About this river
James River is a 17.3 mile river near Lewis & Clark Marina in South Dakota. Streamflow is measured at the USGS gauge James River near Yankton, SD (site 06478513). The National Hydrography Dataset places it at stream order 7. Reach geometry comes from the USGS National Hydrography Dataset.
Typical flow by month
1982 to 2026
James River typically runs highest in June, at a median 1,350 cfs, and lowest in February, at 118 cfs. The highest flow on record for any single day is 45,300 cfs, in 2019.
| Month | Typical (cfs) | Usual range (cfs) | Relative level |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 140 | 78 to 310 | |
| February | 118 | 74 to 264 | |
| March | 681 | 204 to 1,510 | |
| April | 1,255 | 652 to 4,605 | |
| May | 1,350 | 588 to 4,300 | |
| June | 1,350 | 588 to 3,645 | |
| July | 1,110 | 246 to 3,260 | |
| August | 495 | 119 to 1,970 | |
| September | 458 | 109 to 1,730 | |
| October | 443 | 92 to 1,250 | |
| November | 308 | 117 to 603 | |
| December | 245 | 102 to 385 |
Typical is the median of each month’s daily median values, and the usual range runs from the median 25th to the median 75th percentile, across about 30 years of record. Statistics published by the US Geological Survey for James River near Yankton, SD (site 06478513). Conditions on any given day can fall well outside the usual range. Check the current reading before you go.
Boat access nearby
2 mapped launches sit in the mapped area of James River, all of them public access. Ramp data comes from the USGS national boat-ramp inventory.
Embed this gauge on your site
Paste this snippet anywhere, an outfitter page, a club site, a trip report, to show James River's live streamflow, water level and 7-day trend. It reads the USGS gauge directly, updates itself, and links back here.
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