Deschutes River level at Maupin
Oregon · Paddling & whitewater
Measured at USGS 14092500 — DESCHUTES RIVER NEAR MADRAS, OR · NWS forecast point PERO3
Reading taken · as of 58 min ago
Up — bigger, pushier water than average
At 4,120 CFS, this gauge is in the highest quarter of the 101 years USGS has recorded for this date (1925–2026), at 106% of the 3,900 CFS median.
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Flow history at Maupin
Daily values from USGS 14092500, updated every 15 to 60 minutes; NWS forecast for PERO3 reissued through the day. Provisional.
About Deschutes River at Maupin
USGS publishes this station as Deschutes River near Madras, upstream of Maupin. It is the most stable large river on this site. Across 102 years of published statistics, 1925 to 2026, its monthly medians never leave the band between 3,810 CFS in August and 5,000 in March. On a 7,820 square mile basin, an annual swing of 1.3 to one is remarkable.
The extremes are equally compressed. The entire daily record runs from 2,440 CFS on 3 December 1957 to 17,800 CFS on 8 February 1996, a range of about seven to one where a river this size usually spans fifty or more. The largest instantaneous peak on file, 22,500 CFS, came in July, on 16 July 1983, rather than in the spring.
Deschutes River at Maupin — common questions
6 questions
Why is this river so steady?
The published record is unambiguous about the fact even where it cannot explain it. Over 102 years of daily statistics the monthly medians stay inside 3,810 to 5,000 CFS, and the all time daily range is 2,440 to 17,800 CFS. A basin that fed this gauge from surface runoff alone could not produce that. What it means for reading the page is that a modest percent of normal deviation here is a larger departure than the same percentage would be elsewhere.
Is there a flood ladder for this gauge?
No. The NWS maintains a forecast point here but publishes no flood categories and no historical crest list for it, so this page carries no action, minor, moderate or major stage. The USGS reading, the seasonal comparison and the record range are what is available.
Does any other Oregon gauge move like this one?
Not really, and that is the point of it. Over 28,994 days of shared record since 1929 this gauge correlates with the Sandy at Oxbow at 0.56 while carrying a median of about 2.89 times its flow. A correlation that modest between two Cascade rivers reflects how little this one responds to anything: the Sandy rises and falls with the weather, and this gauge largely does not.
How fast can Deschutes River at Maupin come up?
Fast. It is free-flowing, so rain upstream moves it directly. Several feet in a few hours is normal after a heavy storm.
Is Deschutes River at Maupin high or low for this time of year?
The USGS median flow for late September here is 3,900 CFS, from 101 years of record (1925–2026). Today sits in the highest quarter of those years, at 106% of the median. The comparison is what makes the raw number mean anything: the same reading is a drought on one river and a flood on another.
How often does this reading update?
USGS transmits from gauge 14092500 every 15 to 60 minutes, and the National Weather Service reissues the flood forecast for PERO3 a few times a day — more often when the river is rising. This page refreshes from both when you open it. The timestamp is in the gauge's local time.