Middle Fork Salmon River level at Boundary Creek
Idaho · Paddling & whitewater
Measured at USGS 13309220 — MF SALMON RIVER AT MF LODGE NR YELLOW PINE ID · NWS forecast point MIDI1
Reading taken · as of 43 min ago
In its normal runnable range
At 545 CFS, this gauge is inside the middle half of the 36 years USGS has recorded for this date (1973–2026), at 90% of the 605 CFS median.
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Flow history at Boundary Creek
Daily values from USGS 13309220, updated every 15 to 60 minutes; NWS forecast for MIDI1 reissued through the day. Provisional.
Highest crests on record at Boundary Creek
12 on record
| Stage | Flow | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 10.80 ft | 20,900 CFS | Jun 16, 1974 |
| 8.75 ft | 16,300 CFS | Jun 1, 2017 |
| 8.68 ft | 16,300 CFS | Jun 5, 2010 |
| 8.49 ft | 15,700 CFS | May 21, 2008 |
| 8.23 ft | 14,300 CFS | May 31, 2003 |
| 7.95 ft | 13,300 CFS | May 29, 1999 |
| 7.78 ft | 11,100 CFS | Jun 7, 1975 |
| 7.68 ft | 12,700 CFS | Apr 26, 2012 |
| 7.49 ft | 12,000 CFS | May 22, 2023 |
| 7.35 ft | 11,700 CFS | May 20, 2009 |
Crests published by the National Weather Service.
About Middle Fork Salmon River at Boundary Creek
The station behind this page is not at Boundary Creek. USGS publishes it as MF Salmon River at MF Lodge near Yellow Pine, ID, well downstream of the put-in the slug is named for, and everything here is that station's record. It drains 1,042 square miles at an elevation of 4,384 feet.
The seasonal shape is the sharpest in this batch. Published monthly medians climb from 470 CFS in February to 4,380 in May, then fall back to 615 by September, a snowmelt hydrograph with a nine to one range and almost nothing to soften it. Daily statistics cover 1973 to 2026, and the series runs from 190 CFS on 24 December 2001 to 20,700 CFS on 16 June 1974.
Middle Fork Salmon River at Boundary Creek — common questions
6 questions
Is this gauge at the launch point?
No, and the distinction is the most important thing on this page. The USGS station is at Middle Fork Lodge near Yellow Pine, and the NWS forecast point carries the same name. A reading here describes the river at the lodge, with a good deal more drainage collected above it than the upper river has.
When is this gauge highest?
May, decisively. The published median for May is 4,380 CFS and June is 3,720, against 470 to 560 for December through March. The largest annual peak on file is 20,900 CFS at 10.8 feet on 16 June 1974, and the next four all fall between 15,700 and 17,400 CFS, in 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2017.
Are flood stages published for this location?
No categories are. The NWS forecast point publishes no action, minor, moderate or major stage, though it does hold twelve historical crests topped by the 10.8 feet of June 1974. There is also no discharge-reporting gauge on this site within 70 miles, so no peer correlation appears on this page either. This is a well-recorded station with very little context attached to it.
How fast can Middle Fork Salmon River at Boundary Creek 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 Middle Fork Salmon River at Boundary Creek high or low for this time of year?
The USGS median flow for late September here is 605 CFS, from 36 years of record (1973–2026). Today sits inside the middle half of those years, at 90% 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 13309220 every 15 to 60 minutes, and the National Weather Service reissues the flood forecast for MIDI1 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.