Salmon R at Gustavus AK Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Salmon R at Gustavus AK in AK, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location AK, United States
- Watershed glacier bay 0302
- Primary gauge 15057596 (USGS)
About Salmon R at Gustavus AK
Salmon R at Gustavus AK is a river in Glacier Bay, Alaska.
What the record shows
The station’s record spans more than 12 years. The highest level in that record was 16.65 ft (5.08 m) in December 2020, and the lowest was 8.47 ft (2.58 m) in July 2019.
The seasonal pattern is fairly tight. The typical high point comes in October at 9.95 ft (3.03 m), and the typical low point comes in March at 9 ft (2.74 m). That typical annual swing is 11.4 in (29 cm), so the river does not move far through the year compared with its full record range.
For anyone using the water, the record low and record high set the outer bounds, while the typical seasonal swing is the part most docks, intakes, and fishing access have to live with. The highest monthly level in October and the lowest in March also tell you the river’s ordinary year is not flat.
The watershed
The drainage area above this station is 33.2 sq mi (86 km2).
That is the catchment feeding this gauge, not the whole Glacier Bay watershed. For a river with this size of contributing area, local rain and snowmelt can move the level, but the station record is the part to watch because it tells you what this reach has actually done.
In subarctic hydrology, spring breakup and snowmelt often drive the annual flood, and deep winter low flows are common under ice. This station’s seasonal record should be read against that background, but the river’s own measurements are the best guide for this reach.
Reading the hero number
The hero number on the page is today’s reading compared with the median for this calendar day across the station record. That is more useful than raw elevation because a level that looks ordinary in one month can be high or low for another month.
For this station, use the Water Survey of Canada-style logic only in the sense of record comparison; the operating agency here is the USGS. With more than 12 years on record, the calendar-day median gives a cleaner read on whether the river is running above or below its usual level for today.
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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