Rincon Creek near Tucson, AZ. Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Rincon Creek near Tucson, AZ. in AZ, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location AZ, United States
- Watershed rillito
- Primary gauge 09485000 (USGS)
About Rincon Creek near Tucson, AZ.
Rincon Creek in the Rillito watershed, Arizona.
The watershed
This station monitors 44.8 sq mi (116 km2) above the gauge. That is the area feeding the reading here, not the full watershed name on the page.
For people checking a crossing, ditch, or bank near the creek, the useful point is that this stream does not sit at one steady level through the year. The record high is 6.16 ft (1.88 m) in February 2019, and the record low is 1.39 ft (0.42 m) in May 2018. Those two numbers set the outer edges of what this site has shown in the record.
What the numbers say
The seasonal pattern is modest but clear. February is the usual high month at 2.43 ft (0.74 m), while June is the usual low month at 1.85 ft (0.56 m). The typical annual swing is 6.9 in (17.6 cm).
For a landowner or angler, that means the creek’s day-to-day stage usually moves within a fairly tight band, but the recorded extremes are much wider than the typical seasonal range. In practice, that matters for bank access, low-water crossings, and any intake or gauge-based decision that depends on a stable stage.
No fastest 24-hour rise is listed in the facts, so I will not guess at warning time from this station.
Reading the hero number
The number on today’s page is best read against the median for this calendar day, not as a raw elevation by itself. A stage value by itself says little about where this creek stands for this season; the calendar-day median shows whether it is running above or below its usual spot for this time of year.
This station has 39 years on record, so that comparison is anchored in a long local history. The source 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 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.
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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.
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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.
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