the only places in the town unharmed because they were built on high ground. Colorado City had to be rebuilt on higher ground after the 1862 flood.
The Gila River also flooded, covering its whole valley at its mouth where it met the Colorado from the sand hills on the south to the foothills on the north. Twenty miles to the east of Fort Yuma, it swept away most of the mining boomtown of Gila City
Gila City, Arizona
Gila City is a ghost town in Yuma County in the U.S. state of Arizona. The town was settled in 1858 in what was then the Arizona Territory.-History:...
along with a supply of hay being gathered there to supply the planned advance of the California Column
California Column
The California Column, a force of Union volunteers, marched from April to August 1862 over 900 miles from California, across the southern New Mexico Territory to the Rio Grande and then into western Texas during the American Civil War. At the time, this was the longest trek through desert terrain...
into Confederate Arizona. Further east the road was flooded, buildings and vehicles swept away and traffic was disrupted for some time thereafter by the mud covering the road to Tucson. The great flood in the Gila and Colorado Rivers, covered their bottom lands with mud. Much of the livestock along the rivers drowned and the crops of the Indians along the river were destroyed.
The overflow of the 1862 Colorado River flood waters reached the Salton Sink
Salton Sink
The Salton Sink is a geographic sink in the Coachella and Imperial valleys of southeastern California. It is in the Colorado Desert subregion of the Sonoran Desert ecoregion...
via the Alamo
Alamo River
The Alamo River is a river flowing west and north from the Mexicali Valley across the Imperial Valley . The river drains into the Salton Sea....
and New River
New River (Mexico – United States)
The New River flows north from near Cerro Prieto, through the city of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, into the United States through the city of Calexico, California towards the Salton Sea...
filling it creating a lake some 60 miles long and 30 miles wide.
Utah
The early southwestern UtahUtah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
settlements in Washington County
Washington County, Utah
As of the census of 2000, there were 90,354 people, 29,939 households, and 23,442 families residing in the county. The population density was 37 people per square mile . There were 36,478 housing units at an average density of 15 per square mile...
, St. George
St. George, Utah
St. George is a city located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Utah, and the county seat of Washington County, Utah. It is the principal city of and is included in the St. George, Utah, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is 119 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, and 303 miles ...
, Grafton
Grafton, Utah
Grafton is a ghost town, just south of Zion National Park in Washington County, Utah, United States. Said to be the most photographed ghost town in the West, it has been featured as a location in several films, including 1929's In Old Arizona—the first talkie filmed outdoors—and the...
, Duncans Retreat
Duncan's Retreat, Utah
-External links:* at GhostTowns.com* at Sons of Utah Pioneers...
, Adventure
Adventure, Utah
Adventure was an early settlement in Washington County, Utah, United States, established in 1860 by Philip Klingensmith and five other people from Iron County. They formed a small settlement as part of the cotton growing colony in the area, at a place a couple of miles up the Virgin River from...
, and Northrop were nearly destroyed by a flood that followed forty-four days of rainfall in January and February 1862. Springdale
Springdale, Utah
Springdale is a town in Washington County, Utah, United States. The population was 457 at the 2000 census. It is located immediately outside the boundaries of Zion National Park, and is oriented around the resulting tourist industry. It was originally settled as a Mormon farming community in 1862...
, and Rockville
Rockville, Utah
Rockville is a town in Washington County, Utah, United States. It is located along the Virgin River near the mouth of Zion Canyon. The city lies just outside of the park boundary for Zion National Park; the park entrance is located approximately 5 miles northeast of the town.-Geography:Rockville...
were founded in 1862 by settlers flooded out of Adventure, Northup and other places in the vicinity.