LAKE GAGES AND STREAMFLOW GAGES

GAGING STATIONS VARY GREATLY IN APPEARANCE.    CLICK ON THESE EXAMPLES TO SEE LARGER PHOTOS.

A gage (also spelled 'gauge') is an instrument that measures and records the height of a lake or the streamflow of a river over time. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) operates more than 7,000 gages across the country, including about 40 in the Lake Champlain Basin. The USGS selects a suitable site along a river or lake and constructs a shelter to hold the equipment. The shelter and the equipment it contains are referred to as a gaging station. The gaging station can be located over the water, on the shore, or attached to a bridge over a large river. A gaging station can also include equipment that measures water-quality conditions such as temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, and dissolved chemicals, or weather conditions such as air temperature, precipitation, and wind speed.

FURTHER USGS REFERENCE MATERIAL

More information on surface-water (rivers, streams, runoff, lakes, streamflow, floods, and more).

Common water measurements (temperature, pH, specific conductance, etc.)

Real-time gaging station map for all of Vermont and New Hampshire

Contoocook River Gage in New Hampshire