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River Intelligence

Stream Gauges

The USGS gauges the flow numbers come from — what each one measures and which water it speaks for.

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All Gauges A–Z

24 USGS stations. Current flow lives on each gauge's own page.

  • Big Cottonwood Creek near Salt Lake City, UT
    Monitors Big Cottonwood Creek near the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon — home to Brighton and Solitude ski areas and a primary Salt Lake City municipal watershed. The gauge sits near the canyon mouth and captures snowmelt-driven flows from a larger drainage basin than neighboring Little Cottonwood, with a more sustained runoff curve into early summer.
  • Boulder Creek Near Boulder, UT
    Boulder Creek drains the east slope of the Aquarius Plateau and enters the Escalante River downstream of Death Hollow. Useful as a triangulation gauge for Aquarius Plateau runoff — when Boulder Creek is running, the entire plateau is producing water, which means Death Hollow and other Escalante tributaries are likely active.
  • Colorado River above the Dirty Devil River, near Hite, UT
    USGS gauge on the Colorado immediately above the Dirty Devil confluence, sited essentially at the North Wash take-out — the closest instrument DM has to the ramp itself. It records GAGE HEIGHT ONLY: there is no discharge series at this site, and none has ever been published. Read it as the river's stage at the take-out, never as a flow.
  • Colorado River at Gypsum Canyon, UT
    USGS gauge measuring discharge on the Colorado River at the mouth of Gypsum Canyon, near Hite — below the Big Drops sequence and in the reservoir-influenced lower miles of Cataract Canyon. Reads the combined Colorado + Green flow after the Confluence and after the Cataract whitewater corridor.
  • Colorado River at Lees Ferry, AZ
    The essential Grand Canyon planning gauge. Located at the historical put-in for Grand Canyon river trips, this gauge reflects Glen Canyon Dam release data and is the primary operational reference for all Grand Canyon river section planning.
  • Colorado River at Potash, UT
    USGS gauge measuring discharge and gage height on the Colorado River at Potash, UT — downstream of the Moab valley and upstream of the Confluence. Reads the Colorado’s contribution at the Potash put-in; sum it with the Green at Mineral Bottom for the combined flow that reaches Cataract Canyon.
  • Colorado River near Cameo, CO
    Primary Colorado River gauge for Ruby-Horsethief planning and the upper Colorado River canyon system near Grand Junction. Readings here reflect Gunnison River contributions and upper Colorado snowmelt patterns.
  • Colorado River Near Cisco, UT
    Primary upstream Colorado River gauge used in Westwater, Moab Daily, and Cataract Canyon runoff interpretation.
  • Deer Creek Near Boulder, UT
    Deer Creek drains the east-northeast slope of the Aquarius Plateau near Boulder, UT. Another triangulation gauge for plateau-wide runoff events — when Deer Creek, Boulder Creek, and Pine Creek are all rising, the Aquarius Plateau is producing significant water across its full drainage.
  • Dolores River near Cisco, UT
    USGS gauge on the lower Dolores River above its confluence with the Colorado at Dewey. The Dolores is the last significant tributary entering the Colorado before the Moab Daily, so this reading is summed with Colorado near Cisco (09180500) to estimate the water actually in the Daily. Dam-controlled by McPhee Reservoir far upstream, the Dolores can spike hard during spring spill years and run near-dry otherwise — the sum matters most in May and June.
  • Escalante River near Escalante, UT
    The primary USGS monitoring station on the Escalante River — located near the town of Escalante and providing the primary flow reference for upper and middle canyon sections. Due to the river's extremely low normal flows (5–30 cfs) and its flash-flood character, this gauge is used differently from most Colorado Plateau river gauges. The absolute CFS number matters less than the trend: a rising gauge on the Escalante means a flood event is in progress somewhere in the watershed and canyon travel should stop immediately.
  • Green River at Green River, UT
    Key Green River gauge paired with Cisco by Canyonlands National Park when interpreting Cataract Canyon runoff and big-water potential.
