Knife River at Hazen Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Knife River at Hazen in ND, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location ND, United States
- Watershed knife
- Primary gauge 06340500 (USGS)
About Knife River at Hazen
What the record shows
The Knife River at Hazen sits in the Knife watershed in North Dakota.
The record high stands at 26.54 ft (8.09 m), set in March 2009. The record low is 0.48 ft (0.15 m), set in August 2006. That spread matters to anyone using this water for a dock, a pump, or a crossing: the river has reached both very high and very low levels in the record, so fixed structures need room for change.
The usual seasonal pattern is clear. March is the highest month on average at 2.53 ft (0.77 m), while September is the lowest at 1.02 ft (0.31 m). The typical annual swing is 18.1 in (46 cm). For day-to-day use, that means late-winter and spring levels are usually higher than late-summer levels, and the difference is enough to matter for access, intake depth, and shallow water over bars.
The watershed
The gauge drains 2,250 square miles (5,828 km2) upstream of the station. That is the area feeding this reading, not the whole watershed name on the map.
This part of the northern plains usually sees its largest water movement in spring, when snowmelt runoff can build fast and stay up for a while across flat ground. For this river, that seasonal timing is the main thing to watch when planning field work, moving equipment, or checking road access near the channel. The record also shows a low-water season in late summer, when shallow conditions are more likely.
Reading the hero number
The number at the top of the page is most useful when you compare today’s level with the median for this calendar day, not with a raw elevation by itself. Raw height on its own tells you little about whether the river is running normal for this date, running high, or running low.
This station is part of the USGS network and has 50 years on record, so the day-by-day median gives a solid local reference. It puts today’s reading against what this river usually does on the same date, which is the better check for access, flooding concern, and water-use planning.
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.
Water Stories
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The science of snow water equivalent and why it drives the season ahead.
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How every number is computed - About the platform
