Paleoflood hydrology and historic flood analysis in the upper Verde River basin, central Arizona

Hell Canyon and Sycamore Canyon are major ungaged tributaries in the upper Verde River basin of central Arizona. Gage data implies that the record discharge of 1507 cms occurred on February 20, 1993 measured at the Verde River gage near Clarkdale, Arizona was derived primarily from these tributaries.1993 flow reconstructions measure 800-900 cms in Sycamore Canyon and 600-700 cms in Hell Canyon. Historic and pre-historic units were exposed in various stratigraphic exposures in these canyons as many as 11 floods are recorded at any one site. The 1993 floodwaters typically overtop all prior stratigraphy however, dendrochronology suggests that similar floods occurred prior to the gage record. These results confirm that Hell Canyon and Sycamore Canyon are major contributors to floods on the Verde River in both the historic and paleoflood record.