Existing comment:
Looking up from where the culvert pipes had been. Sign:
20,000,000 Tons of Water
In 1889, the watershed above this dam, covering 48 square miles, was hit with a phenomenal rainstorm. The night before the flood, a pail left outside near the dam collected eight inches of rainwater! Swelling streams poured into the lake, increasing its normal volume 33%.
When the dam failed, an estimated 20,000,000 tons of water pushed through the gap in front of you. During the 45 minutes or so it took for the lake to drain, the volume of escaping water roughly equaled the flow over Niagara Falls.
A 30-to-60-foot-high flood wave swept down the valley to your [left] toward Johnstown at speeds averaging 40 miles per hour. The churning water swept up earth, stones, trees, livestock, houses, and debris as it advanced, adding to its destructive power and horrifying appearance. Witnesses described a dark mist which hung over the wave, and an ominous sound like thunder.
Seconds after the dam gave way, the wave smashed two farmhouses just below here, erasing even their foundations. |