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Maquoketa River near Maquoketa

Highest listed crest 35.26 ftFlood stage 24.0 ft55 crests since 1972

The Maquoketa River near Maquoketa crested at major flood stage 13 times among the 55 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1972 to 2019. The highest, 35.26 ft on July 26, 2010, was major flooding, 11.26 feet above flood stage. 1 other gauge on the Maquoketa River crested above flood stage within a week of it, 1 at its own highest listed crest.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
35.26 ft
July 26, 2010; 46,000 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
24.0 ft
Major flooding from 28.5 ft
Crests at major
13
17th of 203 gauges in Iowa
Most recent flood crest
October 4, 2019
26.04 ft, moderate flooding
Location
Jackson County
Iowa

Flood stages

The thresholds the National Weather Service uses for this gauge today, and how many listed crests reached each.

Flood categories, Maquoketa River near Maquoketa
Action stage23.03Aug 7, 1995The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)24.010Feb 5, 2019Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage26.011Oct 4, 2019Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage28.513Mar 15, 2019Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

55 crests from 1972 to 2019. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Maquoketa River near Maquoketa, 1972 to 2019 10203040ft Flood stage 24.0 ftMajor 28.5 ft Apr 16, 1972: 15.61 ft, below flood stage; 15,100 cubic feet per secondDec 31, 1972: 28.01 ft, moderate flooding; 21,000 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 1974: 27.21 ft, moderate flooding; 19,300 cubic feet per secondJun 23, 1974: 27.51 ft, moderate flooding; 19,600 cubic feet per secondMar 22, 1975: 30.63 ft, major flooding; 30,000 cubic feet per secondMar 5, 1976: 24.54 ft, minor flooding; 13,000 cubic feet per secondSep 18, 1977: 17.73 ft, below flood stage; 4,870 cubic feet per secondMay 13, 1978: 21.96 ft, below flood stage; 8,920 cubic feet per secondMar 20, 1979: 29.18 ft, major flooding; 24,600 cubic feet per secondJan 17, 1980: 25.00 ft, minor flooding; 13,900 cubic feet per secondAug 31, 1981: 29.60 ft, major flooding; 24,000 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 1982: 26.13 ft, moderate flooding; 15,900 cubic feet per secondFeb 20, 1983: 20.50 ft, below flood stage; 7,550 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 1984: 23.36 ft, action stage; 11,100 cubic feet per secondFeb 22, 1985: 29.00 ft, major flooding; 17,600 cubic feet per secondSep 25, 1986: 24.68 ft, minor flooding; 13,400 cubic feet per secondAug 27, 1987: 18.24 ft, below flood stage; 5,500 cubic feet per secondJan 31, 1988: 18.92 ft, below flood stage; 4,470 cubic feet per secondMar 11, 1989: 20.42 ft, below flood stage; 5,000 cubic feet per secondJun 29, 1990: 23.86 ft, action stage; 11,900 cubic feet per secondMar 2, 1991: 26.37 ft, moderate flooding; 16,800 cubic feet per secondAug 18, 1991: 21.20 ft, below flood stage; 8,340 cubic feet per secondFeb 19, 1992: 18.20 ft, below flood stage; 5,270 cubic feet per secondMar 4, 1993: 26.36 ft, moderate flooding; 15,800 cubic feet per secondJul 6, 1993: 32.86 ft, major flooding; 35,300 cubic feet per secondFeb 20, 1994: 28.65 ft, major flooding; 15,000 cubic feet per secondAug 7, 1995: 23.20 ft, action stage; 10,900 cubic feet per secondJun 6, 1996: 19.81 ft, below flood stage; 6,820 cubic feet per secondFeb 21, 1997: 29.73 ft, major flooding; 26,500 cubic feet per secondApr 2, 1998: 25.85 ft, minor flooding; 15,600 cubic feet per secondMay 18, 1999: 25.77 ft, minor flooding; 16,000 cubic feet per secondJun 14, 2000: 25.16 ft, minor flooding; 14,800 cubic feet per secondMar 15, 2001: 18.24 ft, below flood stage; 5,670 cubic feet per secondJun 5, 2002: 34.09 ft, major flooding; 47,900 cubic feet per secondAug 23, 2002: 26.73 ft, moderate flooding; 18,600 cubic feet per secondJul 10, 2003: 19.54 ft, below flood stage; 6,790 cubic feet per secondMay 25, 2004: 25.61 ft, minor flooding; 15,900 cubic feet per secondFeb 14, 2005: 21.27 ft, below flood stage; 8,840 cubic feet per secondApr 17, 2006: 14.44 ft, below flood stage; 2,540 cubic feet per secondJul 4, 2007: 22.40 ft, below flood stage; 10,400 cubic feet per secondApr 27, 2008: 27.51 ft, moderate floodingJun 14, 2008: 31.23 ft, major flooding; 29,300 cubic feet per secondMar 9, 2009: 26.88 ft, moderate flooding; 18,800 cubic feet per secondJul 26, 2010: 35.26 ft, major flooding; 46,000 cubic feet per secondJul 29, 2011: 25.38 ft, minor flooding; 15,800 cubic feet per secondMar 1, 2012: 14.11 ft, below flood stage; 2,510 cubic feet per secondMar 11, 2013: 29.65 ft, major flooding; 25,100 cubic feet per secondJul 1, 2014: 30.96 ft, major flooding; 32,400 cubic feet per secondJun 12, 2015: 19.92 ft, below flood stage; 7,970 cubic feet per secondSep 25, 2016: 24.37 ft, minor flooding; 14,900 cubic feet per secondJul 22, 2017: 22.31 ft, below flood stage; 11,700 cubic feet per secondFeb 20, 2018: 28.29 ft, moderate flooding; 22,000 cubic feet per secondFeb 5, 2019: 24.86 ft, minor floodingMar 15, 2019: 32.41 ft, major flooding; 42,100 cubic feet per secondOct 4, 2019: 26.04 ft, moderate flooding; 19,900 cubic feet per second Highest, 35.26 ft, Jul 26, 2010 19801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Maquoketa River near Maquoketa 1970s: 6 1980s: 5 1990s: 7 2000s: 7 2010s: 9 9 1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s
  1. These are the crests the local National Weather Service office lists for the gauge: the highest on record and recent crests. Lesser floods between them may be missing, so counts by decade are a floor.
  2. Categories use today's flood stages. Levees, dams and channel changes since a crest can make old and new stages not directly comparable.
  3. 62 crests measured on an earlier gauge datum are left out: 23.50 ft on Jan 1, 1903; 17.00 ft on Sep 15, 1914; 19.60 ft on Sep 28, 1915; 22.60 ft on Mar 27, 1916; 16.90 ft on Jun 13, 1917; 15.80 ft on Feb 15, 1918; and more.

