John Day River Basin – Streamflow Gages

About the John Day River Basin

The John Day River drains about 8,000 square miles of north-central Oregon, flowing about 280 miles from the Strawberry and Blue mountains to the Columbia River above John Day Dam. It has no storage dams on its main stem and is one of the longest free-flowing rivers in the western United States, so its flows follow the seasons: high with spring snowmelt and low in late summer, when irrigation in the upper valleys also takes water. The basin supports wild runs of spring Chinook salmon and summer steelhead, and its lower canyons, part of the federal Wild and Scenic River system, are a popular spring float trip from Service Creek and Clarno and a well-known smallmouth bass fishery. The John Day Fossil Beds National Monument lies along the river at Picture Gorge, the Painted Hills on Bridge Creek, and Clarno. River Flow Planner covers 16 gages here: USGS records such as the John Day River at McDonald Ferry (since 1904), Service Creek and near John Day, the North Fork at Monument and the Middle Fork at Ritter, and the Oregon Water Resources Department’s gages on the South Fork, at Picture Gorge and on tributaries such as Strawberry, Canyon, Murderers, Camas, Pine and Butte creeks.

What River Flow Planner shows for each gage

Each gage page turns the agency’s full daily record into planning tools for fishing, rafting, kayaking, swimming, boating, irrigation and in-stream work:

• Summary hydrograph of typical flows, river stages or lake levels through the year
• Percent of time flows fall within a range you choose
• Likely range of flows on future dates you pick
• How a recent period compares with normal, plus a year-by-year spaghetti plot
• Flood frequency statistics for USGS gages with peak-flow records
• CSV downloads and links to current real-time data and short-term forecasts

Upper John Day River

The John Day River and its headwater tributaries from Blue Mountain Hot Springs through the John Day Valley to Picture Gorge, listed upstream to downstream.

South Fork John Day River

The South Fork and its tributary Murderers Creek, south of Dayville.

Middle Fork John Day River

The Middle Fork from the Galena area to Ritter.

North Fork John Day River

The North Fork, the basin’s largest tributary, and Camas Creek near Ukiah.

Lower John Day River

The John Day River from Service Creek to McDonald Ferry and its lower tributaries, including the Wild and Scenic canyon float reach.

Other basins

Rogue River Basin · Klamath River Basin · Deschutes River Basin · North Coast Basin · Mid Coast Basin · Umpqua River Basin · South Coast Basin · Willamette River Basin · Sandy River Basin · Hood River Basin · Umatilla River Basin · Grande Ronde River Basin · Powder River Basin · Malheur River Basin · Owyhee River Basin · Malheur Lake Basin · Goose & Summer Lakes Basin