  • Green River at Jensen, UT
    Primary operational gauge for planning Split Mountain Canyon floats. Located near Jensen, UT, below Dinosaur National Monument, this gauge integrates snowmelt from the Uinta Basin watershed and is the most direct reading for Split Mountain and lower Lodore trip planning.
  • Green River at Mineral Bottom, UT
    USGS gauge measuring discharge and gage height on the Green River at Mineral Bottom, near the Canyonlands National Park boundary. Sits at the take-out for Labyrinth Canyon and the put-in for Stillwater Canyon — the Green-side launch point for Cataract Canyon trips. Reads the Green's contribution to the Confluence at the actual put-in.
  • Green River at Ouray, UT
    USGS gauge on the Green at Ouray — the last gauge above the Sand Wash put-in, and Desolation Canyon's primary for that reason. It sits above the Duchesne and White confluences, so the canyon runs somewhat above what Ouray reads; the town gauge at Green River sits below the take-out and the Price River, so it reads higher still. Nothing is gauged in between.
  • Green River near Greendale, UT
    Historical Green River gauge above Flaming Gorge reservoir area. Primary reference for Gates of Lodore trip planning when used in context with current downstream releases.
  • Jordan River at Salt Lake City, UT
    Primary USGS gauge on the Jordan River as it flows through Salt Lake City. Captures the integrated flow from Utah Lake, Wasatch Front tributaries, and return flows. One of the longest-running gauges on the Jordan River system, essential for urban flood monitoring and water-rights accounting in the Salt Lake Valley.
  • Jordan River at The Narrows near Lehi, UT
    Located at The Narrows near Lehi where the Jordan River exits the Utah Lake basin and enters the Salt Lake Valley. This gauge captures outflow from Utah Lake — the largest freshwater lake in Utah — and serves as the baseline reference for all downstream Jordan River flow calculations.
  • Little Cottonwood Creek near Salt Lake City, UT
    Monitors Little Cottonwood Creek near the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon — home to Snowbird and Alta ski areas and one of the Wasatch Front's most critical municipal watersheds. This gauge captures snowmelt-driven runoff from the high Wasatch peaks and is a primary indicator for spring flood risk along the canyon corridor and into the Salt Lake Valley below.
  • Pine Creek Near Escalante, UT
    Pine Creek drains the south slope of the Aquarius Plateau directly above Death Hollow. This gauge is the closest upstream proxy for flash flood conditions in Death Hollow Canyon — when Pine Creek spikes, Death Hollow is receiving water. More informative than the Escalante town gauge for Death Hollow trip planning because it captures Aquarius Plateau runoff before it enters the main Escalante channel.
  • Red Butte Creek at Fort Douglas near Salt Lake City, UT
    Monitors Red Butte Creek at the historic Fort Douglas site on the University of Utah campus. Red Butte Creek drains Red Butte Canyon — a fenced, restricted-access Research Natural Area managed by the U.S. Forest Service — making this one of the least-disturbed small watersheds on the Wasatch Front. The gauge serves as a long-term ecological and hydrological reference for urban stream research.
  • San Juan River near Bluff, UT
    Primary planning gauge for the Lower San Juan River. Located near Bluff, UT, this gauge provides the most directly useful reading for Mexican Hat to Clay Hills trip planning and permit holder flow decisions on the San Juan.
  • Yampa River at Deerlodge Park, CO
    The at-the-canyon Yampa gauge, located at Deerlodge Park — the Yampa Canyon put-in — below the Little Snake River confluence. Because it captures the Little Snake's inflow (which enters below the Maybell gauge), it reflects the water actually running through the canyon and over Warm Springs Rapid, and reads substantially higher than Maybell. Use it for flow at Warm Springs; use Maybell for the broader upstream snowmelt trend.
  • Yampa River near Maybell, CO
    Primary Yampa River gauge for trip planning on Yampa Canyon through Dinosaur National Monument. Located upstream of the canyon, this gauge reflects snowmelt patterns from the Elkhead and Flat Top Mountains and drives permit applicant decision-making for the narrow runnable season.