A major storm in February 1986 caused record flooding in the Sacramento River and other nearby basins in north-coastal and central California. As part of an effort to document this flood, the peak water surface profile of a 33 mi reach of the Sacramento River was surveyed between Freeport and Verona, California. Supplementary profiles in this reach include elevations of the approximate top of levee, flood plain, and the water surface on March 17, 1987. On the Sacramento River at Sacramento, the peak discharge of 117,000 cu ft/sec occurred February 19 and 20, 1986. The peak stage of 30.58 ft on February 19 is the highest on record, including the period prior to construction of large flood control dams in the Sacramento River basin beginning with Shasta Dam in 1942. The February 1986 flood profile of the Sacramento River between the mouth of the American River and the Sacramento Weir (located upstream from the American River) shows a reverse water surface slope with a corresponding drop of about 0.13 ft. On the Sacramento River at Verona, upstream from Sacramento, a peak stage of 39.11 ft occurred February 20 (peak discharge 92,900 cu ft/sec) due to runoff from upstream tributaries. The February 1986 peak stage is the highest of record for 1914-87 (no record for 1918-20, 1922-25). The previous peak stage of record at Verona, March 1, 1940, was 38.20 ft, with a discharge of 79,200 cu ft/sec.
