About this river
Smith River is an 8.2 mile river near Smith River Kayaks in California. Streamflow is measured at the USGS gauge Smith R near Crescent City CA (site 11532500). The National Hydrography Dataset places it at stream order 8. Reach geometry comes from the USGS National Hydrography Dataset.
Typical flow by month
1932 to 2026
Smith River typically runs highest in January, at a median 5,000 cfs, and lowest in September, at 258 cfs. The highest flow on record for any single day is 180,000 cfs, in 1965.
| Month | Typical (cfs) | Usual range (cfs) | Relative level |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 5,000 | 2,550 to 9,870 | |
| February | 4,630 | 2,840 to 8,220 | |
| March | 4,880 | 3,040 to 7,660 | |
| April | 3,675 | 2,385 to 5,565 | |
| May | 2,200 | 1,390 to 3,260 | |
| June | 915 | 714 to 1,305 | |
| July | 473 | 397 to 566 | |
| August | 306 | 270 to 344 | |
| September | 258 | 230 to 302 | |
| October | 286 | 237 to 493 | |
| November | 1,715 | 685 to 5,105 | |
| December | 3,950 | 1,950 to 8,900 |
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 94 years of record. Statistics published by the US Geological Survey for Smith R near Crescent City CA (site 11532500). Conditions on any given day can fall well outside the usual range. Check the current reading before you go.
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Paste this snippet anywhere, an outfitter page, a club site, a trip report, to show Smith 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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