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—— ft above typical
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Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Animas River below Aztec in NM, United States, built from official government gauge data.
Animas River below Aztec is in the Animas watershed in New Mexico.
This station has more than 24 years on record, and the range is clear. The record high is 11.57 ft (3.53 m), set in May 2008. The record low is 4.3 ft (1.31 m), set in July 2026.
The seasonal pattern is narrower than those endpoints suggest. The typical high month is June at 8.11 ft (2.47 m), while the typical low month is September at 5.55 ft (1.69 m). The typical annual swing is 30.6 in (77.8 cm).
For a dock, pump, or low crossing, that swing is the space this river usually asks you to absorb across the year. June is the month to watch for higher water, and September is the month when levels are typically at their lowest.
The station drains 1301 sq mi (3370 km2) upstream of the gauge. That is the area feeding this reading, not the full watershed name on the map.
For people using the river, that upstream area is what matters when storms or meltwater move through the system. If you fish, launch, or draw water here, the gauge is telling you about the basin above Aztec, not conditions somewhere farther downriver.
The regional rhythm is a spring rise from high-country snowmelt, then a summer and early fall period when monsoon storms can push short-lived floods after long dry stretches. The monthly record here fits that general pattern well enough: June is the high month, September the low month.
For this station, the best comparison is today’s reading against the median for this calendar day across the record. That tells you whether the river is running above or below its usual level for the date, which is more useful than raw elevation by itself.
The station is operated by the USGS, and the record spans more than 24 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 in a growing number of countries. Built on official government data.
Nibi Metrics tracks more than 17,900 gauged lakes and rivers in a growing number of countries, reading directly from official federal monitoring networks: the Water Survey of Canada, the United States Geological Survey, Quebec's provincial hydrometric network, the Environment Agency for England, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Natural Resources Wales, the Office of Public Works in Ireland (waterlevel.ie), the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), the State of Queensland's water monitoring network, and on the Great Lakes the Canadian Hydrographic Service and NOAA. 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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