A Simple Visualization Of Selected Stream Measurements During The 2013 Colorado Flood

Created with D3.js and Leaflet.js to show the dramatic increase in river levels during the 2013 Colorado flood.

Created by Justin Lewis : @JMapping on Twitter


The Charts:
Charts illustrate stream discharge over time (Sep 9 - 15). Hover over the chart to get more discharge rates, water levels (ft), percent discharge above average, and the exact date/time.

The Map:
The map shows stream gauge locations with symbols sized relative to their peak discharge levels. Click on a station symbol to see the max discharge for that site. Some gauge locations where included (symbolized in black) that have incomplete data and so where excluded from the charts (more details below).

The Data:
Data was collected with USGS stream gauges and downloaded from the USGS website. The effort focused on visualizing stream data for rivers that showed the highest increase in discharge. Many stream gauges where destroyed in the flood on rivers with the highest discharge. Because of this the data was incomplete and so we chose not to display those charts. However, we included some of the destroyed gauge locations on the map (symbolized in black) with peak discharge values recorded before the gauge was destroyed.
USGS Stream Gauge Data Access

Special Note:
This was/is an entirely volunteer effort for the purpose of trying to better understand a natural disaster and get more familiar with d3.js. This is not endorsed by any agency.



Stream Gauge Locations and Max Discharge