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Little Cottonwood Creek near Salt Lake City

Highest listed crest 6.60 ftFlood stage 4.9 ft26 crests since 1912

The Little Cottonwood Creek near Salt Lake City crested at major flood stage 1 time among the 26 crests the National Weather Service lists from 1912 to 2009. The highest, 6.60 ft on September 26, 1982, was major flooding, 1.70 feet above flood stage. 1 other gauge on the Little Cottonwood Creek crested above flood stage within a week of it, 1 at its own highest listed crest.

The gauge

Highest listed crest
6.60 ft
September 26, 1982; 1,260 cubic feet per second
Flood stage
4.9 ft
Major flooding from 5.5 ft
Crests at major
1
12th of 40 gauges in Utah
Most recent flood crest
June 20, 2009
4.90 ft, minor flooding
Location
Salt Lake County
Near Cottonwood Heights (2.6 mi), Sandy (2.8 mi), Midvale (5.6 mi)

Flood stages

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

Flood categories, Little Cottonwood Creek near Salt Lake City
Action stage4.54Jul 26, 2007The level at which the NWS or its partners begin to take action
Flood stage (minor)4.92Jun 20, 2009Minimal or no property damage, but possibly some public threat
Moderate flood stage5.32May 30, 2006Some inundation of structures and roads near the stream
Major flood stage5.51Sep 26, 1982Extensive inundation of structures and roads

Every listed crest

26 crests from 1912 to 2009. Filled: at or above flood stage. Hover a crest for its date and stage.

Listed crests at the Little Cottonwood Creek near Salt Lake City, 1912 to 2009 02468ft Flood stage 4.9 ftMajor 5.5 ft Jun 8, 1912: 4.65 ft, action stage; 705 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 1921: 4.55 ft, action stage; 672 cubic feet per secondJun 7, 1922: 4.50 ft, action stage; 663 cubic feet per secondJun 6, 1952: 4.20 ft, below flood stage; 597 cubic feet per secondSep 26, 1982: 6.60 ft, major flooding; 1,260 cubic feet per secondAug 19, 1983: 4.00 ft, below flood stage; 800 cubic feet per secondJun 11, 1990: 3.15 ft, below flood stage; 407 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 1991: 3.85 ft, below flood stage; 546 cubic feet per secondMay 16, 1992: 1.80 ft, below flood stage; 169 cubic feet per secondMay 22, 1993: 3.90 ft, below flood stage; 560 cubic feet per secondMay 13, 1994: 3.41 ft, below flood stage; 449 cubic feet per secondJun 14, 1995: 3.81 ft, below flood stage; 547 cubic feet per secondJun 13, 1996: 3.37 ft, below flood stage; 449 cubic feet per secondJun 1, 1997: 3.50 ft, below flood stage; 475 cubic feet per secondJun 30, 1998: 3.39 ft, below flood stage; 450 cubic feet per secondJun 15, 1999: 2.82 ft, below flood stage; 340 cubic feet per secondMay 29, 2000: 3.08 ft, below flood stage; 388 cubic feet per secondMay 16, 2001: 2.92 ft, below flood stage; 360 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 2002: 3.50 ft, below flood stage; 474 cubic feet per secondMay 31, 2003: 3.41 ft, below flood stage; 456 cubic feet per secondJun 7, 2004: 2.61 ft, below flood stage; 301 cubic feet per secondMay 30, 2005: 5.30 ft, moderate flooding; 698 cubic feet per secondMay 30, 2006: 5.30 ft, moderate flooding; 651 cubic feet per secondJul 26, 2007: 4.60 ft, action stage; 562 cubic feet per secondJun 5, 2008: 5.10 ft, minor flooding; 668 cubic feet per secondJun 20, 2009: 4.90 ft, minor flooding; 623 cubic feet per second Highest, 6.60 ft, Sep 26, 1982 19201940196019802000

Crests at or above flood stage, by decade

Crests at or above flood stage per decade, Little Cottonwood Creek near Salt Lake City 1910s: 0 1920s: 0 1930s: 0 1940s: 0 1950s: 0 1960s: 0 1970s: 0 1980s: 1 1990s: 0 2000s: 4 4 1910s1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990s2000s
  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: 4.15 ft on Jun 18, 1927; 4.10 ft on May 28, 1928; 4.35 ft on Jun 18, 1929.

Highest crests

Highest listed crests, Little Cottonwood Creek near Salt Lake City
1Sep 26, 19826.60+1.70Major1,260
2May 30, 20055.30+0.40Moderate698
3May 30, 20065.30+0.40Moderate651
4Jun 5, 20085.10+0.20Minor668
5Jun 20, 20094.900.00Minor623
6Jun 8, 19124.65−0.25Action705
7Jul 26, 20074.60−0.30Action562
8Jun 11, 19214.55−0.35Action672
9Jun 7, 19224.50−0.40Action663
10Jun 6, 19524.20−0.70Below flood stage597
11Aug 19, 19834.00−0.90Below flood stage800
12May 22, 19933.90−1.00Below flood stage560
13Jun 13, 19913.85−1.05Below flood stage546
14Jun 14, 19953.81−1.09Below flood stage547
15Jun 1, 19973.50−1.40Below flood stage475
16May 31, 20023.50−1.40Below flood stage474
17May 13, 19943.41−1.49Below flood stage449
18May 31, 20033.41−1.49Below flood stage456
19Jun 30, 19983.39−1.51Below flood stage450
20Jun 13, 19963.37−1.53Below flood stage449
21Jun 11, 19903.15−1.75Below flood stage407
22May 29, 20003.08−1.82Below flood stage388
23May 16, 20012.92−1.98Below flood stage360
24Jun 15, 19992.82−2.08Below flood stage340
25Jun 7, 20042.61−2.29Below flood stage301
26May 16, 19921.80−3.10Below flood stage169

The worst floods along the Little Cottonwood Creek

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

September 26, 1982: 6.60 ft here, major flooding

Gauges on the Little Cottonwood Creek

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

Flood gauges on the Little Cottonwood Creek
Crestwood ParkUT3.44.70 ft, Sep 26, 19821
Salt Lake City this gaugeUT4.96.60 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 City4.24.80 ft, Sep 26, 19821
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
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 LCTU1, 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.