Maximum floodflows in the conterminous United States

Peak floodflows from thousands of observation sites within the conterminous United States were studied to provide a guide for estimating potential maximum floodflows. Data were selected from 883 sites with drainage areas of less than 10,000 square miles (25,900 square kilometers) and were grouped into regional sets. Outstanding floods for each region were plotted on graphs, and envelope curves were computed that offer reasonable limits for estimates of maximum floods. The curves indicate that floods may occur that are two to three times greater than those known for most streams.