Rafting the Salt River in
Arizona is all about snow melt and timing. The links below are what we (the experts) use to see how things are shaping up over the winter and what level the river is running at.
 Salt River at Chrysotile (where all river trips begin), USGS
this is the river measured in Cubic Feet per Second.
Low water is less than 800cfs
Medium is between 800-2000cfs
High is 2000-6000cfs
Globe, AZ Weather Forecast
temperatures at the river (3355ft) which is about 600ft higher than Globe (2726ft)
White Mountains, AZ Weather Forecast
we use this to see what is coming in the winter above 7,000ft
Snow Water Equivalent Percent of Average, Snowtell, USDA
this is a measure of the amount of water contained in the snow as a percentage
Hannagan Meadows
Baldy
|
The table below
from the USGS shows the monthly average flow for
the Salt river in cubic feet per second (cfs).
As you can see the months of March, April and
May have the most consistent and highest flows,
hence our rafting season! |
| |
YEAR |
Monthly mean
in cfs (Calculation Period: 1983-01-01
-> 2006-09-30)
Period-of-record for statistical calculation
restricted by user |
| Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| 1983 |
882.8 |
1,779 |
3,766 |
3,599 |
2,860 |
955.3 |
340.9 |
445.5 |
598.7 |
3,777 |
354.2 |
1,138 |
| 1984 |
723.5 |
468.9 |
765.0 |
796.4 |
504.4 |
172.6 |
254.5 |
527.7 |
466.2 |
925.7 |
412.4 |
2,901 |
| 1985 |
1,684 |
1,623 |
4,293 |
2,976 |
1,767 |
514.5 |
284.5 |
356.7 |
338.7 |
439.7 |
440.1 |
457.8 |
| 1986 |
277.2 |
1,286 |
1,936 |
1,478 |
472.4 |
235.2 |
309.9 |
297.5 |
282.9 |
421.3 |
857.9 |
988.9 |
| 1987 |
405.2 |
824.7 |
2,341 |
2,959 |
1,173 |
351.7 |
216.4 |
416.6 |
204.5 |
182.3 |
336.5 |
237.4 |
| 1988 |
392.5 |
1,159 |
946.0 |
1,679 |
1,047 |
262.6 |
248.9 |
898.8 |
1,125 |
266.9 |
224.7 |
223.6 |
| 1989 |
282.6 |
403.2 |
1,007 |
497.4 |
198.5 |
106.9 |
119.3 |
194.0 |
123.0 |
174.4 |
159.9 |
158.4 |
| 1990 |
184.5 |
202.7 |
365.7 |
383.1 |
263.2 |
109.9 |
336.6 |
291.6 |
273.0 |
248.8 |
238.5 |
940.9 |
| 1991 |
1,308 |
639.5 |
4,313 |
3,319 |
1,226 |
350.2 |
166.4 |
232.5 |
366.2 |
134.6 |
208.2 |
551.7 |
| 1992 |
632.5 |
1,655 |
2,087 |
2,578 |
1,265 |
670.9 |
201.8 |
965.5 |
333.7 |
200.8 |
202.0 |
1,219 |
| 1993 |
7,939 |
4,826 |
3,640 |
4,025 |
1,899 |
558.4 |
218.6 |
249.4 |
274.1 |
249.2 |
258.6 |
230.4 |
| 1994 |
210.7 |
428.4 |
1,122 |
694.1 |
432.7 |
196.0 |
116.1 |
225.5 |
640.0 |
238.0 |
1,093 |
841.4 |
| 1995 |
1,600 |
2,817 |
3,347 |
1,077 |
902.7 |
401.6 |
173.7 |
179.6 |
194.1 |
165.0 |
171.2 |
145.6 |
| 1996 |
143.0 |
178.5 |
175.4 |
169.7 |
116.9 |
96.4 |
214.5 |
229.6 |
403.0 |
195.1 |
307.5 |
301.6 |
| 1997 |
472.7 |
442.1 |
1,669 |
964.9 |
597.1 |
193.6 |
126.1 |
177.0 |
185.4 |
156.5 |
183.6 |
255.8 |
| 1998 |
290.2 |
647.8 |
2,045 |
2,530 |
1,621 |
407.6 |
234.3 |
219.5 |
140.9 |
192.2 |
206.7 |
221.5 |
| 1999 |
181.2 |
180.4 |
174.4 |
342.1 |
227.9 |
137.8 |
314.7 |
978.4 |
398.6 |
181.7 |
159.5 |
156.4 |
| 2000 |
156.3 |
149.9 |
177.7 |
193.6 |
120.5 |
112.0 |
120.0 |
237.0 |
150.4 |
472.3 |
904.9 |
286.4 |
| 2001 |
222.4 |
429.9 |
1,033 |
1,514 |
662.5 |
193.2 |
162.4 |
282.4 |
160.4 |
133.4 |
138.2 |
150.3 |
| 2002 |
152.7 |
152.3 |
154.7 |
148.7 |
100.7 |
72.2 |
223.0 |
293.3 |
353.8 |
130.8 |
176.4 |
168.5 |
| 2003 |
209.1 |
424.9 |
1,899 |
1,191 |
550.1 |
166.2 |
145.0 |
232.5 |
576.6 |
151.9 |
232.4 |
168.6 |
| 2004 |
171.7 |
193.6 |
1,229 |
872.2 |
301.6 |
102.6 |
170.0 |
179.4 |
152.8 |
148.4 |
203.6 |
365.9 |
| 2005 |
1,353 |
4,455 |
1,585 |
1,837 |
903.1 |
261.7 |
125.2 |
303.0 |
175.8 |
137.7 |
140.4 |
137.7 |
| 2006 |
139.2 |
137.0 |
169.9 |
236.6 |
132.6 |
85.6 |
592.8 |
1,984 |
619.9 |
|
|
|
Mean
of
monthly
Discharge |
834 |
1,060 |
1,680 |
1,500 |
806 |
280 |
226 |
433 |
356 |
405 |
331 |
532 |
The table below from the
USGS shows the average annual flow of the Salt
river in cubic feet per second (cfs). The lowest
flow for a year in which there was a rafting
season was 1994 with 399.5 cfs. As you can see,
between 1983 and 1993 there were two non-rafting
seasons: 1989 & 1990.
During the next 13 years we had 6 non-rafting
seasons: 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004 & 2006.
Hence the ongoing drought. From 1983 to 1993 the
river didn't run 1 out of 4 years. Since 1994
the river didn't run 1 out of 2 years. |
| Year |
The Salt rivers average flow for the entire
year |
| 1983 |
1,379 |
| 1984 |
835.2 |
| 1985 |
1,510 |
| 1986 |
654.8 |
| 1987 |
929.1 |
| 1988 |
705.6 |
| 1989 |
303.8 |
| 1990 |
242.4 |
| 1991 |
1,117 |
| 1992 |
936.3 |
| 1993 |
2,091 |
| 1994 |
399.5 |
| 1995 |
1,062 |
| 1996 |
183.8 |
| 1997 |
470.2 |
| 1998 |
727.4 |
| 1999 |
297.5 |
| 2000 |
159.7 |
| 2001 |
526.0 |
| 2002 |
172.9 |
| 2003 |
489.3 |
| 2004 |
327.8 |
| 2005 |
951.7 |
| 2006 |
379.2 |
|
