Rapid Creek above Victoria Creek near Rapid City Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Rapid Creek above Victoria Creek near Rapid City in SD, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location SD, United States
- Watershed rapid 0110
- Primary gauge 06412200 (USGS)
About Rapid Creek above Victoria Creek near Rapid City
Rapid Creek above Victoria Creek near Rapid City is a gauged river in the Rapid watershed, South Dakota.
What the record shows
This station has 38 years on record, enough to show a clear seasonal shape and a fairly tight range. The record high is 5.89 ft (1.8 m) in August 2026, and the record low is 5.25 ft (1.6 m) in April 2026. For anyone watching a crossing, intake, or bank edge, that is a spread worth knowing even before you look at a single day’s reading.
The usual high point comes in July at 5.72 ft (1.74 m), while the usual low point is in March at 5.26 ft (1.6 m). The typical annual swing is 5.6 in (14.1 cm). That kind of change is not large on paper, but it is enough to matter when you are judging whether a dock sits high, whether a low bank stays accessible, or whether a fishable run has changed shape.
The watershed
The station drains 356 sq mi (922 km2) above the gauge. In prairie hydrology, spring snowmelt is often the main season to watch, with sharp response on frozen ground, then summer convective storms, then long recessions. That pattern is the frame for this reach, so the month-to-month record here should be read as a practical guide to how quickly the river can move from low water to fuller flow and back again.
For neighbours in the watershed, the main takeaway is not a single peak but the range the river tends to work within. March sits near the low end of the annual cycle, July near the high end, and the record extremes show that the river can step outside that usual band.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on this page is most useful when it is compared with the median for the same calendar day across the station’s own record, not just viewed as a raw elevation. A raw reading tells you where the water stands right now; the daily median tells you whether today is typical for this date, which is what matters when you are deciding if conditions are running high, low, or near normal for the season.
This station is published by the U.S. Geological Survey. With 38 years of record behind it, that day-by-day comparison gives a better local check for anglers, cottagers, and flood-watchers than elevation alone.
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
Field notes and explainers from the Nibi desk - how to read a staff gauge, what a 100-year flood actually means, how snowpack becomes summer water.
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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
