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Arkansas River at Garden City

Highest listed crest 22.30 ftFlood stage 10.0 ft29 crests since 1929

The Arkansas River at Garden City crested at major flood stage 4 times among the 29 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1929 to 2019. The highest, 22.30 ft on June 19, 1965, was major flooding, 12.30 feet above flood stage. 2 other gauges on the Arkansas River crested above flood stage within a week of it, 1 at its own highest listed crest.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
22.30 ft
June 19, 1965; 130,000 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
10.0 ft
Major flooding from 16.0 ft
Crests at major
4
16th of 171 gauges in Kansas
Most recent flood crest
June 19, 1965
22.30 ft, major flooding
Location
Finney County
Near Garden City (2.0 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Arkansas River at Garden City
Action stage9.01May 29, 1996The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)10.00—Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage13.00—Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage16.04Jun 19, 1965Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

29 crests from 1929 to 2019. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Arkansas River at Garden City, 1929 to 2019 0510152025ft Flood stage 10.0 ftMajor 16.0 ft Aug 9, 1929: 16.74 ft, major flooding; 21,200 cubic feet per secondJun 7, 1949: 17.42 ft, major flooding; 29,200 cubic feet per secondMay 16, 1951: 18.57 ft, major flooding; 33,500 cubic feet per secondJun 19, 1965: 22.30 ft, major flooding; 130,000 cubic feet per secondMay 27, 1980: 1.30 ft, below flood stage; 50 cubic feet per secondSep 3, 1981: 1.30 ft, below flood stage; 50 cubic feet per secondJul 9, 1982: 1.30 ft, below flood stage; 50 cubic feet per secondApr 9, 1983: 1.30 ft, below flood stage; 50 cubic feet per secondSep 18, 1988: 5.07 ft, below flood stage; 340 cubic feet per secondJul 15, 1989: 5.40 ft, below flood stage; 496 cubic feet per secondJan 13, 1990: 4.77 ft, below flood stage; 196 cubic feet per secondFeb 4, 1991: 4.82 ft, below flood stage; 196 cubic feet per secondFeb 26, 1993: 5.19 ft, below flood stage; 212 cubic feet per secondJan 9, 1994: 6.83 ft, below flood stageFeb 12, 1994: 5.24 ft, below flood stage; 240 cubic feet per secondJun 12, 1995: 5.97 ft, below flood stage; 838 cubic feet per secondAug 6, 1995: 7.68 ft, below flood stage; 2,010 cubic feet per secondMay 29, 1996: 9.01 ft, action stage; 3,160 cubic feet per secondAug 17, 1997: 7.55 ft, below flood stage; 1,630 cubic feet per secondApr 6, 1998: 7.46 ft, below flood stage; 1,310 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 1999: 8.86 ft, below flood stage; 2,780 cubic feet per secondMar 13, 2000: 6.82 ft, below flood stage; 615 cubic feet per secondMay 30, 2001: 8.64 ft, below flood stage; 2,580 cubic feet per secondMar 2, 2002: 6.38 ft, below flood stage; 165 cubic feet per secondAug 10, 2003: 5.46 ft, below flood stage; 5 cubic feet per secondMay 19, 2010: 6.18 ft, below flood stage; 93 cubic feet per secondJun 28, 2014: 6.35 ft, below flood stage; 163 cubic feet per secondFeb 7, 2018: 7.29 ft, below flood stageMar 1, 2019: 6.95 ft, below flood stage Highest, 22.30 ft, Jun 19, 1965 19401960198020002020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Arkansas River at Garden City 1920s: 1 1 1930s: 0 1940s: 1 1950s: 1 1960s: 1 1970s: 0 1980s: 0 1990s: 0 2000s: 0 2010s: 0 1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s
  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. 76 crests measured on an earlier gauge datum are left out: 7.15 ft on May 24, 1923; 7.86 ft on Jun 18, 1923; 6.56 ft on Jun 22, 1923; 7.43 ft on Aug 19, 1923; 7.82 ft on Aug 24, 1923; 5.03 ft on Mar 29, 1924; and more.

Highest crests

Highest listed crests, Arkansas River at Garden City
1Jun 19, 196522.30+12.30Major130,000
2May 16, 195118.57+8.57Major33,500
3Jun 7, 194917.42+7.42Major29,200
4Aug 9, 192916.74+6.74Major21,200
5May 29, 19969.01−0.99Action3,160
6May 24, 19998.86−1.14Below flood stage2,780
7May 30, 20018.64−1.36Below flood stage2,580
8Aug 6, 19957.68−2.32Below flood stage2,010
9Aug 17, 19977.55−2.45Below flood stage1,630
10Apr 6, 19987.46−2.54Below flood stage1,310
11Feb 7, 20187.29−2.71Below flood stage—
12Mar 1, 20196.95−3.05Below flood stage—
13Jan 9, 19946.83−3.17Below flood stage—
14Mar 13, 20006.82−3.18Below flood stage615
15Mar 2, 20026.38−3.62Below flood stage165
16Jun 28, 20146.35−3.65Below flood stage163
17May 19, 20106.18−3.82Below flood stage93
18Jun 12, 19955.97−4.03Below flood stage838
19Aug 10, 20035.46−4.54Below flood stage5
20Jul 15, 19895.40−4.60Below flood stage496
21Feb 12, 19945.24−4.76Below flood stage240
22Feb 26, 19935.19−4.81Below flood stage212
23Sep 18, 19885.07−4.93Below flood stage340
24Feb 4, 19914.82−5.18Below flood stage196
25Jan 13, 19904.77−5.23Below flood stage196
26May 27, 19801.30−8.70Below flood stage50
27Sep 3, 19811.30−8.70Below flood stage50
28Jul 9, 19821.30−8.70Below flood stage50
29Apr 9, 19831.30−8.70Below flood stage50

The worst floods along the Arkansas River

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

June 19, 1965: 22.30 ft here, major flooding

  • SyracuseKS · Jun 17, 1965 · 21.80 ft · Major · its highest
  • La JuntaCO · Jun 19, 1965 · 12.90 ft · Minor

May 16, 1951: 18.57 ft here, major flooding

  • SyracuseKS · May 15, 1951 · 15.63 ft · Major

June 7, 1949: 17.42 ft here, major flooding

  • SyracuseKS · Jun 5, 1949 · 14.20 ft · Major

Gauges on the Arkansas River

Flood gauges sharing the river's name, linked within 80 miles of one another.

Flood gauges on the Arkansas River
PuebloCO8.08.29 ft, Jun 10, 20240
Cañon CityCO10.010.90 ft, Jun 18, 19950
Catlin DamCO8.011.30 ft, May 1, 19992
CoolidgeKS8.08.85 ft, Aug 17, 20150
Garden City this gaugeKS10.022.30 ft, Jun 19, 19654
La JuntaCO11.015.55 ft, May 2, 19991
LamarCO11.013.06 ft, May 27, 19960
ParkdaleCO9.09.13 ft, Jun 9, 19850
PortlandCO9.012.94 ft, Jul 6, 20062
SyracuseKS10.021.80 ft, Jun 17, 19653
AvondaleCO7.010.60 ft, Apr 30, 19990
FowlerCO13.513.65 ft, Jun 24, 20230
NepestaCO16.516.66 ft, Jun 23, 20230

Finney County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Kansas

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge GCKK1, 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.