Missouri River at Cascade MT Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Missouri River at Cascade MT in MT, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location MT, United States
- Watershed upper missouri dearborn
- Primary gauge 06074000 (USGS)
About Missouri River at Cascade MT
The Missouri River in the Upper Missouri-Dearborn watershed, Montana, is monitored at Cascade.
The watershed
This station drains 18,173 sq mi (47,068 km2) upstream of the gauge. That is the area feeding the reading here, not the whole watershed named on the page.
For people using the river near the station, the key point is range. The record high is 13.44 ft (4.1 m) in January 2018, and the record low is 6.28 ft (1.92 m) in April 2022. Those two marks show that the river can sit in a fairly tight band for long stretches and still move outside it.
The seasonal pattern is modest. The typical high month is June at 7.56 ft (2.31 m), and the typical low month is March at 6.82 ft (2.08 m). The typical annual swing is 8.9 in (22.5 cm), which is the kind of change dock owners, pumps, and shallow launches notice first.
What the numbers say
The river’s seasonal shape fits a northern plains pattern: a higher run in late spring and early summer, then lower water into late winter and early spring. For this station, June is the typical high month and March is the typical low month.
The spread between those monthly typical levels is 0.74 ft (0.23 m). That is not a large seasonal move, but it still matters when a dock, intake, or fish holding spot sits in shallow water.
The record low in April 2022 stands out because it is below the usual March low. The record high in January 2018 also stands out because it came in midwinter. Those are the kinds of departures worth watching, even when the usual pattern is steady.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is today’s reading against the median for this calendar day across the station record. That is more useful than raw elevation because it compares the river to what it usually does on the same date.
This station has 12 years on record, and it is operated by the USGS. A day-by-day median tells you whether the river is running high or low for this time of year, which is the number that matters for access, intake setting, and nearby low-water crossings.
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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Inside the freshet cycle that puts Manitoba shorelines at risk each year - and why 2026 broke the script.
The science of snow water equivalent and why it drives the season ahead.
What the numbers on the measuring stick actually tell you.
Why Central and South Texas rivers go from gravel beds to fifty-year records in an afternoon - including July 2026 on the Nueces.
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
