Rio Chama above Abiquiu Reservoir Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Rio Chama above Abiquiu Reservoir in NM, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location NM, United States
- Watershed rio chama
- Primary gauge 08286500 (USGS)
About Rio Chama above Abiquiu Reservoir
The Rio Chama above Abiquiu Reservoir sits in the Rio Chama watershed in New Mexico.
The watershed
This gauge watches the river upstream of the station, with a catchment of 1,600 sq mi (4,144 km2). That number is the drainage area feeding this point, not the whole watershed downstream.
For people living or working along this reach, the key takeaway is that this is a river with a clear seasonal range. The typical high point comes in May at 6.68 ft (2.04 m), while the typical low point comes in February at 4.87 ft (1.48 m). The typical annual swing is 21.8 in (55.3 cm), which is the space a dock, bank setup, or intake has to handle through the year.
What the numbers say
The highest level in the record is 10.83 ft (3.3 m), in May 2023. The lowest is 4.14 ft (1.26 m), in December 2018. Those two marks show the spread this station has seen over its record.
The station has 50 years on record, so the seasonal pattern is backed by a long local history. The peak month is May, and the low month is February. In this part of the Southwest, spring snowmelt is the main seasonal rhythm on the larger rivers, while July through September can bring fast rises from monsoon storms. Between those events, long dry stretches are common.
No fastest 24-hour rise is listed in the facts here, so there is nothing specific to use for warning time.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on the page is today’s reading set against the median for this calendar day from the station’s record. That is more useful than raw elevation because river stage changes with the season; a number that looks ordinary in May can be high for February.
This station is a USGS site, and the comparison draws on more than 50 years of record. For someone checking a crossing, a bank, or a pump, the median-for-date view is the better quick read of where the river stands right now.
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.
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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