Malheur Lake Basin – Streamflow & Stage Gages

About the Malheur Lake Basin

The Malheur Lake Basin, as defined by the Oregon Water Resources Department, is the closed Harney Basin of southeast Oregon, whose rivers never reach the sea: the Silvies River flows south from the Blue Mountains past Seneca and Burns, and the Donner und Blitzen River north from Steens Mountain, into Malheur and Harney lakes and the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, one of the West’s great bird-migration stops. The basin also includes Silver Creek near Riley and the Alvord basin east of Steens Mountain, with Trout Creek near the Nevada line. Snowmelt brings most of the water in spring, and much of it is spread over hay meadows in Harney Valley. River Flow Planner covers 7 gages here: four on the Silvies River (including Silvies River near Burns, with records back to 1903, and a new gage below Fivemile Dam reporting the 2400-hour river stage), the Donner und Blitzen River near Frenchglen (back to 1911), Silver Creek near Riley and Trout Creek near Denio. OWRD’s gage on Emigrant Creek has no published daily values, so it is not included.

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

Silvies River

The Silvies River from Seneca through Silvies Valley and Burns to Fivemile Dam, listed upstream to downstream.

Donner und Blitzen River

The Donner und Blitzen River from Steens Mountain, at the south end of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

Silver & Trout Creeks

Silver Creek near Riley and Trout Creek in the Alvord basin near the Nevada line.

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 · John Day River Basin · Umatilla River Basin · Grande Ronde River Basin · Powder River Basin · Malheur River Basin · Owyhee River Basin · Goose & Summer Lakes Basin