Canadian River

All boaters should be aware that the 'stage' reading ('gauge height') on official gauges (USGS, NOAA, etc) is never based on the actual depth of water in the river (since obviously depth varies across the river as well as up and down the river). Stage is always based on some (usually not specifically river-related) geographical 'marker'. Thus (as on this river/gauge), a 1' reading may mean a totally dry riverbed, whereas on some other river a 1' reading could mean quite considerable flow. (A 12.09' reading on W Fk Trinity Rv at Beach St, Ft Worth is a dry riverbed!) This is why (whenever possible) boaters should always use the 'Discharge (CFS)' readings and ignore the stage/gauge-height readings. Thus (regarding the comment below), a reading of 4' really means a reading of around 1300 cfs.

The USGS gage as configured in 2012 reads at least 1 foot of wet mud. So a reading of 2 feet means there is maybe a foot of water at the deepest part under the bridge. The earlier stated lower limit is probably accurate.

For play on the eddy lines a minimum flow closer to 4 feet is best.

The downstream bridge support.

Foreground is the hgih water channel. Back further is the main channel. On river left, an eddyline forms that is good for bow stalls and stern squirts at 900 cfs and above.