USGS Streamgage 06860000
Smoky Hill River at Elkader, KS
Smoky Hill River at Elkader, KS is USGS streamgage 06860000, monitoring river discharge in hydrologic subbasin 10260003. It drains a watershed of about 3,555 square miles. Discharge records at this site go back to 1938. Typical flow runs near 0.3 cfs in July and 1.8 cfs in April, with the higher of the two arriving in April.
Gauge details
- Drainage area
- 3,555 sq mi
- Gauge elevation
- 2,636 ft
- Subbasin (HUC-8)
- 10260003
- Coordinates
- 38.79474, -100.85848
- USGS site number
- 06860000
- Records begin
- 1938-05-30 (88 years)
Typical flow by month
Long-term daily discharge percentiles from the USGS record (up to 87 years of data), averaged within each month. These describe the historical normal range — they are not a forecast and not today's reading.
| Month | Low p10 | Typical p50 | High p90 | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | 0.8 | 7.6 | |
| February | 0 | 1.4 | 12.3 | |
| March | 0 | 1.9 | 14 | |
| April | 0 | 1.8 | 17.9 | |
| May | 0 | 1.9 | 33.3 | |
| June | 0 | 1 | 52.3 | |
| July | 0 | 0.3 | 69.9 | |
| August | 0 | 0.1 | 36.9 | |
| September | 0 | 0 | 14.8 | |
| October | 0 | 0.1 | 8.4 | |
| November | 0 | 0.1 | 6.9 | |
| December | 0 | 0.4 | 7.4 |
All values in cubic feet per second (cfs).