Flow & Season
CFS thresholds, runoff timing, and seasonal weather decide what kind of trip a section delivers — or whether it goes at all.
Why it matters
Same canyon, different river
Cataract at 8,000 cfs is a different trip from Cataract at 40,000. Deso in May is not Deso in August. Flow and season change the difficulty, the camps, the heat exposure, the put-in mud, and the takeout. Reading the gauges is the first hour of every plan.
Flow Profiles
Section-by-section flow bands
For sections we run regularly, we publish flow bands — low, optimal, high, flood — with character notes and gauge thresholds.
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Cataract Canyon
Big-water Colorado below the confluence. Big Drops character changes radically across the band.
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Desolation Canyon
Green River through the Tavaputs Plateau. Reads as wilderness float at most levels, technical at flood.
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Westwater Canyon
Black-granite gorge on the Colorado near Cisco. Technical and rocky low; classic 3,000–12,000; expert-only above 12,000.
By Section
Seasonal windows
Every river-section dashboard publishes a seasonality block: best months, shoulder months, the flow window, and seasonal hazards. Start at the section level and work outward.