About this river
John Day River is a 14.9 mile river near Columbia River Fishing Adventures in Oregon. Streamflow is measured at the USGS gauge John Day River at Mcdonald Ferry, OR (site 14048000). The National Hydrography Dataset places it at stream order 9. Reach geometry comes from the USGS National Hydrography Dataset.
Typical flow by month
1906 to 2026
John Day River typically runs highest in April, at a median 5,020 cfs, and lowest in September, at 130 cfs. The highest flow on record for any single day is 39,400 cfs, in 1965.
| Month | Typical (cfs) | Usual range (cfs) | Relative level |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 980 | 585 to 1,890 | |
| February | 1,670 | 860 to 3,130 | |
| March | 2,640 | 1,860 to 5,260 | |
| April | 5,020 | 3,440 to 7,480 | |
| May | 4,610 | 2,730 to 6,950 | |
| June | 2,160 | 1,300 to 3,465 | |
| July | 418 | 256 to 643 | |
| August | 130 | 75 to 220 | |
| September | 130 | 71 to 203 | |
| October | 306 | 242 to 393 | |
| November | 439 | 375 to 580 | |
| December | 612 | 439 to 1,190 |
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 119 years of record. Statistics published by the US Geological Survey for John Day River at Mcdonald Ferry, OR (site 14048000). Conditions on any given day can fall well outside the usual range. Check the current reading before you go.
Embed this gauge on your site
Paste this snippet anywhere, an outfitter page, a club site, a trip report, to show John Day 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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