Applegate River near Wilderville

Highest listed crest 22.00 ftFlood stage 13.0 ft4 crests since 1927

The Applegate River near Wilderville crested at major flood stage 2 times among the 4 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1927 to 1997. The highest, 22.00 ft on February 1, 1927, was major flooding, 9.00 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest: 22.00 ft; February 1, 1927
Flood stage: 13.0 ft; Major flooding from 18.0 ft
Crests at major: 2; 36th of 100 gauges in Oregon
Most recent flood crest: January 1, 1997; 19.38 ft, major flooding
Location: Josephine County; Near Grants Pass (6.6 mi)
Identifiers: NWS ARWO3; USGS 14369500

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Applegate River near Wilderville

Action stage	12.0	2	Feb 18, 1983	The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)	13.0	0	—	Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage	15.0	0	—	Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage	18.0	2	Jan 1, 1997	Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

4 crests from 1927 to 1997. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

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.
Categories use today's flood stages. Levees, dams and channel changes since a crest can make old and new stages not directly comparable.
9 crests measured on an earlier gauge datum are left out: 12.16 ft on Feb 28, 1940; 16.90 ft on Jan 21, 1943; 16.30 ft on Dec 28, 1945; 17.20 ft on Jan 6, 1948; 17.50 ft on Oct 29, 1950; 14.40 ft on Feb 2, 1952; and more.

Highest crests

Highest listed crests, Applegate River near Wilderville

1	Feb 1, 1927	22.00	+9.00	Major	—
2	Jan 1, 1997	19.38	+6.38	Major	35,000
3	Feb 18, 1983	12.81	−0.19	Action	21,800
4	Dec 19, 1981	12.76	−0.24	Action	21,600

The worst floods along the Applegate River

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

January 1, 1997: 19.38 ft here, major flooding

ApplegateOR · Jan 1, 1997 · 17.90 ft · Major

Gauges on the Applegate River

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

Flood gauges on the Applegate River

Applegate	OR	13.0	20.41 ft, Jan 15, 1974	6
Wilderville this gauge	OR	13.0	22.00 ft, Feb 1, 1927	2

Other gauges in Josephine County

Flood gauges in Josephine County

Kerby	35.0	45.28 ft, Dec 22, 1964	1
Grants Pass	20.0	35.15 ft, Dec 23, 1964	4

Josephine County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Oregon

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge ARWO3, 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.