About this river
Upper Iowa River is a 35.6 mile river near Xicanx Fly in Iowa. Streamflow is measured at the USGS gauge Upper Iowa River at Bluffton, IA (site 05387440). The National Hydrography Dataset places it at stream order 7. Reach geometry comes from the USGS National Hydrography Dataset.
Typical flow by month
2003 to 2026
Upper Iowa River typically runs highest in April, at a median 509 cfs, and lowest in February, at 109 cfs. The highest flow on record for any single day is 13,800 cfs, in 2008.
| Month | Typical (cfs) | Usual range (cfs) | Relative level |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 112 | 65 to 214 | |
| February | 109 | 68 to 174 | |
| March | 348 | 158 to 724 | |
| April | 509 | 234 to 795 | |
| May | 462 | 307 to 721 | |
| June | 454 | 283 to 878 | |
| July | 358 | 186 to 677 | |
| August | 210 | 135 to 299 | |
| September | 183 | 116 to 356 | |
| October | 153 | 96 to 388 | |
| November | 167 | 93 to 283 | |
| December | 130 | 73 to 203 |
Typical is the median of each month’s daily median values, and the usual range runs from the median 25th to the median 75th percentile, across about 24 years of record. Statistics published by the US Geological Survey for Upper Iowa River at Bluffton, IA (site 05387440). Conditions on any given day can fall well outside the usual range. Check the current reading before you go.
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Paste this snippet anywhere, an outfitter page, a club site, a trip report, to show Upper Iowa River's live streamflow, water level and 7-day trend. It reads the USGS gauge directly, updates itself, and links back here.
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