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Cougar Lake near Rainbow water level

Lake, Cougar Lake, Oregon, United States

Directions

Right now

Latest reading

Surface elevation

1,533.15ft Down 0.52 ft over the last 24 hours

1,250 1,500 1,750

History

History
1,533.51,534.0ftOct 16Oct 16Oct 17Oct 17Oct 181,533.51,534.0ftOct 16Oct 17Oct 18
Surface elevation

What this means

The latest lake level at Cougar Lake near Rainbow is 1,533.15 ft. There is no published reference for this lake yet, so we can't say whether that is high or low for the season.

The level is falling, down 0.52 ft over the past 24 hours. Over the past 30 days it has moved between 1,533.15 ft and 1,534.22 ft.

The agency publishes no normal range for this gauge yet, so we show the trend only. How to read levels

Swimming and boating at Cougar Lake near Rainbow

Without a published normal range, the trend is the most useful guide, and right now the water is falling.

If you swim, pick a spot with an easy way out, and remember that drop-offs move as the level changes.

Weather at the gauge

No rain in the last 3 days.

17 Sat 67° 46° – Wind 7 mph
18 Sun 65° 44° – Wind 9 mph
19 Mon 63° 44° 0.03 in Wind 7 mph
20 Tue 73° 47° – Wind 6 mph
21 Wed 72° 49° – Wind 5 mph
22 Thu 64° 42° – Wind 6 mph
23 Fri 66° 39° – Wind 5 mph

Forecast: Open-Meteo

Sunrise 07:28 AM Sunset 06:21 PM Daylight 10 hr, 53 min First quarter 49%

Map

Nearby gauges

Gauge Level Compared with normal 24 hours Distance
Cougar Dam Tailwater near RainbowRiver gauge, Cougar Dam Tailwater 1,251.62 ft Very low −0.01 ft 0.2 mi
South Fork McKenzie River near RainbowRiver gauge, South Fork McKenzie River 331 cfs Low ±0 0.6 mi
McKenzie River above South Fork, near RainbowRiver gauge, McKenzie River 8.07 ft Very low ±0 2.8 mi
Blue River at Blue RiverRiver gauge, Blue River 186 cfs Normal ±0 5.0 mi
Nf Quartz Creek near Blue RiverRiver gauge, Nf Quartz Creek 1.0 cfs Low ±0 5.3 mi
South Fork McKenzie River above Cougar Lake near RainbowRiver gauge, South Fork McKenzie River 175 cfs Very low ±0 5.7 mi
Lookout Creek near Blue RiverRiver gauge, Lookout Creek 7.7 cfs Very low ±0 5.7 mi
Blue River below Tidbits Creek, near Blue RiverRiver gauge, Blue River 1.73 ft Low −0.01 ft 6 mi

Questions and answers

Is Cougar Lake near Rainbow really 1,533.15 ft deep?

No. 1,533.15 ft is the height of the water surface above sea level (or the agency's vertical datum), not the depth of the water.

What is the water level of Cougar Lake near Rainbow today?

On Oct 18, 2026, 04:15 AM PDT, the surface elevation was 1,533.15 ft. Down 0.52 ft over the last 24 hours.

Is Cougar Lake near Rainbow rising or falling?

Down 0.52 ft over the last 24 hours.

Is the level of Cougar Lake near Rainbow normal?

The agency publishes no normal range for this gauge yet, so we show the trend only.

How often is this data updated?

The U.S. Geological Survey publishes a new reading every 15 minutes. This page refreshes within minutes of each update.

Where does this data come from?

The values come directly from the U.S. Geological Survey, the official operator of this gauge, and are in the public domain. We do not estimate or model live values.

For specialists

Station codes, datum, parameters, data quality and downloads
Operator
U.S. Geological Survey
Station code
usgs:14159400 (Agency page)
Coordinates
44.12737, -122.24474 (WGS84)
Vertical datum
NGVD29
Update interval
every 15 minutes
Licence
Public domain. Data: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), provisional data subject to revision

Published series

ParameterLast valueTime (UTC)Quality
Surface elevation 1,533.15 ft 2026-10-18 11:15 Provisional

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Embed this gauge

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How to cite

U.S. Geological Survey: Cougar Lake near Rainbow (usgs:14159400). Accessed October 18, 2026 via Nivelmap, https://nivelmap.com/en/united-states/oregon/cougar-lake-near-rainbow

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.