Rio Chama near la Puente Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Rio Chama near la Puente in NM, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location NM, United States
- Watershed rio chama
- Primary gauge 08284100 (USGS)
About Rio Chama near la Puente
Rio Chama near la Puente sits in the Rio Chama watershed in New Mexico.
Season by season
May is the highest typical month here, at 3.98 ft (1.21 m), while September is the lowest typical month, at 2.35 ft (0.72 m). That is a typical annual swing of 19.6 in (49.8 cm), which is enough to matter for shallow draft, bank access, and any fixed intake or dock set close to the waterline.
For people watching this reach through the year, the shape is clear: spring brings the higher water, and late summer tends to be lower. In this part of the Southwest, that seasonal pattern matters because a long dry stretch can leave little margin between one month and the next.
Records and rises
The record high at this station is 6.11 ft (1.86 m) in May 2023. The record low is 1.45 ft (0.44 m) in January 2013.
Those two marks frame what this river can do at the station over time: a spread from low winter water to a much higher spring crest. With 50 years on record, the station gives a solid view of how far the river can move above and below its usual seasonal band. No fastest 24-hour rise is listed in the facts, so there is nothing to add there.
Reading the hero number
The number on the page is most useful when it is read against the median for this calendar day, not as a raw elevation by itself. A single height can look ordinary or unusual on its own, but the day-of-year median shows whether the river is running above or below its normal level for right now.
This station is a USGS site, and the record spans more than 50 years. That long record is what makes the comparison useful for cottagers, anglers, farmers, and flood watchers: it puts today’s reading beside the station’s own history instead of asking you to judge a number in isolation.
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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