WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Amargosa River at Tecopa in CA, United States, built from official government gauge data.
The Amargosa River in California’s Upper Amargosa watershed sits at Tecopa.
The station record runs for more than 50 years. The highest stage in that span was 13.17 ft (4.01 m) in February 2024. The lowest was 5.09 ft (1.55 m) in October 2007.
The seasonal pattern is tight. January is the typical high month at 6.2 ft (1.89 m), and May is the typical low month at 5.86 ft (1.79 m). The usual annual swing is 4.1 in (10.4 cm).
For someone watching this reach, that means the river usually stays within a narrow band, but the record shows it can jump well above that band in a flood year. A winter high matters most for low crossings, bank erosion, and anything set close to the waterline. The low end matters for shallow margins and any use that depends on steady depth.
The gauge drains 3090 sq mi (8003 km2) upstream of the station. That area belongs to the station, not the watershed name on the page.
The regional rhythm here is seasonal: winter storms can bring the biggest floods, spring snowmelt can lift flows, and long dry summers usually bring very low water. On a river like this, the same reach can look very different from one season to the next, even without a change in location.
For local users, the key point is timing. Winter is when the highest water has shown up in the record; late spring is when the low point usually arrives. That is the range docks, crossings, and intakes have to live with.
The hero number on this page is today’s reading compared with the median for this calendar day across the station’s record. That is more useful than raw elevation because it tells you whether the river is sitting above or below its usual position for this date, not just how high it is above sea level or the local datum.
This station is operated by the US Geological Survey, and the calendar-day median is built from a record of more than 50 years.
Readings come from official government gauges and are rolled into daily records: the daily mean, high and low for every day on record. Each calendar day gets its own baseline from the full history, so the level you see is compared against what this specific date usually looks like rather than an annual average.
Real-time water levels, forecasts, and alerts for lakes and rivers across Canada, the US and the UK. Built on official government data.
Nibi Metrics tracks more than 13,000 gauged lakes and rivers across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, reading directly from official federal monitoring networks: the Water Survey of Canada, the United States Geological Survey, Quebec's provincial hydrometric network, and the Environment Agency for England. Every number on the platform is measured, not modelled - taken from a government gauge on the water itself and compared against that location's own historical record for this exact date.
The level right now, in feet or metres, updated as the source agency publishes new readings - for many stations that is every five to fifteen minutes. How today compares to typical: every location carries its own typical-for-this-date band built from its historical record, so a reading is never just a number - it is above, below, or near what this water usually does on this calendar day. Which way it is moving: a measured RISING, FALLING, or STEADY verdict computed from the gauge's own recent readings, with the rate of change - the difference between a flood ending and one beginning. What comes next: level forecasts up to 72 hours ahead, driven by the gauge's recent behaviour, upstream water, and quantitative precipitation forecasts, alongside live radar, lightning, and weather for the surrounding region.
Set a threshold on any location - a level, a distance above typical, or a rate of climb - and Nibi emails or notifies you the moment the gauge crosses it. Cottagers use it for spring freshet, anglers for river conditions, marinas and municipalities for operations. The scanning runs around the clock against the same measured data shown on every page.
Nibi means water in Anishinaabemowin. The platform began at a family cottage on Lake Muskoka, Ontario, where the spring melt floods the shoreline most years and the only forecast was standing on the dock, looking, and guessing. It grew into an independent, member-funded platform run by Muskoka Research Inc. - no investors, no data resale, and a privacy policy shorter than most cookie banners. The core data is free for everyone, forever; paid plans add automation like multi-location alerts, deep history, and reports.
Nibi spans the continent: every Canadian province and territory with active federal gauges - from Vancouver Island rivers to the Muskoka lakes, prairie reservoirs, and Quebec's hydrometric network - and the United States from Maine to the Texas Hill Country, the Ohio Valley, and the Pacific Northwest. Coverage grows where the water news is: when a basin floods, its gauges join the platform with their full historical records attached. Many stations report every five to fifteen minutes; most report at least hourly; every page states exactly when its gauge last spoke.
The core promise is simple: the water data is free, for everyone, forever. Live levels, maps, radar, and recent history never sit behind a paywall. Paid plans fund the platform by adding automation - multi-location alerts, decades of history, longer forecasts, and PDF reports - so the people who need more carry the cost for everyone who just needs to check the lake before driving up. There are no investors and no advertising deals shaping what the data says.
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