USGS Storm Words: River Stage

The USGS has many missions before, during and after a major storm. Here is an explanation of a word we commonly use with our science.

River Stage: Is the water level measured in feet above a point, usually somewhere below the river bed. The USGS’ real-time streamgage network is able to indicate when a monitored river reaches a stage where the water will start flowing over its banks and is an important part of flood forecasting, which helps keep people and property safe. Stage is also important when trying to analyze how much water is moving in a stream at any given moment.