Tanana R at Fairbanks AK Water Level
Live river level, flow, historical records and forecast for Tanana R at Fairbanks AK in AK, United States, built from official government gauge data.
- Location AK, United States
- Watershed tanana flats tanana river
- Primary gauge 15485500 (USGS)
About Tanana R at Fairbanks AK
The Tanana River at Fairbanks sits in the Tanana Flats-Tanana River watershed in Alaska.
Season by season
This river’s usual high water comes in July, when the typical level is 22.21 ft (6.77 m). The usual low water comes in October, when the typical level is 17.27 ft (5.27 m). That 4.9 ft (1.5 m) seasonal swing is the range docks, intakes, and bank access have to live with here.
For people using the river, that means summer water can sit noticeably higher than the autumn low, but the month-to-month change is not extreme compared with some flood rivers. In this region, the annual flood is often tied to spring breakup and snowmelt, while deep winter low flow is common under ice. Glacier-fed rivers often peak later in the season; this station’s July high fits that wider summer pattern.
Records and rises
The highest level in the record is 26.35 ft (8.03 m), reached in July 2008. The lowest is 13.57 ft (4.14 m), reached in November 2011. Those two marks bracket what this river can do at the gauge: one end is high enough to matter for low banks and shoreline access, and the other is low enough to leave boats, pumps, or intakes sitting much farther from the water.
The record spans 50 years, so these are not one-off numbers from a short run. No fastest 24-hour rise is published in the facts for this station, so there is no warning-rate figure to read here.
Reading the hero number
The number shown on the page is today’s reading set against the median for this calendar day across the station’s record. That is more useful than raw elevation because the river does not start from the same baseline every day of the year; a level that is ordinary in July can be high in October, and a level that looks low in summer may be normal for winter. USGS runs this station, and the record covers more than 50 years.
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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