Tanana River at Fairbanks AK: flow right now vs. normal
Loading…Latest USGS reading
—flow right now
—of typical for this month
—gage height
The Tanana River at Fairbanks AK gauge has averaged 20,348 cfs over 53 years of monthly records. Flow is usually highest in July (53,572 cfs) and lowest in March (5,715 cfs).
Typical flow by month
Highest in July (53,572 cfs), lowest in March (5,715 cfs).
Key figures
- Average flow
- 20,348 cfs
- Highest peak on record
- 125,000 cfs
- Year of that peak
- 1967
- Drainage area
- —
- Years of records
- 53
- Gauge elevation
- 405 ft
- River
- Tanana River
- County
- Fairbanks North Star Borough
- State
- Alaska
Monthly numbers
| Month | Average | Median | Lowest | Highest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5,899 cfs | 6,000 cfs | 4,000 cfs | 7,550 cfs |
| Feb | 5,752 cfs | 5,885 cfs | 3,100 cfs | 7,200 cfs |
| Mar | 5,715 cfs | 5,650 cfs | 3,100 cfs | 7,320 cfs |
| Apr | 6,535 cfs | 6,300 cfs | 4,150 cfs | 11,650 cfs |
| May | 22,853 cfs | 20,900 cfs | 12,000 cfs | 37,200 cfs |
| Jun | 36,355 cfs | 36,100 cfs | 21,100 cfs | 54,400 cfs |
| Jul | 53,572 cfs | 54,300 cfs | 38,700 cfs | 66,100 cfs |
| Aug | 49,223 cfs | 49,000 cfs | 33,100 cfs | 69,300 cfs |
| Sep | 27,651 cfs | 25,900 cfs | 15,300 cfs | 47,200 cfs |
| Oct | 14,898 cfs | 15,000 cfs | 8,200 cfs | 21,800 cfs |
| Nov | 8,022 cfs | 7,850 cfs | 5,000 cfs | 11,000 cfs |
| Dec | 6,319 cfs | 6,200 cfs | 4,500 cfs | 8,230 cfs |
Monthly averages of daily flow over the gauge's record. Lowest and highest are the extreme monthly averages for that month.
How Tanana River at Fairbanks AK compares in Alaska
- Tanana River at Fairbanks AK ranks #9 of 86 gauges in Alaska in this dataset by average flow.
- That places it in the top 11% in Alaska by average flow.
- The median average flow of gauges in Alaska is 548 cfs.
- Among all 2,293 gauges in the dataset, Tanana River at Fairbanks AK ranks #33 by average flow.
Data: U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) (public domain, U.S. federal data).· Updated 2026-11-02 · Text generated from the data and checked against it.
Live values are provisional USGS data. Measurements only, not a safety assessment — for flood warnings see the National Weather Service. Official page: USGS 15485500.