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Big Cottonwood Creek near Salt Lake City

Highest listed crest 4.80 ftFlood stage 4.2 ft18 crests since 1921

The Big Cottonwood Creek near Salt Lake City crested at major flood stage 1 time among the 18 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1921 to 2004. The highest, 4.80 ft on September 26, 1982, was major flooding, 0.60 feet above flood stage.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
4.80 ft
September 26, 1982; 1,100 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
4.2 ft
Major flooding from 4.5 ft
Crests at major
1
12th of 40 gauges in Utah
Most recent flood crest
September 26, 1982
4.80 ft, major flooding
Location
Salt Lake County
Near Cottonwood Heights (1.8 mi), Holladay (3.6 mi), Sandy (4.8 mi)
Identifiers
NWS BCTU1
No USGS station

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Big Cottonwood Creek near Salt Lake City
Action stage3.53May 21, 1993The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)4.20—Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage4.40—Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage4.51Sep 26, 1982Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

18 crests from 1921 to 2004. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Big Cottonwood Creek near Salt Lake City, 1921 to 2004 12345ft Flood stage 4.2 ftMajor 4.5 ft Jun 14, 1921: 3.75 ft, action stage; 721 cubic feet per secondSep 26, 1982: 4.80 ft, major flooding; 1,100 cubic feet per secondJun 1, 1983: 3.70 ft, action stage; 700 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 1990: 2.02 ft, below flood stage; 241 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 1991: 2.51 ft, below flood stage; 343 cubic feet per secondMay 9, 1992: 1.60 ft, below flood stage; 177 cubic feet per secondMay 21, 1993: 3.71 ft, action stage; 641 cubic feet per secondMay 13, 1994: 2.87 ft, below flood stage; 429 cubic feet per secondJun 6, 1995: 3.21 ft, below flood stage; 516 cubic feet per secondMay 17, 1996: 3.07 ft, below flood stage; 478 cubic feet per secondJun 2, 1997: 3.30 ft, below flood stage; 539 cubic feet per secondJun 4, 1998: 3.09 ft, below flood stage; 485 cubic feet per secondMay 24, 1999: 2.95 ft, below flood stage; 451 cubic feet per secondMay 26, 2000: 2.61 ft, below flood stage; 366 cubic feet per secondMay 16, 2001: 2.98 ft, below flood stage; 458 cubic feet per secondJun 1, 2002: 2.47 ft, below flood stage; 337 cubic feet per secondMay 29, 2003: 3.01 ft, below flood stage; 469 cubic feet per secondJun 7, 2004: 1.55 ft, below flood stage; 171 cubic feet per second Highest, 4.80 ft, Sep 26, 1982 1940196019802000

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Big Cottonwood Creek near Salt Lake City 1920s: 0 1930s: 0 1940s: 0 1950s: 0 1960s: 0 1970s: 0 1980s: 1 1 1990s: 0 2000s: 0 1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s
  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. 3 crests measured on an earlier gauge datum are left out: 4.00 ft on Jun 7, 1907; 4.10 ft on Jun 6, 1909; 4.15 ft on Jun 7, 1912.

Highest crests

Highest listed crests, Big Cottonwood Creek near Salt Lake City
1Sep 26, 19824.80+0.60Major1,100
2Jun 14, 19213.75−0.45Action721
3May 21, 19933.71−0.49Action641
4Jun 1, 19833.70−0.50Action700
5Jun 2, 19973.30−0.90Below flood stage539
6Jun 6, 19953.21−0.99Below flood stage516
7Jun 4, 19983.09−1.11Below flood stage485
8May 17, 19963.07−1.13Below flood stage478
9May 29, 20033.01−1.19Below flood stage469
10May 16, 20012.98−1.22Below flood stage458
11May 24, 19992.95−1.25Below flood stage451
12May 13, 19942.87−1.33Below flood stage429
13May 26, 20002.61−1.59Below flood stage366
14Jun 13, 19912.51−1.69Below flood stage343
15Jun 1, 20022.47−1.73Below flood stage337
16Jun 11, 19902.02−2.18Below flood stage241
17May 9, 19921.60−2.60Below flood stage177
18Jun 7, 20041.55−2.65Below flood stage171

Gauges on the Big Cottonwood Creek

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

Flood gauges on the Big Cottonwood Creek
Cottonwood LaneUT4.24.34 ft, May 29, 20050
Salt Lake City this gaugeUT4.24.80 ft, Sep 26, 19821

Other gauges in Salt Lake County

Flood gauges in Salt Lake County
Cottonwood Lane4.24.34 ft, May 29, 20050
Salt Lake City4.65.00 ft, Jun 1, 19830
Salt Lake City2.03.07 ft, May 31, 19833
Crestwood Park3.44.70 ft, Sep 26, 19821
Salt Lake City4.96.60 ft, Sep 26, 19821
Mill Creek2.92.94 ft, May 30, 19830

Salt Lake County: every hazard · River floods across the country · Utah

NOAA National Water Prediction Service, gauge BCTU1, 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.