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| GAUGE STATION, SUMMER 2021 |
On the south end of Riverside Park in La Crosse, Wisconsin there is a small historic building sitting on the edge of the river. At a glance, you wouldn't expect that it's serving any purpose. It just looks like a historic building on a scenic river setting. However, this Gauge Station has been associated with river measurements in the La Crosse area for over 150 years and has been sitting in the same location since 1936.
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| APRIL 23, 2023 |
I often pass by and frequently take photos of this quaint building that typically sits well above the water level. However, the spring flood of 2023 has changed that and it's now sitting in a pool of water and I have new photos for the collection.
On April 27, 2023, the Mississippi River reached a historic crest of 15.89 feet—the third highest in history. The previous and highest crest for La Crosse was reported on April 22, 1965, at 17.89 ft and the second highest was 16.41 ft on April 18, 2001.
Advanced technology for measuring the water levels is housed at the Gauge Station and recorded remotely at the National Weather Service in La Crosse. This data provides the vital information it needed to evaluate and measure the Mississippi River for this area. The up-to-date results are published and available on the National Weather Service AdvancedHydrologic Prediction Service website.
The river crested yesterday and it's already starting to recede. Soon the long barges, ferries, fishing boats, and pleasure boats will float along the river again. I now have a new respect for mother nature and that old saying “What goes up also comes down.”
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river in the United States. From its source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it flows mostly south for 2,350 miles to the Mississippi River Delta in the Gulf of Mexico. The Missouri River (2,350 miles) is the longest.
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| FALL 2021 |
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| APRIL 26, 2023 |
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| WINTER 2022 |
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| APRIL 2023 "The Old Man River He Just Keeps Rolling Along" |
