Water Resources Program fact sheet
Missouri Geological Survey Director: Carey Bridges, RG
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USGS Streamgage - Buffalo Creek at Tiff City Figure 1
Figure 1.  10-Digit Hydrologic Unit (HUC10) basin containing USGS Streamgage 06896400 East Fork Grand River at Albany.

The Buffalo Creek streamgage at Tiff City is owned by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and funded in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Stage (water-surface elevation) measurements are made and recorded at 15-minute intervals and transmitted to the USGS office every hour. Stage and streamflow values are displayed in near real-time.

Buffalo Creek is a stream in Newton and McDonald counties originating near Neosho, flowing through the Ozark Highlands in Missouri until its confluence with the Elk River in Oklahoma. A priest named this stream after a member of his frontier party killed a buffalo nearby (Bell).

The streamgage is located at the State Highway 76 bridge over Buffalo Creek half a mile east of Tiff City in McDonald County and consists of a shelter, a data collection platform, a rain gage, a radar stage sensor and a crest stage gage to automatically record crest height during high water events. Learn how a USGS streamgage works.

Streamgage Information

  • Streamgage Drainage Area: 60.8 square miles
  • 10-Digit Hydrologic Unit Code: 1107020804
  • Area of HUC10 Basin: 113 square miles
  • Gage Location: 36°40'15", -94°36'14" (NAD27) (McDonald County)
  • Gage Datum: 786 feet above NAVD88

USGS Tools

  • Average Discharge (cubic feet per second): May 24, 2000 to present
  • Observation Gage Height (feet): May 25, 2000 to present
  • Peak: Gage Height, Discharge (feet, cubic feet per second) 16.8, 33,300 (April 29, 2017)
  • Water Quality Field Samples: Aug. 18, 1964 to present

The Buffalo Creek at Tiff City streamgage webpage is maintained by USGS. Users are able to create graphs and tables utilizing the recorded parameters, which can be customized to show current and historical observations, daily data, daily statistics, monthly statistics, annual statistics, peak streamflow and field measurements for any time frame within the period of record. A location map and Water-Year Summary also are available. Customize your own data output online.

Why is the Buffalo Creek Streamgage at Tiff City Important?

The streamgage provides recreational users in the area, surrounding landowners and the public with accurate stream height data. The Water Resources Center uses discharge data from this streamgage for flood, drought and water supply studies. Other organizations use this streamgage to monitor water quality.

In the area, people can enjoy:

  • Bird-watching 
  • Camping
  • Hunting
  • Fishing
  • Hiking

For more information about recreation activities located within the basin, contact the Missouri Department of Conservation.
 
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Figure 3. Bridge profile.     
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Figure 4. Channel detail.
 
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Figure 5. Bridge detail after flooding.     
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Figure 6. Covered instrument on bridge.

1    References Cited
Bell, Margaret E. "Place Names In The Southwest Border Counties Of Missouri." M.A. thesis., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1933.

Nothing in this document may be used to implement any enforcement action or levy any penalty unless promulgated by rule under chapter 536 or authorized by statute.

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