Mussel Fork near Musselfork Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Mussel Fork near Musselfork in MO, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location MO, United States
- Watershed lower chariton
- Primary gauge 06906000 (USGS)
About Mussel Fork near Musselfork
Mussel Fork is in the Lower Chariton watershed in Missouri.
The watershed
The station drains 267 sq mi (692 km2) upstream of the gauge. For a river in this part of Missouri, that is enough area for local rain to show up in the level quickly, especially when storms repeat over the same ground.
This page is for the Mussel Fork near Musselfork reach, but the river is the same one anglers and landowners watch for changes at the gauge. The number here reflects what reaches this station, not the whole Lower Chariton basin.
What the numbers say
The record high is 24.16 ft (7.36 m), set in July 2021. The record low is 3.13 ft (0.95 m), set in October 2007. That gap is the range this river has shown at this site over 50 years of record.
Seasonally, the river is highest in March at 6.91 ft (2.11 m) and lowest in September at 4.53 ft (1.38 m). The typical annual swing is 28.5 in (72.5 cm). For a dock, pump intake, or low crossing, that is the band of change that matters most in an ordinary year.
The regional pattern fits a rain-driven river: flooding can happen in any season, and spring is often the fastest season for rising water. Where baseflow is fed by springs, low water can hold up longer than on streams without that support, but the gauge numbers here are the part to watch.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is most useful when you compare today’s reading with the median for this calendar day across the station record. That puts the level in context: it tells you whether the river is running above, near, or below what is normal for this date.
Raw elevation alone does not do that job well. A stage of 6 ft can mean very different things in March and September, so the calendar-day median is the better yardstick for cottagers, farmers, and anyone checking access, bank margin, or intake depth.
This station has more than 50 years of record, and the agency behind it is the USGS.
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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How every number is computed - About the platform
