About this river
Knife River is a 31.7 mile river near Lake Sakakawea State Park in North Dakota. Streamflow is measured at the USGS gauge Knife River at Hazen, ND (site 06340500). The National Hydrography Dataset places it at stream order 7. Reach geometry comes from the USGS National Hydrography Dataset.
Typical flow by month
1929 to 2026
Knife River typically runs highest in March, at a median 142 cfs, and lowest in January, at 16 cfs. The highest flow on record for any single day is 24,000 cfs, in 2009.
| Month | Typical (cfs) | Usual range (cfs) | Relative level |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16 | 10 to 26 | |
| February | 19 | 9.7 to 30 | |
| March | 142 | 40 to 495 | |
| April | 117 | 67 to 281 | |
| May | 74 | 42 to 148 | |
| June | 80 | 42 to 167 | |
| July | 54 | 24 to 102 | |
| August | 32 | 15 to 54 | |
| September | 26 | 16 to 40 | |
| October | 30 | 18 to 45 | |
| November | 32 | 20 to 44 | |
| December | 23 | 14 to 34 |
Typical is the median of each month’s daily median values, and the usual range runs from the median 25th to the median 75th percentile, across about 93 years of record. Statistics published by the US Geological Survey for Knife River at Hazen, ND (site 06340500). Conditions on any given day can fall well outside the usual range. Check the current reading before you go.
Boat access nearby
One mapped launch sits in the mapped area of Knife River. Ramp data comes from the USGS national boat-ramp inventory.
- Knife RiverKnife RiverPublic
Embed this gauge on your site
Paste this snippet anywhere, an outfitter page, a club site, a trip report, to show Knife River's live streamflow, water level and 7-day trend. It reads the USGS gauge directly, updates itself, and links back here.
See every free widget you can put on your site, including live conditions and a 7 day forecast.
