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Battle Creek (SD) near Keystone

Highest listed crest 14.50 ftFlood stage 8.0 ft54 crests since 1972

The Battle Creek (SD) near Keystone crested at major flood stage 1 time among the 54 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1972 to 2024. The highest, 14.50 ft on June 9, 1972, was major flooding, 6.50 feet above flood stage. 3 other gauges on the Battle Creek (SD) crested above flood stage within a week of it, 3 at their own highest listed crest.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
14.50 ft
June 9, 1972; 26,200 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
8.0 ft
Major flooding from 13.0 ft
Crests at major
1
62nd of 155 gauges in South Dakota
Most recent flood crest
June 9, 1972
14.50 ft, major flooding
Location
Pennington County
Near Rapid City (15.0 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Battle Creek (SD) near Keystone
Action stage7.04May 28, 2019The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)8.00—Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage11.00—Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage13.01Jun 9, 1972Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

54 crests from 1972 to 2024. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Battle Creek (SD) near Keystone, 1972 to 2024 05101520ft Flood stage 8.0 ftMajor 13.0 ft Jun 9, 1972: 14.50 ft, major flooding; 26,200 cubic feet per secondApr 19, 1973: 6.36 ft, below flood stage; 737 cubic feet per secondJul 19, 1975: 4.43 ft, below flood stage; 239 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1976: 6.55 ft, below flood stage; 1,260 cubic feet per secondApr 12, 1977: 3.99 ft, below flood stage; 27 cubic feet per secondMay 18, 1978: 4.68 ft, below flood stage; 230 cubic feet per secondJul 4, 1979: 5.07 ft, below flood stage; 409 cubic feet per secondJun 17, 1980: 3.59 ft, below flood stage; 21 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 1981: 5.60 ft, below flood stage; 763 cubic feet per secondJun 4, 1982: 4.22 ft, below flood stage; 101 cubic feet per secondMay 7, 1983: 4.12 ft, below flood stage; 80 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 1984: 4.72 ft, below flood stage; 327 cubic feet per secondMar 18, 1985: 3.63 ft, below flood stage; 34 cubic feet per secondMay 9, 1986: 4.05 ft, below flood stage; 105 cubic feet per secondOct 3, 1986: 4.11 ft, below flood stage; 75 cubic feet per secondFeb 14, 1988: 5.16 ft, below flood stageJun 23, 1988: 3.54 ft, below flood stage; 9 cubic feet per secondSep 21, 1989: 4.52 ft, below flood stage; 166 cubic feet per secondMay 30, 1990: 5.68 ft, below flood stage; 473 cubic feet per secondJun 5, 1991: 6.00 ft, below flood stage; 620 cubic feet per secondJun 22, 1992: 3.92 ft, below flood stage; 37 cubic feet per secondJun 7, 1993: 6.63 ft, below flood stage; 1,250 cubic feet per secondMay 14, 1994: 3.91 ft, below flood stage; 35 cubic feet per secondMay 8, 1995: 7.17 ft, action stage; 1,690 cubic feet per secondMay 27, 1996: 5.81 ft, below flood stage; 595 cubic feet per secondMay 25, 1997: 6.20 ft, below flood stage; 854 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 1998: 6.99 ft, below flood stage; 1,520 cubic feet per secondJun 18, 1999: 7.46 ft, action stage; 2,000 cubic feet per secondApr 24, 2000: 4.57 ft, below flood stage; 135 cubic feet per secondJul 11, 2001: 6.30 ft, below flood stage; 891 cubic feet per secondMay 12, 2002: 3.87 ft, below flood stage; 27 cubic feet per secondMay 2, 2003: 4.19 ft, below flood stage; 66 cubic feet per secondJan 13, 2004: 3.83 ft, below flood stageMay 22, 2004: 3.77 ft, below flood stage; 19 cubic feet per secondJul 5, 2005: 4.23 ft, below flood stage; 65 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 2006: 3.93 ft, below flood stage; 31 cubic feet per secondMay 6, 2007: 4.16 ft, below flood stage; 56 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 2008: 6.32 ft, below flood stage; 906 cubic feet per secondApr 17, 2009: 4.23 ft, below flood stage; 72 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 2010: 6.26 ft, below flood stage; 870 cubic feet per secondMay 30, 2011: 5.82 ft, below flood stage; 585 cubic feet per secondApr 22, 2012: 3.91 ft, below flood stage; 32 cubic feet per secondAug 12, 2013: 4.18 ft, below flood stage; 72 cubic feet per secondOct 11, 2013: 6.72 ft, below flood stage; 1,280 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 2015: 7.00 ft, action stage; 1,500 cubic feet per secondMay 21, 2016: 6.12 ft, below flood stage; 833 cubic feet per secondJun 6, 2017: 4.08 ft, below flood stage; 57 cubic feet per secondJul 18, 2018: 6.21 ft, below flood stage; 814 cubic feet per secondMay 28, 2019: 7.06 ft, action stage; 1,650 cubic feet per secondMay 30, 2020: 4.11 ft, below flood stage; 59 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 2021: 4.23 ft, below flood stage; 84 cubic feet per secondJun 7, 2022: 3.86 ft, below flood stage; 35 cubic feet per secondJun 29, 2023: 4.41 ft, below flood stage; 110 cubic feet per secondApr 7, 2024: 4.36 ft, below flood stage; 103 cubic feet per second Highest, 14.50 ft, Jun 9, 1972 19801990200020102020

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Battle Creek (SD) near Keystone 1970s: 1 1 1980s: 0 1990s: 0 2000s: 0 2010s: 0 2020s: 0 1970s1980s1990s2000s2010s2020s
  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.

