North Cottonwood River level at Marion
Kansas · Fishing & wading
Measured at USGS 07179795 — N COTTONWOOD R BL MARION LK, KS
Reading taken · as of 33 min ago
About normal for the date
At 8.6 CFS, this gauge is running 95% of normal for mid-September — close to the 9.1 CFS median USGS has recorded for this date across 57 years of record (1969–2026).
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Flow history at Marion
Daily values from USGS 07179795, updated every 15 to 60 minutes. Provisional.
About North Cottonwood River at Marion
In Kansas, below Marion Reservoir. Releases can change the flow by hundreds of CFS in an hour with no rain in the basin — check it the morning you go, not the night before.
Reservoir feeding this stretch
Flow here is set by releases from Marion Reservoir. A full pool usually means more water on its way down.
North Cottonwood River at Marion — common questions
3 questions
How do releases from Marion Reservoir affect this stretch?
Directly and fast. When the dam generates, flow here can climb by an order of magnitude within the hour, with no rain anywhere in the basin. That sudden release is the real hazard on a tailwater. The pool level is on lakelvl.com, linked below.
Is North Cottonwood River at Marion high or low for this time of year?
The USGS median flow for mid-September here is 9.1 CFS, from 57 years of record (1969–2026). Today is 95% of it. The comparison is what makes the raw number mean anything: the same reading is a drought on one river and a flood on another.
How often does this reading update?
USGS transmits from gauge 07179795 every 15 to 60 minutes. This page refreshes from USGS when you open it, and the reading is provisional until USGS reviews it. The timestamp is in the gauge's local time.