Highest crests

The 50 highest of 55 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Maquoketa River near Maquoketa
1Jul 26, 201035.26+11.26Major46,000
2Jun 5, 200234.09+10.09Major47,900
3Jul 6, 199332.86+8.86Major35,300
4Mar 15, 201932.41+8.41Major42,100
5Jun 14, 200831.23+7.23Major29,300
6Jul 1, 201430.96+6.96Major32,400
7Mar 22, 197530.63+6.63Major30,000
8Feb 21, 199729.73+5.73Major26,500
9Mar 11, 201329.65+5.65Major25,100
10Aug 31, 198129.60+5.60Major24,000
11Mar 20, 197929.18+5.18Major24,600
12Feb 22, 198529.00+5.00Major17,600
13Feb 20, 199428.65+4.65Major15,000
14Feb 20, 201828.29+4.29Moderate22,000
15Dec 31, 197228.01+4.01Moderate21,000
16Jun 23, 197427.51+3.51Moderate19,600
17Apr 27, 200827.51+3.51Moderate—
18May 17, 197427.21+3.21Moderate19,300
19Mar 9, 200926.88+2.88Moderate18,800
20Aug 23, 200226.73+2.73Moderate18,600
21Mar 2, 199126.37+2.37Moderate16,800
22Mar 4, 199326.36+2.36Moderate15,800
23Mar 13, 198226.13+2.13Moderate15,900
24Oct 4, 201926.04+2.04Moderate19,900
25Apr 2, 199825.85+1.85Minor15,600
26May 18, 199925.77+1.77Minor16,000
27May 25, 200425.61+1.61Minor15,900
28Jul 29, 201125.38+1.38Minor15,800
29Jun 14, 200025.16+1.16Minor14,800
30Jan 17, 198025.00+1.00Minor13,900
31Feb 5, 201924.86+0.86Minor—
32Sep 25, 198624.68+0.68Minor13,400
33Mar 5, 197624.54+0.54Minor13,000
34Sep 25, 201624.37+0.37Minor14,900
35Jun 29, 199023.86−0.14Action11,900
36Jun 18, 198423.36−0.64Action11,100
37Aug 7, 199523.20−0.80Action10,900
38Jul 4, 200722.40−1.60Below flood stage10,400
39Jul 22, 201722.31−1.69Below flood stage11,700
40May 13, 197821.96−2.04Below flood stage8,920
41Feb 14, 200521.27−2.73Below flood stage8,840
42Aug 18, 199121.20−2.80Below flood stage8,340
43Feb 20, 198320.50−3.50Below flood stage7,550
44Mar 11, 198920.42−3.58Below flood stage5,000
45Jun 12, 201519.92−4.08Below flood stage7,970
46Jun 6, 199619.81−4.19Below flood stage6,820
47Jul 10, 200319.54−4.46Below flood stage6,790
48Jan 31, 198818.92−5.08Below flood stage4,470
49Aug 27, 198718.24−5.76Below flood stage5,500
50Mar 15, 200118.24−5.76Below flood stage5,670

The worst floods along the Maquoketa River

For this gauge's highest crests, the other gauges on the Maquoketa River that crested above flood stage within a week.

July 26, 2010: 35.26 ft here, major flooding

June 5, 2002: 34.09 ft here, major flooding

March 15, 2019: 32.41 ft here, major flooding

Gauges on the Maquoketa River

In USGS station-number order, which runs downstream within a river basin.

Flood gauges on the Maquoketa River
Manchester Hwy 20IA14.024.48 ft, Jul 24, 20106
Maquoketa this gaugeIA24.035.26 ft, Jul 26, 201013

Other gauges in Jackson County

Flood gauges in Jackson County
Fulton12.022.44 ft, Jul 24, 20100

Jackson County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Iowa

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge MAQI4, retrieved October 30, 2026. Stages in feet on the gauge's own datum, not elevation. Crests are as the National Weather Service lists them; preliminary values may be revised.