North Thompson River at Birch Island water level

Name: North Thompson River at Birch Island water level (Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada)
Creator: Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada
License: https://open.canada.ca/en/open-government-licence-canada

River gauge, North Thompson River, British Columbia, Canada

Directions

Low for mid-October

Water level

0.61m Up 0.03 m over the last 24 hours

Measured Oct 19, 2026, 10:30 AM MDT (1 hour ago)

Flow: 60.3 m³/s

History

7 days 30 days

Water level Normal range (10–90 %)

What this means

The North Thompson River at Birch Island is running below normal at 0.61 m.

That puts it 0.36 m below the median of 0.96 m for mid-October, based on 15 years of readings.

It has risen 0.03 m over the past 24 hours. In the last month it has stayed between 0.57 m and 1.39 m.

Fall is often low-water season on rivers, and it usually takes a few days of steady rain to change that.

Compared with 15 years of daily readings for this time of year. How to read levels

Key numbers

Median for this date: 0.96 m0.36 m below the median for this date
Normal for this date: 0.51 m – 1.34 m8 years in 10 fall in this range (15 years of records)
Lowest and highest in 30 days: 0.57 m – 1.39 m
Lowest and highest in 12 months: 0.58 m – 1.28 m

On the river

Outside the spring freshet, most rivers settle into a gentler pattern, broken by storms.

Flood advisories come from the provincial river forecast centre.

About the North Thompson River

The North Thompson River is the northern branch of the Thompson River, the largest tributary of the Fraser River, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It originates at the toe of the Thompson Glacier in the Premier Range of the Cariboo Mountains, west of the community of Valemount. The river flows generally south through the North Thompson Valley towards Kamloops where it joins the South Thompson River to form the main stem Thompson River.

Weather at the gauge

The forecast is not available right now.

Sunrise 08:31 AM Sunset 06:59 PM Daylight 10 hr, 28 min First quarter 61%

Map

Other gauges on the North Thompson River

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
North Thompson River at McLureRiver gauge, North Thompson River	1.02 m	Low	−0.02 m	66 km

Nearby gauges

Gauge	Level	Compared with normal	24 hours	Distance
Clearwater River near Clearwater StationRiver gauge, Clearwater River	2.50 m	Normal	−0.03 m	12 km
Harper Creek near the MouthRiver gauge, Harper Creek	0.91 m	Very low	−0.01 m	28 km
Lemieux Creek near the MouthRiver gauge, Lemieux Creek	0.86 m	Normal	±0	28 km
Barriere River below Sprague CreekRiver gauge, Barriere River	0.08 m	Very low	±0	40 km
Barriere River at the MouthRiver gauge, Barriere River	2.56 m	Normal	±0	48 km
Louis Creek at the MouthRiver gauge, Louis Creek	3.59 m	No reference yet	±0	54 km
Fishtrap Creek near McLureRiver gauge, Fishtrap Creek	1.97 m	Very high	±0	57 km
Blue River near Blue RiverRiver gauge, Blue River	0.78 m	Low	−0.02 m	71 km

Questions and answers

What is a normal level for the North Thompson River at Birch Island in mid-October?

The median for mid-October is 0.96 m. In 8 years out of 10 the reading falls between 0.51 m and 1.34 m, based on 15 years of records.

Is the river level the same as the depth of the water?

No. The reading is measured from a fixed zero mark at the gauge, so 0.61 m on the gauge does not mean the water is that deep.

What is the water level of North Thompson River at Birch Island today?

On Oct 19, 2026, 10:30 AM MDT, the water level was 0.61 m. Up 0.03 m over the last 24 hours.

Is North Thompson River at Birch Island rising or falling?

Up 0.03 m over the last 24 hours. Down 0.23 m over the last 7 days.

Is the level of North Thompson River at Birch Island normal?

Low for mid-October. Compared with 15 years of daily readings for this time of year.

How often is this data updated?

Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada publishes a new reading every hour. This page refreshes within minutes of each update.

Where does this data come from?

The values come directly from Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada, the official operator of this gauge, and are published under the Open Government Licence – Canada. We do not estimate or model live values.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads

Operator: Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada
Station code: eccc:08LB047 (Agency page)
Coordinates: 51.60186, -119.91435 (WGS84)
Vertical datum: station datum (assumed datum)
Update interval: every hour
Licence: Open Government Licence – Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada

Published series

Parameter	Last value	Time (UTC)	Quality
Water level	0.61 m	2026-10-19 16:30	Provisional
Flow	60.3 m³/s	2026-10-19 16:30	Provisional

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How to cite

Environment and Climate Change Canada – Water Survey of Canada: North Thompson River at Birch Island (eccc:08LB047). Accessed October 19, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/canada/british-columbia/north-thompson-river-at-birch-island

How we check values

Each reading is stored as published. We hold back values that jump faster than physically plausible and show the measurement time with every value.

Readings are provisional, can be delayed or wrong and are not a flood warning. Read the disclaimer