Highest crests

The 50 highest of 54 listed crests.

Highest listed crests, Battle Creek (SD) near Keystone
1Jun 9, 197214.50+6.50Major26,200
2Jun 18, 19997.46−0.54Action2,000
3May 8, 19957.17−0.83Action1,690
4May 28, 20197.06−0.94Action1,650
5May 24, 20157.00−1.00Action1,500
6Jun 18, 19986.99−1.01Below flood stage1,520
7Oct 11, 20136.72−1.28Below flood stage1,280
8Jun 7, 19936.63−1.37Below flood stage1,250
9Jun 15, 19766.55−1.45Below flood stage1,260
10Apr 19, 19736.36−1.64Below flood stage737
11May 24, 20086.32−1.68Below flood stage906
12Jul 11, 20016.30−1.70Below flood stage891
13May 24, 20106.26−1.74Below flood stage870
14Jul 18, 20186.21−1.79Below flood stage814
15May 25, 19976.20−1.80Below flood stage854
16May 21, 20166.12−1.88Below flood stage833
17Jun 5, 19916.00−2.00Below flood stage620
18May 30, 20115.82−2.18Below flood stage585
19May 27, 19965.81−2.19Below flood stage595
20May 30, 19905.68−2.32Below flood stage473
21May 17, 19815.60−2.40Below flood stage763
22Feb 14, 19885.16−2.84Below flood stage—
23Jul 4, 19795.07−2.93Below flood stage409
24Jun 11, 19844.72−3.28Below flood stage327
25May 18, 19784.68−3.32Below flood stage230
26Apr 24, 20004.57−3.43Below flood stage135
27Sep 21, 19894.52−3.48Below flood stage166
28Jul 19, 19754.43−3.57Below flood stage239
29Jun 29, 20234.41−3.59Below flood stage110
30Apr 7, 20244.36−3.64Below flood stage103
31Jul 5, 20054.23−3.77Below flood stage65
32Apr 17, 20094.23−3.77Below flood stage72
33May 24, 20214.23−3.77Below flood stage84
34Jun 4, 19824.22−3.78Below flood stage101
35May 2, 20034.19−3.81Below flood stage66
36Aug 12, 20134.18−3.82Below flood stage72
37May 6, 20074.16−3.84Below flood stage56
38May 7, 19834.12−3.88Below flood stage80
39Oct 3, 19864.11−3.89Below flood stage75
40May 30, 20204.11−3.89Below flood stage59
41Jun 6, 20174.08−3.92Below flood stage57
42May 9, 19864.05−3.95Below flood stage105
43Apr 12, 19773.99−4.01Below flood stage27
44Jun 11, 20063.93−4.07Below flood stage31
45Jun 22, 19923.92−4.08Below flood stage37
46May 14, 19943.91−4.09Below flood stage35
47Apr 22, 20123.91−4.09Below flood stage32
48May 12, 20023.87−4.13Below flood stage27
49Jun 7, 20223.86−4.14Below flood stage35
50Jan 13, 20043.83−4.17Below flood stage—

The worst floods along the Battle Creek (SD)

For this gauge's highest crests, the other gauges on the Battle Creek (SD) that crested above flood stage within a week.

June 9, 1972: 14.50 ft here, major flooding

  • HermosaSD · Jun 10, 1972 · 17.72 ft · Major · its highest
  • KeystoneSD · Jun 9, 1972 · 14.50 ft · Major · its highest
  • HermosaSD · Jun 9, 1972 · 12.00 ft · Moderate · its highest

Gauges on the Battle Creek (SD)

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

Flood gauges on the Battle Creek (SD)
KeystoneSD6.514.50 ft, Jun 9, 19721
Keystone this gaugeSD8.014.50 ft, Jun 9, 19721
HermosaSD8.017.72 ft, Jun 10, 19723
HermosaSD9.012.00 ft, Jun 9, 19720

Other gauges in Pennington County

Flood gauges in Pennington County
Keystone6.514.50 ft, Jun 9, 19721
Rapid City33.534.24 ft, Jul 5, 20190
Deerfield6.06.54 ft, Mar 15, 20190
Scenic18.019.31 ft, Mar 11, 20110
Wasta13.018.00 ft, May 15, 19202
Keystone4.56.32 ft, Oct 11, 20131
Johnson Siding4.54.88 ft, Jun 24, 20150
Victoria Creek near Rapid City7.513.00 ft, Jun 9, 19721
Water Reclamation Facility near Rapid City9.011.23 ft, May 28, 20190
Big Bend7.07.43 ft, Jun 24, 20150
Founders Park11.011.18 ft, Jun 2, 19970
Hawthorne Ditch at Rapid City16.024.30 ft, Jun 9, 19720
Farmingdale11.012.69 ft, May 24, 20103
Hill City6.06.32 ft, May 26, 20150
Rockerville7.014.00 ft, Jun 10, 19721
Hill City6.58.23 ft, Jun 18, 19981
Victoria Dam nr Rapid City6.58.20 ft, May 28, 20191

Pennington County: every hazard · River floods across the country · South Dakota

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge RUSS2, 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.