Is the River High or Low Right Now?

Real-time stream gauge readings from USGS monitoring stations — discharge in CFS, gage height, percentile rank, and flood stage for major rivers across the US.

36 stations currently at or above flood stage. View flood status →

Featured Gauges

Colorado River at Lees Ferry, AZ

Colorado River

8,140 cfs
Gage height: 8.10 ft
Very Low

Mississippi River at St. Louis, MO

Mississippi River

225,000 cfs
Gage height: 12.60 ft
Normal

Columbia River at The Dalles, OR

FLOOD

Columbia River

199,000 cfs
Gage height: 77.53 ft
Very Low

Ohio River at Metropolis, IL

Ohio River

162,276 cfs
Gage height: 33.00 ft
Normal

Sacramento River at Freeport CA

FLOOD

Sacramento River

9,940 cfs
Gage height: 103.67 ft
Low

Rio Grande at Albuquerque, NM

Rio Grande

10 cfs
Gage height: 1.88 ft
Very Low

Browse Stations by State

All states →
AL (164) AK (118) AZ (198) AR (138) CA (758) CO (371) CT (71) DE (17) DC (5) FL (423) GA (313) HI (94) ID (241) IL (216) IN (196) IA (147) KS (198) KY (175) LA (123) ME (66) MD (141) MA (116) MI (221) MN (139) MS (133) MO (228) MT (231) NE (120) NV (159) NH (60) NJ (137) NM (169) NY (329) NC (242) ND (122) OH (260) OK (157) OR (281) PA (315) RI (38) SC (141) SD (143) TN (120) TX (573) UT (185) VT (57) VA (194) WA (294) WV (126) WI (203) WY (114)

Major Rivers

All rivers →
401 Canal
1 gauge
AR River
2 gauges
Abbotts Creek
1 gauge
Abelour Ditch
1 gauge
Abercorn Creek
1 gauge
Aberjona River
1 gauge
Abiaca Creek
1 gauge
Abram Creek
1 gauge
Abram Creek
1 gauge
Absecon Creek
1 gauge

Understanding River Flow Data

What is CFS?

CFS stands for cubic feet per second — the volume of water flowing past a fixed point every second. A flow of 1 CFS is roughly 450 gallons per second. Major rivers like the Mississippi can exceed 1 million CFS during floods.

What is Percentile Rank?

Percentile rank compares today's flow to the historical record for the same calendar date. A flow at the 50th percentile is perfectly normal. Below the 10th percentile is Very Low; above the 95th is Very High.

What is Flood Stage?

Flood stage is the gage height at which a river begins to overflow its banks and cause property damage. USGS gauges measure gage height in feet; when it exceeds the flood stage threshold, alerts are issued.