About this river
South Kawishiwi River is a 17.4 mile river near Boundary Waters Outfitters in Minnesota. Streamflow is measured at the USGS gauge South Kawishiwi R above White Iron Lake near Ely, MN (site 05126210). The National Hydrography Dataset places it at stream order 5. Reach geometry comes from the USGS National Hydrography Dataset.
Typical flow by month
1975 to 2026
South Kawishiwi River typically runs highest in May, at a median 1,740 cfs, and lowest in September, at 183 cfs. The highest flow on record for any single day is 8,040 cfs, in 1976.
| Month | Typical (cfs) | Usual range (cfs) | Relative level |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 342 | 255 to 444 | |
| February | 278 | 228 to 329 | |
| March | 259 | 202 to 310 | |
| April | 700 | 309 to 1,625 | |
| May | 1,740 | 888 to 2,610 | |
| June | 1,020 | 575 to 1,660 | |
| July | 599 | 333 to 1,030 | |
| August | 262 | 146 to 369 | |
| September | 183 | 114 to 453 | |
| October | 251 | 111 to 680 | |
| November | 444 | 233 to 749 | |
| December | 379 | 252 to 593 |
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 26 years of record. Statistics published by the US Geological Survey for South Kawishiwi R above White Iron Lake near Ely, MN (site 05126210). Conditions on any given day can fall well outside the usual range. Check the current reading before you go.
Embed this gauge on your site
Paste this snippet anywhere, an outfitter page, a club site, a trip report, to show South Kawishiwi River's live streamflow, water level and 7-day trend. It reads the USGS gauge directly, updates itself, and links back here.
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