13 USGS Streamgages
Columbia River flows and levels
Columbia River is gauged at 13 USGS streamgages in Washington and Oregon, each tracked by Rivermatics. The mainstem runs about 1,242 miles (1,998 km) from headwaters to outlet. It drains roughly 240,204 square miles at its outlet. The gauged reach falls about 885 feet, from 1,317 feet down to 432. Rivermatics issues a daily machine-learned 14-day flow outlook at 3 of them.
Gauges on this river, upstream to downstream
Ordered by drainage area, which is how far down the river each gauge sits. April and July figures are long-term median daily flows for that month from the USGS record — historical normals, not a forecast and not today's reading.
| Gauge | State | Drainage sq mi | Elevation ft | April p50 cfs | July p50 cfs | Forecast |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia River at International Boundary | WA | 59,700 | 1,317 | 71,313.3 | 145,000 | 14-day |
| Columbia River at Grand Coulee, WA | WA | 74,700 | 961 | 93,843.3 | 154,290.3 | — |
| Columbia River at Bridgeport, WA | WA | 75,700 | 795 | 99,590 | 132,967.7 | — |
| Columbia River below Wells Dam, WA | WA | 86,100 | 721 | 111,090 | 122,741.9 | — |
| Columbia River at Rocky Reach Dam, WA | WA | 87,800 | 653 | 107,116.7 | 130,290.3 | — |
| Columbia River below Rock Island Dam, WA | WA | 89,400 | 598 | 111,526.7 | 133,612.9 | — |
| Columbia River below Priest Rapids Dam, WA | WA | 96,000 | 432 | 111,413.3 | 138,322.6 | 14-day |
| Columbia River at McNary Dam,Near Umatilla, OR | OR | 214,000 | — | 175,333.3 | 252,290.3 | — |
| Columbia River at the Dalles, OR | OR | 237,000 | — | 192,133.3 | 260,225.8 | 14-day + temp |
| Columbia River below Bonneville Dam, OR | OR | 239,900 | — | — | — | — |
| Columbia River at Bonneville Dam Forebay, WA | WA | — | — | — | — | — |
| Columbia River at Cascade Island, WA | WA | — | — | — | — | — |
| Columbia River at the Dalles Dam Forebay, WA | WA | — | — | — | — | — |
Common questions
- How many gauges are on the Columbia River?
- Rivermatics tracks 13 USGS streamgages on the Columbia River, across Washington and Oregon. Each has its own page with the site's full flow record and monthly normals. The river may carry other gauges that publish neither daily values nor discharge statistics; those are not tracked here.
- Is there a flow forecast for the Columbia River?
- Yes, at 3 of the 13 gauges. Rivermatics trains a machine-learned model — a temporal-fusion transformer — on each basin's observed flows, weather and snowpack, and issues a daily outlook reaching 14 days ahead: a median estimate inside a confidence band, not a single number to bet on. Every forecast is scored against days the model never trained on, and that track record is published on each gauge's live screen.
- Can I use Columbia River data for flood or safety decisions?
- No. Rivermatics provides estimates, not guarantees, and the readings and forecasts here may be delayed, inaccurate, or wrong. Do not use them for navigation or for any safety, rescue, or emergency decision. Check the National Weather Service and USGS directly, and use your own judgment.