Earth

A year in six American rivers

Six American rivers' daily flow, each drawn as one typical year built from 2015–2024. The Willamette peaks with January rain, the Yellowstone with June snowmelt. The Colorado below Glen Canyon Dam has almost no seasons left — the dam switched them off in 1963.

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Data & source

Source: USGS National Water Information System, daily mean discharge (parameter 00060) at six gauges, 2015–2024, fetched — · public domain. Each river is scaled to its own typical peak, because they differ by three orders of magnitude — the shapes compare, the heights do not. Provisional recent values may be revised by USGS. Six gauges chosen to contrast regimes, not to represent the country.