About this river
Root River is a 12.4 mile river near Bear Creek Anglers in Iowa. Streamflow is measured at the USGS gauge Root River near Houston, MN (site 05385000). The National Hydrography Dataset places it at stream order 6. Reach geometry comes from the USGS National Hydrography Dataset.
Typical flow by month
1910 to 2026
Root River typically runs highest in March, at a median 848 cfs, and lowest in January, at 375 cfs. The highest flow on record for any single day is 31,100 cfs, in 1952.
| Month | Typical (cfs) | Usual range (cfs) | Relative level |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 375 | 280 to 509 | |
| February | 390 | 290 to 570 | |
| March | 848 | 447 to 1,610 | |
| April | 815 | 550 to 1,450 | |
| May | 724 | 484 to 1,220 | |
| June | 792 | 460 to 1,275 | |
| July | 649 | 407 to 1,060 | |
| August | 548 | 352 to 841 | |
| September | 496 | 339 to 715 | |
| October | 481 | 340 to 677 | |
| November | 496 | 339 to 665 | |
| December | 399 | 300 to 582 |
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 91 years of record. Statistics published by the US Geological Survey for Root River near Houston, MN (site 05385000). 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 Root 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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