Illustrated cartographic portrait of Lake Tahoe

California River Levels

Current river levels and flood stages for 15 rivers gauged in California.

California gauge register

Reporting gauge groups and their current flood status

RiverRiverReportingReportingFlood statusFlood status
Bear Creek (Holsten Chimney Canyon)1 gauge1 gaugenormalnormal
Cow Creek1 gauge1 gaugenormalnormal
Eel River3 gauges3 gaugesnormalnormal
Feather River3 gauges3 gaugesnormalnormal
Guadalupe River2 gauges2 gaugesnormalnormal
Indian Creek1 gauge1 gaugenormalnormal
Kern River1 gauge1 gaugenormalnormal
Mad River1 gauge1 gaugenormalnormal
Merced River2 gauges2 gaugesnormalnormal
New River1 gauge1 gaugenormalnormal
Russian River6 gauges6 gaugesnormalnormal
Sacramento River5 gauges5 gaugesnormalnormal
Salmon River1 gauge1 gaugenormalnormal
Smith River1 gauge1 gaugenormalnormal
Trinity River1 gauge1 gaugenormalnormal

Scroll across the table for all readings →

California river levels: common questions

Is any river flooding in California right now?

No gauge in the state is above flood stage. No gauge is above action stage either.

Which rivers are gauged in California?

15 in total, listed above. The most heavily instrumented is the Sacramento River, with 18 gauges. A river appears under every state it runs through, so a page reached from here may cover reaches outside California as well.

What is the difference between flood stage and action stage?

Action stage is the level at which the Weather Service starts paying attention and agencies begin preparing. Flood stage is the level at which water starts affecting property or roads at that specific location. Both are set per gauge by the local Weather Service office, which is why two gauges on the same river can have very different numbers.