Alaska’s vast size, sparse human population, and access challenges often result in the state’s relatively thin data coverage compared to the other 49 US States for a number of key datasets including the USGS stream gauging network. Forty-one other states have more than the 114 active USGS gages in Alaska’s inventory as listed in a 2020 report to Congress 1. While we cannot alter Alaska’s geography, we can improve interagency data sharing through modern technologies like web mapping services.

These datasets have been developed through a cooperative effort between Interagency Hydrology Committee for Alaska (IHCA) members. The University of Alaska Anchorage's (UAA) Alaska Center for Conservation Science (ACCS) geographer compiled data supplied by individual agency staff from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), Alaska Department of Natural Resources (ADNR), the National Weather Service's (NWS) Alaska-Pacific River Forecast Center (APRFC), the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM), University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the US Geological Survey. AKFlow project staff at ACCS have assembled basic metadata pertaining to each gage's location, status (active or inactive), dates of operation, contact information, and links to available online data where available.

As of August 9, 2024 this inventory includes 1184 records with some duplications at sites shared by multiple agencies. The AKFlow inventory also includes 775 polygons representing the upstream drainages for 837 gage records. These drainages were sourced directly from the USGS2,3 or they were derived using current HUC12 drainages from the latest Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) and a combination of satellite imagery and a 5-meter digital elevation model (Alaska IfSAR).

These datasets are intended for data discovery purposes and are not authoritative. Users should consult with primary source agencies when using these hydrologic data.

1 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Stream gaging Network: Overview and Issues for Congress https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R45695.pdf
2 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Selected Basin Boundaries for USGS Streamgages in Alaska through 2014. https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/66440867d34e1955f5a427fa
3 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Selected Basin Boundaries for USGS Streamgages in Alaska through 2019. https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/66440948d34e1955f5a427ff

Recommended Citation: Geist, M., 2024, "AKFlow, A web map inventory of Alaska’s stream gages". Alaska Center for Conservation Science, University of Alaska Anchorage.