Gila River at Head of Safford Valley, near Solomon, Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Gila River at Head of Safford Valley, near Solomon, in AZ, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location AZ, United States
- Watershed upper gila san carlos reservoir
- Primary gauge 09448500 (USGS)
About Gila River at Head of Safford Valley, near Solomon,
Gila River in the Upper Gila-San Carlos Reservoir watershed, Arizona.
Season by season
The river’s typical high water comes in February at 7.18 ft (2.19 m), then its typical low comes in June at 6.03 ft (1.84 m). That span is a typical annual swing of 13.9 in (35.2 cm), so docks, pumps, and banks here need to handle a modest but real shift through the year.
In this part of Arizona, winter storms and high-country snowmelt feed the larger rivers, while summer monsoon thunderstorms can bring sharp rises in short bursts. That seasonal pattern fits the river’s record and daily range here, so the practical takeaway is to watch both the slower cold-season changes and the fast summer spikes.
Records and rises
The record high is 20.65 ft (6.29 m) in August 2022. The record low is 4.83 ft (1.47 m) in November 2016. Those two marks show how far this river can move at this station over time.
The station has 50 years on record. No fastest 24-hour rise is listed here, so there is nothing to quote for warning time from the facts provided.
Reading the hero number
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 puts the river in its usual seasonal frame, not just a single height on the gauge.
This is a USGS station with more than 50 years of record. The station also drains 7857 sq mi (20349 km2) above this point, which is the area feeding this gauge, not the whole watershed name on the page.
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 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.
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