When they say, “river crested at 26 feet” where are they measuring from? The bottom of the river? The ‘normal’ water level?

Question

When they say, “river crested at 26 feet” where are they measuring from? The bottom of the river? The ‘normal’ water level?

In: Other

Answer 1

Measuring rivers in feet can get weird, as the top commenter said. For example, the New River in WV regularly goes below 0 feet, but that doesn’t mean it’s empty, just means it’s running below the level someone decided was “0 feet.” I believe at 0 feet, the New River is around 2,400 cubic feet per second (cfs), which is a more accurate way of describing level. The New is at flood stage once it’s over 12 feet, which is somewhere around 33,000 cfs. There is a rock down at the beach that is painted with the foot gauge, but you really have to see the individual river’s physical gauge to get an idea of what 26 feet means for that river. Looking up the cfs could give a better idea of the actual volume of water.