WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW
—— ft above typical
Finding the top signal on the water…
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Cimarron River Blw Cimarron Creek at Cimarron in CO, United States, built from official government gauge data.
The Cimarron River below Cimarron Creek at Cimarron sits in the Upper Gunnison watershed in Colorado.
This station drains 230 sq mi (596 km2) upstream of the gauge. That is the area the readings reflect, not the whole Upper Gunnison. For anyone watching a ditch, intake, or river crossing, that upstream footprint matters because the number on the page is tied to what falls and melts above this point.
The record high at this station is 10.14 ft (3.09 m), set in June 2025. The record low is 7.32 ft (2.23 m), set in August 2025. Those two marks show that the Cimarron can move through a fairly narrow range at this site, but the difference is still enough to matter for shallow access, bank exposure, and anything built close to stage.
The seasonal pattern is clear. The highest typical month is June at 8.78 ft (2.68 m), and the lowest typical month is September at 7.68 ft (2.34 m). The typical annual swing is 13.2 in (33.5 cm). For a cottager or angler, that means the river usually gives its highest water in early summer and its lowest water later in the season, with a change that is modest on paper but still visible at the bank and in the shallows.
The regional rhythm here is snowmelt-dominated mountain hydrology: a pronounced May-June peak, then long low-flow winters. July-August monsoon thunderstorms can also bring sharp local rises, so a quick change is possible even after the main snowmelt season has passed.
The hero number on this page should be read against the median for this calendar day across the station record, not as a raw elevation by itself. That comparison shows whether the Cimarron is running above or below its usual stage for today, which is more useful than a single number in isolation. This USGS station has about 15 years on record, so today’s reading sits in a short but useful local history.
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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