gauging station

hydrology
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites

gauging station, site on a stream, canal, lake, or reservoir where systematic observations of gauge height (water level) or discharge are obtained. From the continuous records obtained at these stations, hydrologists make predictions and decisions concerning water level, flood activity and control, navigation, and the like. Among the measuring devices used are a staff gauge, which is a graduated scale anchored in the water and read by observing the level of the water surface in contact with it; and a recording gauge, which continuously monitors water level, sensed by a probe or a float and recorded by a pen or printer on a moving sheet of paper.