Animas River below Aztec Water Level

Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Animas River below Aztec in NM, United States, built from official government gauge data.

About Animas River below Aztec

Animas River below Aztec is in the Animas watershed in New Mexico.

What the record shows

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 watershed

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.

Reading the hero number

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.

How this page is built

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.

How Nibi Metrics works · Water stories

Verify your email to receive alerts and history exports.
Nibi Metrics
Free water alerts
Get it on Google Play Download on the App Store
Favorites
Loading…
Notifications
No active alerts
Set an alert on any lake to get notified when levels change.
The Nibi Dispatch
Water moves. Stay ahead of it.
A free weekly newsletter — freshet watches, record levels, new regions. Nothing else.
Looking for your account? Sign in or create a free account.
Map
Nibi MetricsNibi Metrics

Sign in

Alerts & notifications Get notified when your favorite lakes go outside normal range
Loading…
Your account Email, subscription, and account actions
Loading…
DEV ZONE

Nibi Metrics - live water levels, flow, and forecasts for 17,900+ lakes and rivers

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.

What you can see for any monitored lake or river

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.

Alerts that watch the water for you

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.

Where Nibi comes from

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.

Coverage

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.

Free forever, funded by members

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.

Water Stories

Field notes and explainers from the Nibi desk - how to read a staff gauge, what a 100-year flood actually means, how snowpack becomes summer water.

The lake that did not rise 117 metres

The largest lake in Norway read under 8 metres for decades and reads over 120 today. The water did not move; the ruler did. What the zero of a gauge is, why a record only means something on one reference, and what we do when the zero moves.

The flood that came on a clear day

There was no rain. A slab of glacier let go above the Trishuli, and a river gauge reading normal at 8:40 was silent by 8:50. What a river network can see coming, what it cannot, and what warning has to look like when the water outruns the news.

The flood of record that was overtaken

For five years, spring 2019 was the mark every Lake Muskoka decision answered to. In April 2026 the lake went two centimeters higher - and the official books have not caught up yet.

Why the Assiniboine floods every spring

Inside the freshet cycle that puts Manitoba shorelines at risk each year - and why 2026 broke the script.

How snowpack becomes summer water

The science of snow water equivalent and why it drives the season ahead.

Reading a staff gauge like a hydrologist

What the numbers on the measuring stick actually tell you.

Flash Flood Alley: how Texas rivers rise in hours

Why Central and South Texas rivers go from gravel beds to fifty-year records in an afternoon - including July 2026 on the Nueces.

What a "100-year flood" actually means

One percent, every year, forever - unwrapping hydrology's most misunderstood phrase, and how it differs from our own percentiles.

How every number is computed - About the platform