Cottonwood River above Bass Creek Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Cottonwood River above Bass Creek in BC, Canada, built from official government gauge data.
- Location BC, Canada
- Watershed dease
- Primary gauge 10AC005 (Water Survey of Canada)
About Cottonwood River above Bass Creek
Cottonwood River in the Dease watershed, BC.
What the record shows
This station has 61 years on record.
The highest level in the file is 2.68 m (8.78 ft) in June 2012, and the lowest is 0.48 m (1.56 ft) in April 2019. For anyone using a dock, intake, or launch here, that spread is the range the river has already shown it can cover.
The seasonal pattern is clear. The typical high month is June at 1.37 m (4.49 ft), while the typical low month is October at 0.79 m (2.58 ft). The typical annual swing is 58.3 cm (23 in), so conditions can change enough over the year to matter for access, footing, and shallow-water fishing.
No fastest 24-hour rise is listed in the facts for this station.
The watershed
The station drains 881 km2 (340 sq mi) upstream of the gauge.
In a mountain watershed, that kind of seasonal shape usually means the river is most elevated in the freshet window, then eases back later in the season. Here the record fits that pattern: June is the typical high month, and October is the typical low month.
For local users, the important part is not just the level itself but the room it leaves above and below the usual band. A boat ramp, bank access point, or water intake has to work across that 58.3 cm (23 in) swing, and sometimes beyond it when the river reaches the record range.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is the current reading set against the median for this calendar day across the station record. That is more useful than raw elevation because it tells you whether today sits near the usual range for this date, even when the absolute stage looks ordinary on its own.
This station has more than 61 years of record behind that comparison, so the daily median is a better day-to-day benchmark than a single fixed level.
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
Nibi Metrics - live water levels, flow, and forecasts for lakes and rivers across Canada, the US and the UK
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.
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.
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