A small USGS stream gaging station with an antenna on its roof under a cloudy evening sky

Check a river’s flow.

Search any USGS stream gauge by river or station name, by state, or near you. Each card shows the latest flow and how it compares with the normal range for today’s date; open a gauge for the full picture: trend, water temperature and what it means for trout, safety and the official NWS flood stage.

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4 USGS gauges near your location (within 30 miles)

Willow Creek near Galata, MT
USGS 06101200
No current reading. USGS answered but returned no recent value for this gauge (ice, maintenance or a seasonal gauge).
Open full screen USGS
6.8 miles away in a straight line

Marias River near Chester MT

USGS 06101500

Limited data: Normal flow for the date: no water temperature here

No water temperature here. The full view adds the NWS forecast.

Discharge: 515 ft³/s
Gauge height: 3.43 ft

Normal for Nov 5 Steady · 24 h Below NWS action stage

Last 24 hours

View data as a table

Discharge, last 7 days: readings, about hourly, newest first. USGS provisional data may be revised.
Time	Discharge (ft³/s)	Gauge height (ft)
Nov 5, 7:15 PM MST	515	3.43
Nov 5, 6:15 PM MST	515	3.43
Nov 5, 5:15 PM MST	515	3.43
Nov 5, 4:15 PM MST	515	3.43
Nov 5, 3:15 PM MST	515	3.43
Nov 5, 2:15 PM MST	515	3.43
Nov 5, 1:15 PM MST	515	3.43
Nov 5, 12:15 PM MST	515	3.43
Nov 5, 11:15 AM MST	515	3.43
Nov 5, 10:15 AM MST	515	3.43
Nov 5, 9:15 AM MST	515	3.43
Nov 5, 8:15 AM MST	515	3.43
Nov 5, 7:15 AM MST	515	3.43
Nov 5, 6:15 AM MST	515	3.43
Nov 5, 5:15 AM MST	515	3.43
Nov 5, 4:15 AM MST	515	3.43
Nov 5, 3:15 AM MST	515	3.43
Nov 5, 2:15 AM MST	515	3.43
Nov 5, 1:15 AM MST	515	3.43
Nov 5, 12:15 AM MST	515	3.43
Nov 4, 11:15 PM MST	515	3.43
Nov 4, 10:15 PM MST	515	3.43
Nov 4, 9:15 PM MST	515	3.43
Nov 4, 8:15 PM MST	515	3.43
Nov 4, 7:15 PM MST	515	3.43
Nov 4, 6:15 PM MST	515	3.43
Nov 4, 5:15 PM MST	515	3.43

Reading Nov 5, 7:15 PM MST · checked 7:36 PM MST

Open full screen USGS NWS

On our page for Marias River

11.6 miles away in a straight line

Marias River at Highway 223 bridge near Chester,MT
USGS 06101630
No current reading. USGS answered but returned no recent value for this gauge (ice, maintenance or a seasonal gauge).
No flow at this gauge. USGS does not publish discharge here, so there are no flow statistics either; it reports what is shown. Flow on the same river: Marias River near Chester MT (USGS 06101500, 9.2 miles away).
Open full screen USGS
On our page for Marias River
20.8 miles away in a straight line

Marias River near Shelby MT

USGS 06099500

Limited data: Normal flow for the date: no water temperature here

No water temperature here. The full view adds the NWS forecast.

Discharge: 285 ft³/s
Gauge height: 2.86 ft

Normal for Nov 5 Steady · 24 h Below NWS action stage

Last 24 hours

View data as a table

Discharge, last 7 days: readings, about hourly, newest first. USGS provisional data may be revised.
Time	Discharge (ft³/s)	Gauge height (ft)
Nov 5, 6:30 PM MST	285	2.86
Nov 5, 5:30 PM MST	285	2.86
Nov 5, 4:30 PM MST	285	2.86
Nov 5, 3:30 PM MST	285	2.86
Nov 5, 2:30 PM MST	285	2.86
Nov 5, 1:30 PM MST	285	2.86
Nov 5, 12:30 PM MST	285	2.86
Nov 5, 11:30 AM MST	285	2.86
Nov 5, 10:30 AM MST	285	2.86
Nov 5, 9:30 AM MST	280	2.85
Nov 5, 8:30 AM MST	285	2.86
Nov 5, 7:30 AM MST	280	2.85
Nov 5, 6:30 AM MST	290	2.87
Nov 5, 5:30 AM MST	285	2.86
Nov 5, 4:30 AM MST	290	2.87
Nov 5, 3:30 AM MST	290	2.87
Nov 5, 2:30 AM MST	290	2.87
Nov 5, 1:30 AM MST	290	2.87
Nov 5, 12:30 AM MST	290	2.87
Nov 4, 11:30 PM MST	295	2.88
Nov 4, 10:30 PM MST	295	2.88
Nov 4, 9:30 PM MST	295	2.88
Nov 4, 8:30 PM MST	295	2.88
Nov 4, 7:30 PM MST	300	2.89
Nov 4, 6:30 PM MST	295	2.88
Nov 4, 5:30 PM MST	300	2.89
Nov 4, 4:30 PM MST	300	2.89

Checked Nov 6, 2:36 AM UTC; readings refresh at most every 15 minutes and statistics daily. Provisional USGS data can be revised. Conditions change: re-check before you go. This is general guidance, not a fishing forecast, a safety guarantee or a statement about access.

Willow Creek near Galata, MT
USGS 06101200 · MT · live flow · gauge height · 6.8 mi
Reading the gauge…
Marias River near Chester MT
USGS 06101500 · MT · live flow · gauge height · 11.6 mi
Reading the gauge…
Marias River at Highway 223 bridge near Chester,MT
USGS 06101630 · MT · no flow · water temperature · 20.8 mi
Reading the gauge…
Marias River near Shelby MT
USGS 06099500 · MT · live flow · gauge height · 26.5 mi
Reading the gauge…

Quick picks: our 2,852 waters by state

Each state opens its USGS gauges and our water pages there; a water opens the live cards for its gauges, or the NOAA tides for flats and surf.

Search covers 11,178 USGS stream gauges that reported discharge, gauge height or water temperature in the 183 days before 2026-10-23 (USGS series catalog); readings are fetched live when a gauge is shown.

Where these numbers come from

Discharge, gauge height, water temperature and water quality: U.S. Geological Survey readings (provisional, can be revised), cached for 15 minutes. Where USGS publishes a gauge’s flow only once a day, the latest daily mean is shown with its date.
Normal range: the 25th to 75th percentile of daily mean flow for the same calendar day over the gauge’s record (USGS daily statistics), classed as USGS does (hyswap).
Temperature guidance for trout quotes the gauge’s own state fish and wildlife agency; where we found none, it says so and quotes federal guidance (National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). Cold-water safety quotes the NWS; dissolved oxygen and pH are read against EPA criteria. Each line names its source.
Flood stage and forecasts: the National Weather Service’s National Water Prediction Service and its Turn Around Don’t Drown guidance. Tides: NOAA Tides & Currents.

General guidance, not a fishing forecast, a safety guarantee or a statement about access. Planning a trip? The trip planner shows these readings on every day you fish a water.